It’s kind of funny, I guess… But, as I’ve written so much stuff and every now and then I will be looking for a piece I wrote for research or otherwise, for whatever reason there may be, and I come upon a some sort of something else I wrote. That was the case with what happened the other day. I came upon this chapter that ended up in one of my novels.
 
Sometimes I’m called to read what I came upon, most of the time I’m not. It’s just a reminder of a time gone past. But, for this piece, I decide to open it up. It was an interesting read, written in a style that, (I guess), I would call my, “Mature,” writing style.
 
To subtext here…
 
Most people do not read poetry. Few people read novels. I guess that is to say unless it is a highly-publicized novel by a celebrated writer. Sure, in school, particularly in writing classes at the university level, students are forced to read the works of poets and novelists. But, even then, those reading assignments are mostly focused on the very well-known authors.
 
I believe there was a time when poetry and freedom in writing was more celebrated. Then, with changing times, leading to changing mindsets, and the internet, (of course), a lot of that changed. I mean really, when was the last time you read a book of poetry by a little-known poet or a novel by an unpublicized author?
 
But, back to the storyline…
 
I know for me, I initially wrote poetry and then later short stories and later novels from a very young point in my life. But, who reads them? I’ve watching, via my own personal experience, how times have changed. No one seems to be seeking out the literary works of obscure authors anymore.
 
I mean, there used to be bookstores where these works could be found. They were even featured! In fact, there used to be bookstores devoted to unique writings by unique authors. Now, bookstores are all but nonexistent.  
 
I used to write that kind of stuff a lot. The stuff like that chapter from one of my novels. I thought it would/may equal something. Now, I question that.
 
It’s like, I even was the editor of poetry magazine for a time. …Way back in the way back when. We would get tons and tons of submissions. There were a bunch of magazines like that at the time. Some of the writings were very good. Others, were terrible. The funny thing was, and one of the main reasons I quit doing that was, the moment we rejected someone, many of them would go ballistic. They believed they were the greatest poet of all time, and everyone should realize that. I cannot tell you how many treats I received based on rejecting someone’s poetry. It's a strange world…
 
For me, I used to write what, (I guess), is called literary fiction a lot. I wrote poetry all the time. It was probably a supply and demand thing, but I stopped the fiction a long time ago, and the poetry has geared way back. There just doesn’t seem like much of a point anymore. I write about other stuff now. Like this, writing about writing.
 
Anyway, all this being said, I believe things like poetry and short stories and novels provide a truly unique look into the mind and the mindset of the author. This is particularly the case for authors like myself who write from an autobiographical perspective. 
 
For me, it was fun/funny to read that chapter from that book. It reminded me of the person I used to be. I don’t know that people ever really change. But, I do know that, if they care to, they can truly evolve. Interesting to view who I was then and how and why I would write what I wrote.
 
So… You probably don’t read poetry or novels or any of that kind of stuff. I’m sure your world is way too busy for any of that. But, if you want to look deeply into a person’s psyche, and maybe see how they were created, and what made them the person they became, I believe that by reading such forms of literature, you may be provided with a looking glass into their soul.