In Love with Single- The Collection was released during the holiday season of 2019, just a few months before the world change. It differs from my first collection, which was a group of poems that were written throughout my life at various ages. In essence, “Going Through Phases” represents decades. While “In Love with Single” represents a brief moment in my life. With a little over sixty poems in the book, it took me less than a year to write and complete the collection. This is in part because the book is a satire of how society views older women who are single and childless. It is a ramble of words, a release of frustration, and a celebration of self-love. The idea for the collection came after I wrote a poetic essay, rightfully titled, “In Love with Single”.
My poetic form leans towards free-verse and epic. With free-verse a writer can make their own rules. There’s no restriction in lengths, breaks, or rhythm. The perfect form for poems that vent raw material. Epic poems are long in length as most of my poems are. I have received a lot of criticism for writing long winded and unformatted work. It implanted doubt inside which can be felt in some selections of the book. However, now I wholeheartedly embrace my rambling style.
It was important, when thinking of the book cover, to have a woman displayed as vibrant, ethically neutral, happy, and serene. After all, that is the end resolution of the poetry collection. Regarding structure, the book follows a mock interview with the writer (myself), answering questions about the book. The thought was to give readers insight into the how, what, when, & why of my writing process. It is one of my favorite things about the book and it is where I’m most vulnerable.
Now let’s get into some of my pros and cons with this poetry collection.
Cons:
1. I don’t know of anyone who has read it.
This was the hardest pill to swallow. What worth is there in publishing if no one reads your work. But after processing, the worth of publishing is my own selfish joy, regardless of who may or may not read it.
2. Encountered a lot of self-doubt in my creative form following its release.
There isn’t a shortage of poets in this world and with a wide range of poetic forms, it’s no surprise when your work is judged as not meeting certain criteria. But, as mentioned earlier, I’m not changing and will continue to write without restriction.
Pros:
1. Writing the collection was cathartic.
It was the best therapy as I work towards being more unapologetic. My poems have always been more like journal entries contributing to overall growth.
2. I really did learn to love being single and ultimately love the entirety of myself through the writing process.
“In Love with Single” will always have my heart.
Until the next one,
Alisia Latoi
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