I Almost Gave Up Being A Writer

5 poems that kept me going

by Harley Bell

I’ve given up writing more times than I’d like to admit.

Life gets busy. Bills need paying. Routine sets in. Then it slowly grinds the imagination to dust.

But dust is enough to make us sneeze. Sometimes, it takes an allergic reaction to remember our dreams. Breathe deep. These poems are a pattern interruption.

I’ve always come back to writing. It’s been difficult every time but these poems are like lighthouses in a storm.

They kept me going when I felt like giving up.

Howl by Allen Ginsberg

“I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness, starving hysterical naked, dragging themselves through the negro streets at dawn looking for an angry fix.” — Allen Ginsberg

I was 16 and my parents wanted me to become a plumber. They told me there was good money in the trades. There is honour in helping people flush away their shit. Instead, I chose to sift through the slurry and pour it onto the page. For better or worse, I wanted to become a writer.

I’d never read a good poem in my life. I thought poetry was pretentious. During high school…