AMARILYS, HOW DID YOU BECOME A POET? INTERVIEW BY TAMPA WRITERS ALLIANCE POETRY COORDINATOR, ELLIOT GREENBAUM.
Would you tell us about events in your past that contributed to you being a poet?
I started writing poems
about seven years ago when I was meditating on a Good Friday, on the
crucifixion of Christ, and had something like a vision of Him on the cross. The
words to the poem, The Vision, Jerusalem 33AD, came to me easily and fast as I
put down what I was seeing. I decided to try a poetry group and found that
Tampa Writers Alliance had one and I attended it with fear and trembling
holding tight to my one poem. There I found the warmest welcome through Ella
and Warner Conarton. Warner was leading the group. When I read the poem,
Warner’s kind words were, “I wish I could write like that.” Of course he did
and so much better than I do. But those words were exactly what I needed to
continue to write.
Are there other poets
in your family?
Yes! My grandmother, my
Abuela, was a great poet and her sister also.
I play the guitar a
little and I’m teaching myself the ukulele. Sing? Of course. Are there any
Latins who don’t sing? The question is how well? LOL. I try to sing for at
least a half hour every day. It’s my medicine. I love music. Really feeds my
muse.
I know you are also a
writer of fiction. How do you see your poetry influencing your other interests?
Poetry shapes my
writer’s voice. I believe it weaves itself into everything I write. Poetry is
in my blood. It cradles my soul in sad times and creates a fast happy orbit for
my heart to spin in during those joyous moments life brings. For a writer of fiction
today, poetry is an excellent exercise because the writing teachers of our
times encourage us to trim our writing and tell a powerful story without being
wordy. Poetry does just that. It tells a story using potent words within a
small space. Great poems touch our hearts and move us to tears or laughter.
Many have great endings that impact. All those elements align well with the
perfect fictional story.
With all the chaos in
the world now,
do you think a poet can help make a difference?
Oh yes! Poets can be a
voice to fight for what is right. I definitely think we can make a difference.
I wrote my book, Cuban-American, Dancing On The Hyphen, with poems like La
Cola, (The Line), protesting the injustices of Castro’s Communist regime. I wrote
it to make a difference. I wanted to bring to light, through the poems and
stories, the needs of an island in torment, stripped and raped of freedom. So I
wrote many of those poems with the idea to protest against the conditions there
and to inform the public that it is still happening. Little did I know that
some of the book’s poems I would read at MacDill Air Force Base to encourage
our armed forces … to let them know the importance of what they do for us in
protecting our liberty and freedoms. Poetry is a strong weapon. It can teach,
inspire, engage and motivate our world toward change. It can comfort, caress
and entertain. A poem can be very memorable.
I know you have
published one book of poems and prose, Cuban-American, Dancing On The Hyphen. I
have a signed copy. Anything on the horizon we can look for?
Ms Rassler:
Yes. December, 2014, my
new book, with a Christmas theme, went on sale at Amazon. It is called THE
CHAIRS, … four vignettes, stories, connected by supernatural activity around
four Adirondack chairs. It is prose but, of course, has a poem in it called The
Chairs. I’m also still working on my memoir, Beyond The Veil, and a novel,
Commuters, a tale of demonic transference.
What is the best
advice you think you have received on writing?
Ms
Rassler:
The best advice I have
received on writing has come from what Julia Cameron says …
“Write because something
‘touches’ you, write because you want to ‘touch’ someone else, but most of all
write to ‘get in touch’ with the divine or because the divine somehow has
‘gotten in touch’ with you.”
IN
"NIKE SHOES" A Poem For The
New Year
by Amarilys G. Rassler
Nike,
from Greek origin meaning "Victory."
Here
I am
Running,
running,
My
soul's feet
Clad
in "Nike shoes,"
My
heart with Hope afire
Lit
by fuse of 2015 plans,
Oh
rising flames
From
my desires!
Here
I am
Running,
running,
To
Finish Line
Somewhere
toward
Unknown
horizon.
No
knowledge of how close
My
final moon shall be,
Or
number of morning suns
He
has left for me to see.
Yet
I run.
Propelled
by
His
Good pleasure,
Carrying
backpack of 2015
Dreams
I treasure,
Trusting
in His Abounding Love,
Impossible
to measure.
Here
I am.
Have
extra pair of "Nike shoes" for you!
Come,
come run with me ... too.
****************
¡SOFRITO! Garlic, Onions And Green Peppers By Amarilys
Gacio Rassler
From book, Cuban-American,
Dancing On The Hyphen by Amarilys G. Rassler
Garlic, onions
and green peppers,
Bathe
in heated olive oil,
Trinity of
scents ascending,
Soon
to pot of beans descending,
Make
my cravings come to boil.
¡SOFRITOOOOO!
Moving
to a little cha cha.
Feet
caressing kitchen floor,
Cooking
sofrito sabroso,
To
surprise my darling esposo,
Fast
a-coming through the door?
¡SOFRITOOOOO!
Sensing
warm anticipation,
And
a thumping heart sensation,
The
sofrito and aphrodisiac?
Causing
pleasant transformation…,
Amorous
thoughts, sofrito rendering,
That’s
the dart, sly Cupid’s sending!
Sizzling
senses,
Now
surrendering,
Leaps
of passions... kisses start!
¡Ay
Sofrito! ¡Que Sabroso!
CUBAN CULINARY
ART!
(Sofrito –
garlic, onions and
green peppers,
cooking. Then, used as seasoning for a Cuban dish.
The
staple Cuban seasoning!
Sabroso
– delicious
Esposo – husband, spouse
¡Que
Sabroso! – How delicious!
¡Ay!-
A Cuban’s heart cry.)
