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Author Statement
This short collection of poems is an Elegy for my cat Celine. She died when she was a year old. That is not nearly enough time on this earth for a soul so sweet. I wanted, needed, to remember her, immortalize her. So I did the only thing I could think to do: put her on the page.
These poems capture the world without Celine, but they are imbued with her soul, her personality. The poems in this collection explore the unfairness of life, the fleeting nature of existence, and the struggle to articulate the overwhelming pain of losing a beloved companion. The collection contemplates the intangible aspects of departure, the dissonance between external normalcy and internal turmoil, and the delicate balance between life and death. The pages paint a vivid picture of the fragility of life, the inevitability of mortality, and the longing for a sense of continuity beyond the realm of the living.
3 Questions
C.W. Bryan
INK: What most inspires you to write?
C.W.: In the case of writing Celine, I simply had to do it. There was too much grief. It was so overwhelming that I could not hold it all in my head. I would say over half the poems in the collection were written in the first night in the house without her. In my normal life, my biggest inspiration is Sam Kilkenny, my writing partner at poetryispretentious.com.
INK: What does your writing routine look like?
C.W.: It varies, really, but I love waking up early and writing. I am also constantly competing with Sam in our series Poetry is Plagiarism, so whenever I see him writing, I will tend to write as well. Being surrounded by creative energy is the best way to write, in my opinion. I try to remain open to inspiration whenever possible and not tie it to any specific hour of the day.
INK: Name a favorite poem you feel everyone should read.
C.W.: Read anything by Ted Kooser for a start. Some noteworthy mentions are: “Nick and the Candlestick” by Sylvia Plath and “This is Just to Say” by William Carlos Williams, but my all-time favorite poem is “Having a Coke With You” by Frank O’Hara. The line that is permanently burned in my brain is: “…the fact that you move so beautifully more or less takes care of Futurism.” I mean, come on.
