Spotlight On Writers
Ivor Steven
@ivors20
- Where, do you hail from?
- What is the greatest thing about the place you call home?
Geelong is a city beside the bay, and only 30 minutes away from the picturesque Bellarine Peninsula beaches, and the famous South Coast surf beaches. If I was to be reincarnated, I am sure I would come back as a dolphin.
- What turns you on creatively?
I am a late bloomer as a writer/poet. Twenty-two years ago I suffered a semi-severe stroke and subsequently, I was in a rehabilitation program for over 12 months, to regain my cognitive abilities of speaking and writing. I started doing crosswords, then began writing sentences, and I developed a liking for poems. Musically I was always a fan of Leonard Cohen’s, and I progressed to reading many of his books. He became my muse and the inspiration behind the beginning of my poetry writings.
- What is your favorite word, and can you use it in a poetic sentence?
After my third stroke at the beginning of 2019, my neurosurgeon sat on my hospital bed and said “We have done everything possible to find the source of your problem, but you are a conundrum Ivor.” That night I wrote a poem:
CONUNDRUM
The heart of the matter
A conundrum of chatter
I wrote a poem after a stroke
Who’s left to row the boat
Inside a brain covered with spots
There’s a sail full of mini-clots
- What is your pet peeve?
Corporate greed, which is probably responsible for the deterioration of our planet’s environment.
- What defines Ivor Steven?
Naively I believe in the goodness of human beings, despite our obvious failings. I am an environmentalist, an anti-war campaigner, and I passionately absorb myself in writing about the value of living every day as a new experience and that everything/everyone has a purpose in life.
- My Darkest Ocean - April 10, 2024
- A Poet’s Grotto - January 12, 2024
- True - September 8, 2023
