Spotlight On Writers
Rayna More
- Where, do you hail from?
Originally, I was born in London, but I consider Ballina my home town as I’ve grown up there. Ballina’s a friendly town, located west of Ireland and is well-known for its annual Salmon Festival and fishing in the River Moy. It’s a scenic, homely town where I’ve experienced many fond memories.
- What is the greatest thing about the place you call home?
My favourite thing about Ballina is by far how scenic certain areas are. After living there for the past ten years I have found some of the most breath-taking spots where some of my most treasured memories unfolded. There are certain areas I could sit at and just think and write for hours on end happily. The River Moy is a spectacular addition to Ballina, one can go right up to the river bank the whole way along and do as they please. Without this, Ballina wouldn’t mean as much to me as it does as it really is the heart of the town’s beauty.
- What turns you on creatively?
I am very much so a sensitive, ‘feeling’ type of person. When my emotions swell, my creativity turns on like a light switch. This enforces in my head that the simplest of things, such as a puddle or a tree could be a perfectly stated metaphor for how I’m feeling. For example, in my poem Broken Minded I stated ‘This puddle my mind, rippling with each drop of rain, or as I call them, thoughts’. I was staring bleakly at a puddle in the rain, swamped by rogue thoughts that pushed me to think as though the puddle was my mind.
- What is your favorite word, and can you use it in a poetic sentence?
There are many words which I have strong feelings for, one of my favourites would be weeping. It’s such a delicate sounding yet meaningful word.
An example of weeping in a poetic sentence would be:
“The blackened tree bowed down, as you started walking away, it was weeping over you, sorrowful, yet still protecting you from me“.
- What is your pet peeve?
One of my biggest pet peeves is when people come to me telling me my poetry would be much better if I focused more on using poetic techniques, that techniques are the point of poetry, and that it isn’t proper poetry without. I believe that anyone who writes something meaningful, that sounds good and can be felt by those who read it is a good poet, and lack or use of techniques wouldn’t change that.
- What defines Rayna More?
I believe what truly defines me is how forgiving I am. Without my forgivingness I wouldn’t be who I am or where I am today. I wouldn’t have experienced the emotions that forgiving shows me, and I would be more close-minded. It’s a major part of who I am, and without it I’d believe I’d be a very different person. A lot of my poetry would never have existed if it wasn’t for it, it allows me to look at the world in a more open way and I’m happy for that.
- Broken Dreams - December 28, 2021
- Running - September 14, 2021
- Rippling Shivers - June 24, 2021
