I wrote poetry before I could write prose. I began in college, where I fancied myself a poet, and a few years afterward until real life, including having six kids and a 25-year writer’s block, took over. When I did resume writing, I turned to prose, that is, novels and short stories. I no longer wrote poetry. But that changed when I wrote the third book in my Isabel Long Mystery Series, Checking the Traps.
I should note that book was re-released along with Chasing the Case and Redneck’s Revenge on Nov. 15 by their new publisher Bloodhound Books.
In Checking the Traps, Isabel is hired by a local bad boy drug dealer, Gary Beaumont, to find out how his half-brother died. Did Cary Moore jump from a bridge known for suicides or was he pushed? But what fires up Isabel’s interest in this case is that Cary drove heavy equipment by day and wrote poetry at night.
Gary lends Isabel the notebooks in which his half-brother transcribed all of his poems. As Isabel discovers, Cary’s poetry in the early books are really juvenile. But he gets better, well, enough that a famous poet uses the poems for his own in what turns out to be an award-winning book. He actually paid Cary for the poems, but he put his own name on them in a book that garnered big awards. Yes, the poet is a suspect in the man’s death.
Cyrus is indeed a noted poet, hence the snarky nickname, the Big Shot Poet, which the irreverent Isabel Long secretly calls him. He made it big after growing up poor with the release of his first book of poetry, Yonder.
He’s done well for himself, building a swanky home in the hilltown of Penfield and driving a Mercedes. He has a slew of adoring fans, mostly women. He’s quite the charmer. And, no, I don’t know anybody like him. Cyrus is a figment of my imagination.
One of my favorite scenes in Checking the Traps is a bookstore reading Isabel and her mother attend. I tried to capture poetry readings I’ve attended, including those loud sighs and moans from adoring fans.
Isabel also finds poetry that Cary wrote as gifts for other people.
So, that meant I had to write poetry, too, for this book.
Actually I found writing poetry wasn’t hard at all. I was able to channel that inner poet to come up with several complete poems plus lines from others. I tried to imagine what a man who had never gone farther than 100 miles from his country home would write about and how he would write it. I figured on a plain but sturdy style of writing. There would have lots of imagery from nature. The poems would not be long.
Poetry, including a reading where Isabel corners the famous poet, figures big in this book.
There are not many full poems but excerpts like this one: The wind tells me things my mother never did. And this one: gliding on ice/ if only life was still that easy.
Here’s one Cary — and I — wrote for Jack, the owner of the Rooster Bar, where Isabel works part-time. He’s also her love interest in this series.
What’ll it be tonight, boys?
The barman asks each one.
Give me some hope in a bottle.
Give me courage.
Give me love.
The barman laughs.
Sorry, boys, it’s only beer.
Did the experience inspire me to write more poetry? I will be honest and say no. But I enjoyed letting one of my characters do it instead.
Once again, here are the links to Chasing the Case, Redneck’s Revenge and Checking the Traps.