Image copyright 2023 John Haslam 8 zero 8 Poetry
One day I will find the right words, and they will be simple.
- Jack Kerouac
I wrote my first poem in High School as a Sophmore English assignment. My teacher liked what I wrote and entered it into a poetry contest the city arts commission was hosting.
To my surprise, I was one of the winners.
The prize was having my poem plastered on the inside of the city metro buses all over town during one summer.
As a teenager (who still rode the bus), I was embarrassed seeing my name next to the word poetry on hundreds of buses. Family constantly asked about it and I took a fair amount of teasing from friends that summer. But through that experience, my interest in playing with words stuck.
After high school, I went to the University of Washington and received a BA in Communications. After graduating, I went to work at The Seattle Times. Not in journalism but in Sales and Marketing.
I spent 16 years there advancing through the organization eventually becoming the Director of Local Retail Advertising. Then with the internet beginning to change mass media forever, I went to work in the online and interactive media space for Comcast/NBC Universal as the Director of Marketing and Advanced Media.
I left several years later when a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity came calling to start a marketing and media consulting practice with a dear friend and mentor.
Together we launched Alliance Media Network which led to a ten-year engagement back at the University of Washington leading their video content efforts. I managed a cable television channel they owned, and consulted on two public radio stations they held licenses as the Associate VP/General Manager for UW Video/UWTV | 27
As that work began to wind down I couldn't seem to break free from the gravitational pull of my alma mater so I pursued a Master's degree and acquired a MA in Marketing/Leadership from UW.
In 2020 I found Medium and began writing articles for my own enjoyment. Mainly about subjects I'm passionate about. A couple of the pieces I wrote gained some readership and I began writing somewhat regularly.
One sunny summer day in 2022 not feeling much like being indoors staring at my computer screen I decided I would write a poem instead of a long-form piece. I frenetically wrote a poem as the sun beckoned me. I posted it and went for a soul-restoring motorcycle ride.
When I returned from my ride my hasty writing session was on my mind. I decided to proofread the poem again. To my surprise when I opened up Medium the poem I wrote had more readership in three hours than all the articles I had posted months prior.
I decided I should publish more poetry.
Not long after the Power of Poetry asked to publish one of my poems. One thing led to another and now I publish most of my poetry there.
The opportunity provided by Power of Poetry has given me inspiration and motivation to get better at writing.
As a result of how well my poetry has done, I am planning to self-publish a book of poetry in 2023.
I'm still learning discipline as a writer, what works for different audiences, and still trying to understand what the audience metrics are telling me. I still edit too much and fuss endlessly with length and layout.
I'm still the most curious person I know. I still write about topics that I would want to read about.
If you arrived at this About Me page you likely got here because you read something I wrote and wanted to know more about me. I hope I scratched that itch. If not get in touch. Send me a note and say hello. I like to hear what resonates with readers, and what questions you have. If you see things differently than I do, I'd like to hear that too.
If you like my work press the Follow Me box next to my name on Medium and you'll get my latest work sent directly to your inbox.
Thanks for reading and supporting independent writers like me.
About the Inspiration for My Poems
I am often asked about what inspired me to write a particular poem. I've considered including that information with each poem I publish but decided against it. While I am always happy to share the inspiration if asked I think it is up to the reader to decide what the poem is truly about.
Poetry is a type of writing that is much more conceptual than for example journalism. The poet intends to evoke feelings and emotions, not necessarily facts or news the way journalists do.
Whatever inspiration you get from reading poetry is just as valid as the inspiration the poet had for writing it. Much like a painting, sculpture, or any creative work the poem can mean different things to different readers.
