About Me — SD Stalzer

Trying to bring more light into the world through words

Photo of the author (and friends), by the author

It is hard to believe that I have been writing on Medium for 14 months! What began as an experiment as the world came out of its forced cocoon has turned into a community for trying out new ideas and learning from other readers and authors. As I reflect on the dozens of poems I’ve published here in the last year or so, I can see a discernable shift in my writing style (for the better), largely influenced by the encouragement of peers who have taken the time to comment, and from the ability to so easily study the craft of so many writers.

As I contemplated how I wanted to approach this “About Me” article, I was moved by

Sesame (Quy Ma)

’s statement in his wonderful call for essays for this publication: “The voice in your head is not you. The person observing that voice is you.” While I have a physical history as we all do, and like everyone, tend to get stuck in the loop of voices in my head, I recognize that who I really am is something else, something deeper, something that is connected to all beings. And for me, my art is an attempt to access and listen to, and enable that truer, deeper voice. The manifestations of art that most resonate with me (and that include not just poetry, but fiction, music, photography, and painting) tend to be the ones that give me a new lens to pay attention…