About Me — Sherryl Clark
Writer, reader, traveller, nature lover, storyteller, poet, cat lover
I remember only one story I wrote as a kid. Later, I wrote funny poems about people, long letters to my dad, and then some little stories and poems for my writing class. I know people who’ve taken 50 years to write what’s in their heart, because a school teacher or someone in their family criticized them. For me, it took about 30 years, and publication in an anthology. Starting small. Slowly getting serious.
My oldest writing friends have been hanging out with me, drinking coffee, workshopping and writing for all of those 30 years or more. We started together, and grew together. I ended up teaching creative writing as well, helping other people while I wrote my own stuff. It was always a balancing act. As someone once told me, it all comes from the same well of creative energy.
I’ve been teaching writing — poetry and fiction mostly — for a long time. Teaching has been great. I have a mental list of students who’ve gone on to achieve amazing things, from family histories to being bestselling novelists. I know from my own experience, and from watching them, that what it takes more than anything is perseverance and a desire to learn.
I started with poetry, and it’s my first love. I may not write a poem for months…
