Rainier Paul On The Five Things You Need To Write Powerful And Evocative Poetry

An Interview With Heidi Sander

Poetry should be relatable with core concepts grasped by anyone open to deeper sentiment and values, not just those with a credible command of language or literary arts.

Poetry is growing in popularity and millions of people spanning the globe have a renewed passion for embracing the creativity, beauty, and art of poetry. Poetry has the power to heal and we make sense of the world through the human expression of writing and reading. Are you wondering: What does it take to become a successful poet? What is the best medium and venue to release your poetry? What are some techniques to improve or sharpen your skills? In this interview series about how to write powerful and evocative poetry, we are interviewing people who have a love for poetry and want to share their insights, and we will speak with emerging poets who want to learn more about poetry either to improve their own skills or learn how to read and interpret better. Here, we will also meet rising and successful poets who want to share their work or broaden their audience, as well as poetry and literature instructors.

As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Rainier Paul.

Rainier is a poet and published author from Melbourne Australia. From adolescence through to adulthood, Rainier was exposed to a wide variety of cultural backgrounds thanks to Melbourne’s multicultural society.

Driven by events in life, Rainier travelled the expanse of Australia, aimlessly riding in the wind. His world was on his back. He had no set destination or schedule, and home was where he lay his head. The journey consumed many years of his life, after which, he returned to build a foundation in Melbourne.

Events that transpired over Rainier’s life journey found him reflecting on life’s meaning, and he commenced writing for his own personal self-expression. Many years later, Rainier elected to expose his work to a wider audience through various social platforms and finally by publishing his first book “Life! The Journey of the Soul” in July 2021. Rainier hopes to release his second book titled “Growth! Enlightenment of the Soul” around April 2022.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive into the main focus of our interview, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share a story about what first drew you to poetry?

In my youthful years, healing from unpleasant events in life such as failed relationships was by focussing my energies externally — sports, bars, clubs, colourful nightlife etc. A significant event that transpired in my late twenties prompted me to look within for my answers which subsequently led to me penning my deeper reflections in lyrical form purely for my own self-expression.

My work was socialised with a handful of trusted friends. As my writing continued to evolve, the few that read my work found comfort in my writing and encouraged me to make my work more widely available.

This deeper reflective aspect of my persona was very secretive and in distinct contrast to my external free spirited personality. As a consequence, it took many years to summon the courage to expose this inner aspect of me to a broader audience. It was only in recent years that I shared my work on social platforms and eventually published my debut book last year.

Can you tell us a bit about the interesting or exciting projects you are working on or wish to create? What are your goals for these projects?

In late 2020 I signed up with Balboa Press (Division of Hay House) to publish 2 books showcasing my poetry or rather a lyrical glimpse of my inner reflections of life events that promoted personal growth and subsequently helped me develop a better understanding of my life’s journey.

The first book titled Life! The Journey of the Soul was released in July 2021 and the second, Growth! Enlightenment of the Soul, all going well should be published around April this year.

Ideally the content of my work will provide readers a view of my own insights through life events, which hopefully will instigate their own respective inner reflections as key events unfold in their own lives. Identification with my work could perhaps lead to personal growth and attaining an improved state of balance and wellbeing through the highs and lows life can bestow upon us.

Wonderful. Let’s now shift to the main focus of our interview. Let’s begin with a basic definition so that all of us are on the same page. What is your definition of poetry? Can you please share with us what poetry means to you?

In a general sense poetry is defined as a means of expressing messages, ideas, life experiences etc. adopting rhyme, word patterns, selected vocabulary to project an image of the emotional context of the subject for the reader through written word.

To me poetry is a means of expressing profound insights or rather meaningful views on various aspects of human emotions — or in fact any aspects of life as we know — identified through inner reflection, deep contemplation or self-evaluation. Rather than being prescriptive, poetry offers us key concepts of the author’s thought to trigger the reader’s own thought patterns relevant to either life events transpiring at a point in time or when on a path of self-discovery.

What can writing poetry teach us about ourselves?

Poetry teaches us to project our deeper focused thoughts, emotions or perceptions in a non-prescriptive manner. In comparison to oral communication, poetry aids in conveying the deeper emotional context with carefully selected words to furnish clarity of intent in a concise and disciplined manner.

Who are your favourite poets? Is it their style, the content or something else that resonates with you?

To be completely honest I do not have any favourite poets as such. I tend to read not only renowned poets but literally anyone–self published or on social platforms. I have an affinity with poetry based on love or of a romantic sentiment as I believe love is the magical glue that binds us together as a collective humanity.

At some point I have read works by renowned poets such as Banjo Paterson, Les murray, Judith Wright, Bruce Dawe etc. — I am quite partial to Australian poets due to cultural identification but do not necessarily identify with any particular poet.

One of the reasons I don’t fully identify with a particular poet is, I am passionate about preserving my own authenticity and style, without influence from other poets. I refrain from formal structures such as Sonnet, Haiku. Senryu etc. as I refuse to take away the exact emotion I wish to express through limitations such as number of lines, syllables, forced rhyme etc. For example, if I need more or less lines to convey my message, I refuse to limit myself to 14 lines with alternate lines ending in rhyming words as with the Sonnet structure or limiting myself to the 5–7–5 syllable format of Haiku.

If you could ask your favourite poet a question, what would it be?

The questions I would ask any poet are:

- Could you provide a narration of the events in life that inspired your most renowned work?

- When the creative flow seems restricted for various reasons, do you persevere to write or park the pen till the inspiration to write returns?

- What are your respective ‘go-to’ mechanisms when the inspiration to write feels blocked?

Poetry can be transformational. Is there a particular poem that spoke to you and changed your life or altered a perspective you held in some way? Can you share the story?

I cannot define a specific poem that influenced my life, as I tend to be influenced and direct my life based on my personal inner reflections of my experiences, interactions with people I meet, words shared either in written or oral form, emotions triggered by music etc. I make time for everyone as I believe we each have valuable contributions to make. I listen to what is said and left unsaid, study what transpires and the views of others but use my power of discernment to define my own persona, boundaries and beliefs.

Today’s world needs so much healing. Can you help articulate how poetry can help us heal?

I believe the formulation of words in poetry expresses deeper emotions and profound sentiments, which aids healing by influencing our own thought patterns in some manner. I also believe poetry can help us identify with the whole; providing assurance that our experiences and emotions are not unique to us. The content we read can guide us to source further material to support the healing process.

We’d like to learn more about your poetry and writing. How would you describe yourself as a poet? Can you please share a specific passage that you think exemplifies your style or main message?

I actually question if I can be deemed a poet. Perhaps what I do is more creative writing as I do not adhere to strict structure, more similar to freestyle writing. I favour narrating my inner reflections as short-story telling in a lyrical form. I do however, also write verses that lean towards conventions of poetry which express sentiments reflecting my personal values and life views. Typical examples are -

The key to a fulfilling life, rests within your heart,

Reaching in gently with your mind, pick up the key.

Unlock the door, live the life you are meant to,

Trust in the universe, hear the creative voice within.

The lone boat drifts on waters so still.

Yesterday is gone, today is what it is.

Still the Nightingale sings of mysteries of tomorrow.

What will the new dawn realise; perhaps dreams untold.

What do you hope to achieve with your poetry?

Through my poetry I hope to expose my inner sentiment, developed through my own life journey and holistically show my frail vulnerability of being human. I hope to instigate concepts of thought in the reader, supporting individual growth through their own life experience and to provide assurance that we share a common bond of humanity, where one is all and all is one.

In your opinion and from your experience, what are 3 things everyone can learn from poetry?

Through poetry one can learn to open one’s heart and mind to a more authentic and deeper understanding of life, developing healthier attitudes and mindsets as we encounter life events. Poetry can help us develop within ourselves exemplary traits such as compassion, trust and above all love in its purest and unconditional form. Last but not least, poetry can reinforce empathy within the collective to encourage a supportive mindset rather than an individualistic one.

Based on your own experience and success, what are the “five things a poet needs to know to create beautiful and evocative poetry?” If you can, please share a story or example for each.

I believe authenticity is primary; the author must believe in the subject of the poem wholeheartedly.

The author must be willing to expose his or her sentiments or beliefs with conviction, even at the risk of deviating from views that are commonplace.

Poetry should be relatable with core concepts grasped by anyone open to deeper sentiment and values, not just those with a credible command of language or literary arts.

Poetry should not be prescriptive; rather provocative to challenge thought patterns at a larger scale beyond the self or what is deemed the norm.

Through the construction of words, poetry should create clear imagery to take the reader to a place which helps them see or feel the message that the author intends through his or her creation.

If you were to encourage others to write poetry, what would you tell them?

I encourage authors to be authentic — believe in what you write. Always write with passion to narrate what truly inspires you; a lack of passion or true inspiration is readily evident to the discerning reader.

My personal preference is to write on subjects that I have personally experienced in my life journey and refrain from writing on subjects that I have only read or discussed in depth. Some authors however, are very good at doing just this, hence each writer should use their own judgement.

Be clear on why you write. Is it for monetary gain, fame or an inner drive to express what is held within you, what you believe or hold with conviction? The latter lends itself to passion and authenticity. Writers must remember that we are all unique. Our work will not appeal to everyone but do not be discouraged; remember you are only sharing your personal inner reflections, some will embrace it while others will not.

How would you finish these three sentences:

• Poetry teaches us to explore our own recollections of life events and our deeper emotions when confronted with the extremities of the human experience.
• Poetry heals by stimulating empathetic thought patterns and emotions and showing that our life experiences are not unique — we are in fact part of a larger collective.
• To be a poet, you need to conceptualize your own thoughts and emotional responses to life events by adopting the written word in a creative manner. This should instigate the reader’s thought patterns and emotions so they are able to identify and share in the insight intended by the author.

We are very blessed that some of the biggest names in Entertainment , Business, VC funding, and Sports read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US, with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we both tag them :-)

Two people that have inspired me that I would love to meet in person are Van Morrison and Tina Turner.

I have appreciated Van Morrison’s music for many years and his lyrics have instigated my own thoughts and emotional journey in many ways, very much what I strive for in my own creative writing. Over many decades, Van Morrison has provided a wide variety of music that never seems to age. One of his old classics “Into the Mystic’ still stirs my soul but that is just one of many. Such classic lines as “Enlightenment, what is it anyway?” provoke my own thoughts in many ways.

I also hold great admiration and respect for Tina Turner, particularly for her strength and determination to evolve from an extremely dysfunctional life in her younger years and blossom in her own right as an artist and a person. By example, Tina has provided us with inspiration and belief that we can rise from the darkest of passages in life, if we believe we can.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

My work is available on the following online platforms:

Website: https://www.poetrybyrainier.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Rainier700

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Inner-Reflections-Poetry-by-Rainier-1440360086079896

All platforms are conveniently accessible via: https://linktr.ee/poetrybyrainier

Thank you for these excellent insights, and we greatly appreciate the time you spent. We wish you continued success.

My sincere thanks for providing me this opportunity to share some context about me and my personal views on poetry.