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Patricia Smekal: After spending many years in Australia, Pat returned with her husband to her native west coast and retired on Vancouver Island. She has since studied poetry at the Victoria School of Writing, facilitated poetry courses for Malaspina Elder College, and become an enthusiastic participant in Patrick Lane’s master classes. Pat strongly believes poetry should be read aloud, and is a frequent reader at WordStorm, a spoken-word event in Nanaimo. Her poetry has appeared in various anthologies and magazines, and has won a number of prizes across Canada.
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I love stories told in poetry, concrete images that raise thought to larger issues, and
uncommon ways of stating the common. Because I delight in the sounds of syllables and words working along
with rhythm and cadence, I try to bring this kind of music to my poetry. My process? I don’t have any particular
‘method’. Inspiration often comes from strong emotion which has arisen from personal experience or from something
I have witnessed. The words come and come — always too many. I do a lot of chopping!
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My home is situated in an area called Beachcomber. As the name suggests, the properties here are in a semi-rural setting,
beside the sea. Our front windows look out upon a stunning vista of an ocean bay, backed by mountains. Sea lions, seals
and otters may be seen off our waterfront, eagles often perch in the fir trees, and white-tailed deer love to eat
whatever we try to grow in our garden!
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Mt Arrowsmith from Pat's Deck
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Hollow Tree on Hornby Island
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Sunset from Pat's Deck
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WRITING EXCERPTS FROM ONE SWEET RIDE
Mt. Arrowsmith has no sense of humour.
It hunches its shoulders,
refuses
to be frivolous,
glowers down,
unamused.
- From: “The sun and wind are hilarious today.”
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