[Nick McRae]

A little background, I've been writing poetry somewhat consistently since 2012. In 2014 and 2017 I put together two non-serious books, and in 2020 took a stab at putting together a more serious work. Not to sell, more as a compilation for my own poetry collection.

When I started the project it was primarily just for fun, something to do, but as I continued it took on a life of it's own, and the finished product ended up being pretty cool.

But what I didn't anticipate at the beginning was how much the project would teach me. About writing poetry, about publishing, about the act of being a poet, and in some ways about people themselves.

That's all intentionally vague as I want to use it as a lead-in for this discussion, rather than spelling out my experiences straight-away.

I'm curious what you've learned from being a poet. Not necessarily about writing poetry itself, but it could be that. More generally, how the act of being a writer and engaging with the genre has affected you.