The Boy Behind The Glasses Update – 5th August 2019

Update!

Firstly, thank you to those who continue to like my poetry and to those who follow TBBTG. I truly appreciate all who engage with my work.

TBBTG could have had the tagline of ‘Over 25 Years in The Making!’ because that is exactly what I am doing; I am taking all my writing from 1993/94 and uploading it. It’s an immense task that has already taken me on a journey filled with emotions and thoughts. There are challenges, not least of which is what to do with untitled or unfinished pieces. In fact, how do I know if something is finished? Then there is the challenge of how to present my work. I have made some changes since the last update, most notably including the date within the title. The date was always important to me; it marks when the poem was written, serves as a passage of time, and represents a moment in my life. Time is a common theme in my work, and you can see my slight obsession and fascination with it.

I have completed several writing pads, reviewing different points in my life through each pad. It’s interesting because I feel like I am developing or re-establishing a relationship with my older writing and the person who wrote it. I am encountering my younger self and having to accept them, even though, at times, I do not want to. The whole process of transcribing, even these few pads of work, has had a profound impact on me. I have realised that we experience so much in life. I am 44 now, and when I look back to when I was 20, I see that there has been so much life between those two points—so much laughter, sadness, tears, and so many people. It’s amazing to witness that journey. I also realise that my very early work, as awkward and simplistic as it may be, contains something that I have never quite captured in my later writing; an essence of youth and innocence leaps out of those early pieces. I receive a lot of likes for my early work, and I believe it’s because people sense that rawness and innocence, which has an undeniable appeal. My conclusion is that when you’re young, the sun shines very briefly and intensely before the light is gradually masked, and although the sun does shine again in our lives, it does so in different ways and moments.

I am rambling now—uploading as I go, rediscovering work, reading very personal and intimate situations from years ago. Sadly, I often can’t remember who the poems were about or what the context was. It saddens me that I feel somewhat excluded from my own work. I long to be closer to my thoughts at the time, to remember what I was really thinking, where I was, and what I was wearing.

I think the site looks better; I am still using the original written poems, complete with mistakes. I write quite quickly, and my aim has always been to capture the moment. I am not committed to spending a lot of time on a poem; I always want to capture the emotion or feeling. That is not to say I don’t edit, but I generally write something, leave it, let it ferment, and then return to see how I feel about it. I have looked at other poetry and writing blogs and am very impressed by those who write exceptionally well and create amazing poetry.

My plan for the next week is to continue uploading work. I don’t have immediate plans to change anything or make decisions regarding particular years. One pad I am currently transcribing is from mid-2012; this was a surprise when I read it because I lost my mum in January 2012. I knew I had written about this experience, but I had forgotten how raw it all was, and this batch of poems and writings had slipped my memory. As I mentioned earlier, it’s a journey of discovery for me, and you will see various parts of my life exposed and revealed.

You can follow me on Twitter; the feed is at the side of the page, or if you’re on a mobile device, it’s in the menu feed. You will also see the ‘top ten’ poems based on likes. I have committed to sharing one of those each day on Twitter and Facebook, which has been interesting. Inevitably, with writing and poetry, the pieces I like are not always the ones others appreciate, and vice versa. That’s a good thing, and it is fascinating to see what resonates with people in a piece of writing. I have been amazed and surprised by the popularity of some poems.

I have also reorganised my workspace, but more on that in the next update! For now, I will leave you with our cats giving their own opinions.

Thank you; I enjoy the interaction. Please continue liking, commenting, and being kind. Feel free to ask me any questions.

James 🙂