Ash Douglas - National Poetry Month

First, let me thank you for reading some of my ‘works of heart,’ as I call them. No better place than right here at Micromance Magazine. To this day, it amazes me that people from all over the world not only have read my poetry, my writing, but have spoken very kindly and highly of it. And what’s even more amazing is being featured like this on such a beautiful platform. That is the payoff of writing.

When I started to share my work many years ago (around 2008) it was a tip-toe sort of situation as I was very protective and shy about my own written word. The poems I had collected and transcribed in my paperback journals were mine and private to me. But the more and more I began to share, the more and more confident I became, and now nothing can hold me back from hitting the publish button on my blog. My position on that is everyone has a story and we should all share what’s deep down inside of us. Don’t hold back.

Ash shares his writing process:

To pull back a few layers of Ash the Poet, there is one thing that gets asked of me almost everyday and that is why I write. My answer is, I don’t write, I emote. My emotions just happen, and I react, and then I share what comes out. Comparable to an out of body experience.

I never sit down to write poetry. That's too forced and not raw enough for me. Rather, I immerse myself into the world in search of triggers and keys to unlock my soul beneath. When I do, my poems are the result. It is very seldom that I must fix or tweak anything I write because when I finish my process it is in its truest form, just the way I want it to be, and the way it’s supposed to be.

Ash shares some of his inspiration and shows us one of his favorite examples of the results of that inspiration:

I grew up in a small town - Harbour Breton - in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, and grew up with my grandparents. Those two things alone have contributed to some of my best poetry. The poem below is an example of how much my grandparents mean to me and captures the essence of what it was like growing up in a small rural fishing outport on the island with them as my mom and dad:

Ash shares his best advice for other writers:

If I could share some words of encouragement with fellow writers and the new writers out there, it would be to fully immerse yourself into a moment. It does not have to be subject to writing, but anywhere and anytime. Because when you do, you create memories and experiences that seep into the fibres of your heart. Two essential ingredients of where poetry is born in my opinion.

Same advice for writer’s block - put down the pen, close the laptop, and go find that inspiration. Be open to the universe and it will guide your stories and allow us to see the world through your eyes.

I never knew that once I channeled my thoughts, feelings, and emotions to the world around me that I would gain the power to preserve and describe life through my eyes from my unique perspective. And not just for myself, but for the whole world, now and forever.

I don’t claim to be a great writer, but I am enjoying the journey to becoming one.

In closing…

Below are two quotes I will leave you with that pretty much dictate how I feel about being a writer, and how I feel about each and every writer I happen upon.

Life Poetic

The purpose of my soul is to share it. – Ash

Read What You Sow

My writing has grown with help from the seasoned. Their words and stories are like seeds left to bloom in the garden of my own imagination. – Ash

💕 💕 💕 💕 💕 💕

More about Ash:

Ash Douglas is an esteemed writer and a passionate poet whose evocative works have been published in a variety of lit mags, including Spillwords Press, Dear Booze, Short Story Lovers, Micromance Magazine, as well as in Literary Revelations' best-selling anthology, Petals of Haiku, with future “appearances” scheduled in upcoming anthologies by Literary Revelations and Micromance Magazine. He has been nominated for The Pushcart Prize, and was the 2025 winner of The Cupid Prize for Excellence in Love Lit for Poetry.