Finding passion for poetry
BOOKS: Barrie author celebrates first published book
Posted By NICKI CRUICKSHANK
Posted 2 months ago
When Craig Sawyer puts pen to paper, poems of his whole life spill out onto the page.
After three decades and a soul-searching trip out west, he had enough material to write a book -- a dream he'd had all his life.
"This has been a goal of mine since I was a child," said the Barrie native, his eyes wide with excitement. "I didn't want to be 70 and look back and say, 'Why didn't I write one?'"
Sawyer has published his first book of poetry, Semantic Spaces, which hit store shelves two weeks ago.
The book is a compilation of poems he wrote about living 10 years on the West Coast, and the rebirth he felt during his time there.
"I did a lot of experimental living in that time, and my main reason for going was because of what I was writing. I wanted to live out what I was writing about in my poems."
Living in remote areas in British Columbia, and one full year on the Gulf Islands, Sawyer had the isolation and quietness he wanted to really focus on his writing.
"All the poems are about living life on the coast and the circumstances surrounding some of the darkness of my past," Sawyer said. "In one poem, I talk about how your focus on life becomes your reality. Here I was, focused on publishing my work, and now it's finally happened."
In the biography section of Semantic Spaces, Sawyer refers to that darkness in his life -- being a childhood victim of sexual abuse -- and how he ran from those feelings and couldn't find true happiness in life. That all changed when he discovered his passion for poetry writing.
"I think my past circumstances are very current to what's still happening in society today," he said. "This book is something a lot of people can understand.
"Believe me, every time I look through this book, I'm very happy with the finished product," Sawyer added. "It's an amazing feeling, and I know I was meant to do this because I feel so alive when I write."
After a decade, Sawyer moved back to hometown Barrie, where his family still resides. It was then, with a notepad-full of inspiration and a nudge from friend and intuitive author, Deborah Johnson, that he set out to publish his book earlier this year.
"Deborah met with me when I came back, and she really planted the seed in me to do this," Sawyer said. "It was already there inside of me, but she pulled it out of me. She saw my first copy of my manuscript.
"But I was under the naive impression it would only take two months to get a book published.
"It took me nearly eight months to do it," he added. "I spoke with a few local authors who said even that was pretty lucky. They said it can be 18 to 24 months before you see your work published."
Sawyer said publishing his book took every cent he had and he finally signed on with Ontario company Soul Asylum Poetry and Publishing Inc.
"That moment when they were reading through my work and said, 'You're ready to be published,' was the greatest moment for me," Sawyer said, leafing through his book's pages. "It's a humble beginning for me. It's not some 500-page book. But it's taking poetry in a different direction and there's a strong sense of voice in the poetry."
Sawyer held a book tour of poetry readings in the summer to promote the book.
It was released in the U. S. in late October, and now that it's hit the shelves of Page and Turner's bookstore in Barrie, Barnes and Noble.com and Amazon.com, he's ready to celebrate.
The official book launch for Semantic Spaces will be Dec. 9 at The Flying Monkeys Brewery (upstairs) at 7 p. m. Sawyer will be on-hand to sign copies of his book.
"I'll also be giving a reading that night," he said.
The Barrie author already has two other projects in the works. His second piece, The Hermit's Door, is a creative non-fiction book comprised of true stories of the past decade of Sawyer's life.
That book is currently being published, and Sawyer already has a good jump on his third book, The Road to Allure.
ncruickshank
@ thebarrieexaminer.com
