What is poetry to you?

Poetry grounds me. It is an escape as much as a mirror of my thoughts and feelings, positive or negative. It helped me grow; it allows me to heal. Poetry is the lens I need to try to make sense of it all. Or to navigate the uncertainty, to say the least.

Tell me more about how you first experienced poetry.

The one time I recall that left a lasting impression on me was in high school, when I first read Baudelaire. His poem "Une charogne" from Les Fleurs du Mal echoed in me a déjà vu; I felt seen, understood. The beauty he extracts from the vulgar and the intensity he draws through words, with such elegance, left me hungry for more and strongly inspired my writing to this day.

What or who was it that inspired you to write poetry?

It certainly boils down to a mix of things, to life in its entirety, but I was journaling when I was younger, which eventually evolved into poetry in my early 20s. My background in Ancient Greek and Latin is probably the reason why I connected with poetry; I fell in love with Greek Mythology in my teenage years. And then, with Charles Baudelaire, Edgar Allan Poe, PJ Harvey, Patti Smith, Charles Bukowski, Sappho, Homer, Marguerite Yourcenar, Jim Morrison, Jean-Luc Godard, Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, Anne Sexton, Victor Hugo, among many, many, many more.

Is poetry a compulsive form of art for you?

Absolutely. And what a delightful disease it is! I choose when to write, but I must admit that most of the time, the muse calls me, viscerally reminding me to ink that paper in front of me.

When writing, do you prefer a laptop, your phone or a notebook?

All of the above. I write my poetry everywhere. At my desk, on the tube, on the bus, at a café, or in a wine bar. I try to have my notebook with me as much as possible, but sometimes my phone replaces it for functionality. I always retranscribe my digital writing into my notebook, though. It forces me to proofread, review, and edit. Plus, it’s just nicer to have it on paper.

Do you have a workspace? Or are you happy to work anywhere? If you have a workspace, could you tell me about it.

I live at my desk. It is a sacred place; my cathedral of joy and sorrow. I love staring outside my window, while sipping my coffee or wine, depending on the time. I know, it's very cliché, but I don’t care. They’re clichés for a reason. I curate a picture wall above my desk; it inspires me to create and live my reality through art, photography, cinema and literature.

**With one of our cats, Pippa. She always keeps me company when I write or create collages.**

Are you a lone wolf when it comes to your poetry or do you actively get involved in a community?

I enjoy my solitude a lot. Sometimes, too much. So, I try to push myself out of my comfort zone by attending open mic events. I always have a beautiful time and leave inspired, excited to see how other creatives approach poetry and offer a different perspective to look at the world. I do think that writing and reading poetry is a very intimate experience though.

Do you have any recommendations for our readers?

Look up. I’m guilty of staring at my phone on the move as much as everyone else, but I always make a conscious effort to look up. Especially in London, all the details you might miss on your way would be a shame. Other than that, here are a few things that I deeply connected with so far:

Melancholy by F. László Földényi (2016)

The Tree of Life by Terrence Malick (2011)

Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985) by Paul Schrader

Remède à la mélancolie par Eva Bester

THE RED HAND FILES by Nick Cave

The Poetry Pharmacy

William Blake: On Vision’s Wings series on Creative Codex by MJ Dorian