CLippa nominated poet John Lyons grew up in Trinidad in the 1930s and 40s where singing and tellings stories were as natural a part of his life as breathing. Now in his 80s, here’s why music still helps him go with flow and might help you too
Music is the beating heart of my poetry. The sound of words in a certain order gives rhythm to my poems; it is a way of expressing emotions, feelings, thoughts and ideas about what is happening around me.
As a child in Trinidad singing and telling stories were as natural a part of my life as breathing. Long before I grew to love the beauty of language in poetry, I enjoyed its rhythm of music in storytelling. Those stories were about folklore characters and jumbies (ghosts); and often accompanied with song. My imagination went wild, making these stories heart-thumpingly scarier and scarier. Looking back, I suppose, it was then the seed that linked poetry and music was planted in my mind.
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