The New Age | Emery Allen
Meet Emery Allen.
Nature lover, daydreamer, and writer in a new generation of truth seekers.
I feel most at home on the banks of the river I grew up swimming in. It is the most sacred place to me. When I was little I'd pick up smooth white stones and throw them behind me into the water. I'd make a wish as they left my hand, and if I didn't see where they landed I believed the wish would come true. I go there now to be with myself, with nature, to let things go, to get closer to the core of me. That is home.
How has poetry shaped your way of being?
Poetry is something that I just fell into without meaning to, without knowing how I did it. I still don't feel right calling myself a poet. I have always written. Journaling is what I do. Every piece of writing that comes out of me has stemmed from journaling in one way or another. Everything I write is written to understand myself more, to get deeper into my soul and try to know it.
A lot of the pieces I have published I don't really consider poetry. The longer pieces, yes. But not the short ones. To me, those are small reminders. They are quick things we read to help us get closer to ourselves in a more honest and loving way. All of my writing is one long conversation.
Having genuine connections with people brings me the most joy in life. Witnessing people existing together brings me the most joy in life. I love when I am out in the world and a stranger approaches me and we have a real conversation then never see each other again. I feel that we are our most vulnerable with people are closest with and people we have one time encounters with.
Most influential writers/poets?
E.E. Cummings has been my favorite poet since I first read his poem "you being in love" when I was in middle school. Still when I read that poem I feel it deep in my heart. But more than reading poetry, I Iove to read the things that were not written for me to read. Diaries, letters. The most honest, vulnerable, raw parts of people. Anaïs Nin and Frida Kahlo's diaries are books I will always cherish.
Jack Kerouac wrote the most beautiful letter to his ex wife while he was sitting under a pine tree in the moonlight. It is one of my favorites. I think I love those so much because I connect to what they're saying and it's real, they're real. It's one thing to be moved by fiction but to be moved by a diary entry or a paragraph of a letter means so much more to me.
It's like lifting the veils, taking the masks off. I get to understand and feel understood. The realness of it makes me feel less alone, like, "Wow, you feel this too? You think about this too?" Sometimes their conclusions about their own lives are conclusions I had been hoping to find for my own. I love getting glimpses into others' lives across time, confirming the humanity in us all.
"I love when I am out in the world and a stranger approaches me and we have a real conversation then never see each other again. I feel that we are our most vulnerable with people are closest with and people we have one time encounters with."
What song makes you unconditionally happy?
Don't Worry Baby by The Beach Boys
What feels like love to you?
Love feels like the warmth of the sun on my skin, being moved slowly by a river I'm submerged in, flowers blooming in my chest, being cracked open and filled with light. And when it's real good, it feels like easy bravery, gentleness, like the child in you laughing.
One thing about you that surprises people?
I'm a tougher person than people realize.
Words to live by
Follow Emery's journey here
Photos provided by Emery Allen
 |
