Where It All Began: Why Poetry is the Heart of My Storytelling

Poetry Is Where It All Began.

Today is World Poetry Day, and for me, it feels a little like honoring the place where my entire writing journey began.

Long before fictional novellas, characters, or story outlines, there were poems.

Finding Structure in Words

Poetry was where I first learned that words could carry weight. A single line could hold anger, hope, love, confusion, or pain. When life didn’t always make sense, poetry gave it structure. When emotions felt too big to explain, poetry made them speak.

I didn’t start writing with the intention of becoming an author. I started writing because poetry gave me somewhere to put the things I didn’t know how to say out loud.

The Foundation of Storytelling

What I didn’t realize then was that poetry was teaching me the foundation of storytelling:

• Rhythm.

• Emotion.

• Honesty.

• Economy of words.

Those lessons followed me into everything I write today.

Even now, when I’m working on novels and longer stories, the heart of my writing still feels like poetry. It’s still about capturing a moment, an emotion, or a truth and putting it into words that resonate with someone else.

The Purest Form of Expression

Poetry may not always get the spotlight in today’s fast-moving world, but it remains one of the purest forms of expression we have. It doesn’t require permission, a publishing deal, or even an audience. Just a pen, a thought, and the courage to put it on paper.

So today, on World Poetry Day, I’m grateful for the art form that started it all for me.

And if you’ve ever written a poem, even one that no one else has ever seen, then you know exactly what I mean.

—A.W. Collins