Ask the Author with Caitlin Tokar
TT: How long have you been writing? What interested you about it?
CT: I have been writing for a couple years now, about when the pandemic started. During lockdown I felt so low and writing was my way to express my feelings through characters that have experienced the same things as me. I then started diving into poetry, where I found my true passion.
TT: What inspired you to write this piece(s)?
CT: Smiling, but dying - Experiencing an abusive relationship is hard, especially finding the strength to leave. I wanted the words to express the emotions of being trapped in this deadly cycle. I decided to put the text in a Hallmark card format. When you look at the outside everything seems perfect, but when you finally take a look inside, you can see the monstrous things happening behind closed doors. When you open the card, flower petals fall out. I wanted them to look like “Forget me not” petals, but instead of them saying “He loves me,” they all say “He loves me not” to depict that he didn’t really love her.
TT: Is this similar or different to other things you’ve written? How so?
CT: It’s both, the poetry is similar to most of my work. The words are deep and evoke many emotions. However, the format is different from anything I’ve done before. I wanted to bring in the visuals by using a Valentine’s day card. Physically constructing the concrete poem was intricate and I’m so happy with how it turned out.
TT: Who is your favorite author or writer? What do you like about their work?
CT: My current favorite authors are Colleen Hoover and J. Bree. I love that I can pick up anyone of their books without reading the synopsis and absolutely love it. Their writing is so fresh and they both have such beautiful poetic language on every page!
TT: How long have you been writing? What interested you about it?
CT: I have been writing for a couple years now, about when the pandemic started. During lockdown I felt so low and writing was my way to express my feelings through characters that have experienced the same things as me. I then started diving into poetry, where I found my true passion.
TT: What inspired you to write this piece(s)?
CT: Smiling, but dying - Experiencing an abusive relationship is hard, especially finding the strength to leave. I wanted the words to express the emotions of being trapped in this deadly cycle. I decided to put the text in a Hallmark card format. When you look at the outside everything seems perfect, but when you finally take a look inside, you can see the monstrous things happening behind closed doors. When you open the card, flower petals fall out. I wanted them to look like “Forget me not” petals, but instead of them saying “He loves me,” they all say “He loves me not” to depict that he didn’t really love her.
TT: Is this similar or different to other things you’ve written? How so?
CT: It’s both, the poetry is similar to most of my work. The words are deep and evoke many emotions. However, the format is different from anything I’ve done before. I wanted to bring in the visuals by using a Valentine’s day card. Physically constructing the concrete poem was intricate and I’m so happy with how it turned out.
TT: Who is your favorite author or writer? What do you like about their work?
CT: My current favorite authors are Colleen Hoover and J. Bree. I love that I can pick up anyone of their books without reading the synopsis and absolutely love it. Their writing is so fresh and they both have such beautiful poetic language on every page!