Rachel Winter Roth graduated from the University of South Florida in St. Petersburg with a Bachelor’s degree in English Writing Studies and a Certificate in Creative Writing. She writes for a lifestyle magazine in Cape Coral, Florida CapeStyle Magazine, as well as for the entertainment website “Fansided Hidden Remote”. Loves horror and wishes to spend eternity writing horror novels.

How does being a poet inform your views on expressing emotions through writing?

For me, writing was the only way I knew how to communicate with the world. I was an awkward child with Asperger’s and a stutter, I couldn’t make eye contact most of the time and couldn’t say more than three words without stuttering. I was embarrassed and felt alienated. Kids can be cruel and for them, someone who can’t talk right was downright hilarious.

Woman Motivational Quote Facebook Post(2).pngThe only way I could properly put my thoughts into words as if I wrote them down. It gave me a sense of confidence to see them reflected back to me on paper, something real and solid and permanent. It became my outlet for expression, a way to show my rage, fear, and pain; a safe place.

Why is love a worthier subject than erotica to write on?

Often, whenever there’s a piece of art, literature or film detailing a same-sex relationship, it appears in the form of erotica which I’ve always felt increases the outsider idea that all LGBTQ relationships are based solely on sex and nothing else. Stripping any relationship of its sexual circumstance puts them on ground zero and we’re able to look at everything else about them, the emotional connection and open intimacy.

Your poem was excellent, why did you choose this particular poem and what did you hope it would convey to readers?

I wrote “A Wolf” in my junior year of college during a severe depressive episode. It was during this time, when day and night began bleeding into one time, when I had no one to turn too, and when I thought my mind had melted down to nothing, that I began experiencing an identity crisis.

I was convinced that not only was I born in the wrong body but that I was born the wrong species. I believed that there had been a mix-up and I wasn’t meant to be who I was or even a human, or I thought that maybe I had been reincarnated one too many times and my other lifetimes were leaking through into the present one.

I wanted out but was too curious about what else life had to offer to commit suicide so instead, I started writing. It was the first time I really wrote anything other than a school assignment and to this day it’s my favorite work. I hope people will read it and if they feel the way I did, alone and ugly and unnatural, they’ll know that they aren’t alone.

Do you feel your voice is heard? Do you believe anthologies like this can help you be heard?

I believe anthologies makes it easier for more than once voice to be heard because it allows them to speak together in uniform. Of course, not everyone is the same, but they share a similar message that together, they can say louder and clearer.

What is the benefit that you can see for having poets of all ages from the youngest at 14 to the oldest at 87?

Such collections allow for different members of different communities to come together and share their experiences, instead of just waiting all by ourselves hoping someone will eventually listen to us. It’s an opportunity to be heard.

SMITTEN is coming out late October, 2019 via all good book stores. Published by Indie Blu(e) www.indieblu.net 

Please consider supporting this project of over 120+ talented poets and authors by purchasing a copy of SMITTEN for someone who appreciates beautiful poetry. https://www.facebook.com/SMITTENwomen/

 

9 Replies to “Poets of SMITTEN Series: Rachel Roth”

  1. I’m so glad you are here. One of the CORE CREW as far as I am concerned and a real friend. I do hope you will like SMITTEN I have put everything I have into it. Thank you again for your support. You are as good as it gets.

  2. Your dedication and heart are never in question. You put so much thought and soul into what you do, it would be impossible to go wrong. 💖 I feel like I’ve let so many people down. And I think I’ve reached a point where want to earn my place back again. But it’s still a little slow going.

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