Congratulations to PostFracture for having their following poem chosen for publication on Blank Canvas Post. The poem that follows is a truly wonderful exploration of the complexities of grief and loss. Please read the follow conversation between us at Blank Canvas Post and PostFracture to understand more about the writer and the context for this brilliant poem.
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Writer Spotlight: Post Fracture.
From Indonesia, currently living in Ireland, PostFracture has been writing on and off since college, having recently started taking it seriously again. Now, they find themselves to be writing more, and wanting to write even more.
What was it that made you want to start writing?
I was in a band that didn’t want to play cover songs. So we wrote our own. I was one of the contributors, and that’s where it started.
What experiences have you had that have shaped the writer you are today?
Being in a band taught me economy of words, every word had to earn its place in a song. Then came years of silence. When I started writing again, what came out were fragments, not full sentences. That silence shaped everything.
What genres are you writing at the moment? What genres do you enjoy writing?
Poetry and fiction. I write both with an ultra-minimalist, fragmentary style, and I enjoy the same. Anything that strips language down to its essential. Something simple, minimum, but deep.
What inspires you to write? Where do you take your inspiration from?
Experience and feeling itself. I need a medium to release it all. My inspiration comes from personal experiences, feelings, or anything that unsettles the mind, the heart, or both.
What does your writing process look like (e.g., environment, tools, setting)?
Ideas come anytime, anywhere. I capture them immediately in my notes, random and unsystematic. Emotions, feelings, memories, the pain, and life itself, all go in there. When I feel the urge to write, I go back to those notes and finish them one by one. No specific environment or setting. Just whenever and wherever it hits.
What do you envisage when you are writing something new? Are you writing with the intention of sharing your work, or are you simply writing to write, for example?
Everything comes from experience, emotion, or pain, whether from the past or the present. I write for myself first. Sharing comes later, when the piece has said what it needed to say.
Why do you think community is important for writers and creative people?
I’m not entirely convinced by the concept of community, because we are greedy and deeply selfish by nature. There are many who only want to take from a community and will leave once there is nothing left to take. What I think we need are people who are connected through feeling. That is what allows us to look out for each other without tearing each other apart. Maybe that is the kind of community you mean? If so, this is good, and I would be part of it.
Where do you currently share your work?
Currently on Substack. That’s where it lives for now.
Why did you submit your work to Blank Canvas Post? What drew you to our publication?
Some of my fragments needed a bigger room. Blank Canvas Post opened that door, so I took it.
About the Poem: Inhale.
Regarding Inhale, what inspired you to write this piece?
I wanted to write something that involved physical activity, not just the mind and emotions. The feeling of loss, or the presence of something we can no longer control, gave me enough inspiration to execute that idea.
I chose anaphora to deliver it, repeating the same line three times to build intensity, and I think it was the right decision to strengthen the message.
What is the context for this piece? What is the main feeling or message behind it?
I like things with multiple meanings. Inhale carries several. People can interpret it as loss, or as something that has grown too large to contain.
We often repeat our desires hoping they will become real. Or we keep naming something that has consumed us completely.
That is where the inspiration came from. It is fun to read, easy to digest, and carries a meaning that is wide open.
What was the process of writing this piece like for you? What did this process look like?
It started as a note, like everything else. Random and unsystematic.
I kept thinking of someone, always calling their name, in questions and in statements. The idea came from that feeling, something between longing and losing control.
I wrote the first line and repeated it, not because I planned to, but because it felt unfinished. That is when anaphora came in naturally.
Each line heavier than the one before. When I reached ‘I cannot hold on anymore,’ I knew it was done. The piece said what it needed to say.
Why did you choose to submit this piece specifically to Blank Canvas Post?
Mostly destiny. I came across Blank Canvas Post and something clicked. It felt right for this piece.
Inhale is not a fancy poem. It says what it says, simply and directly.
I felt Blank Canvas would understand that. And I felt this piece needed a bigger room.
Ps; Thank you Charlotte!
So, without further ado, here is Inhale, a poem by PostFracture.
Inhale by Post Fracture.
I spell your name… inhale.
I spell your name… inhale.
I spell your name… inhale again.
It is full.
I cannot hold on anymore.
—Postfracture
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I think it’s truly interesting how you’re inspired by writing songs. I feel like this is underrated sometimes because the need for every word to earn its place sets a completely different tone. Being able to sit comfortably with fewer words can feel at odds with what we’re taught as children and I feel like it takes a special skill to sit with that. I loved how physical the poem felt. It does a lot with so little.