Renée M. Sgroi, poet

Do you remember when you were a kid, and you thought about what you were going to “be” when you grew up?

Maybe you wanted to be an astronaut, or a doctor, or a veterinarian. Me? I always wanted to be a writer.

But the question so many writers ask themselves is: am I really a writer? For the writer who hasn’t yet published that first poem, that first short story, novel or article, are they not a writer because they haven’t published? Or can a person call themselves a writer because they spend time writing?

It’s a question that has been around for a long time.

I’ve always been a writer. Always wanted to be, always saw myself as one.

What I didn’t necessarily see myself as was a poet.

Even though I’ve published several poems over the last few years, I’ve still not necessarily seen myself as a poet. A writer, yes. But a poet?

I guess that all has to change now.

Earlier this year, I entered a poetry contest, and out of thousands of submissions, my work was chosen as the runner-up in the 2020 erbacce poetry prize. As a result, I’m very pleased to announce that my first book of poetry, life print, in points is now available from erbacce-press.

Does this mean that I wasn’t a “real” poet before, because I hadn’t published a book of poetry? Absolutely not! But it does mean that my own journey of being and seeing myself as both a writer and a poet has been a long time coming.

And so, yes, I’m (and have been!) a poet, which means, of course, I’m also a writer.

How will you define yourself as you move through your journey? Follow my blog and join in the discussion!