We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Mel Sherrer. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Mel below.

Mel, appreciate you joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

I learned over a lifetime of both structured and independent education. I’ve been curious about poetry since the day I was introduced at a young age. That curiosity has driven me to push the boundaries of learning as it pertains to writing. I earned my master’s degree in poetry, but I feel as if I have done an equivalent amount of learning on my own in search of poetry and theory that satiates my curiosity.
To speed along the process of evolving my writing endeavors into a career, perhaps I could have attended more skill-based workshops and that could have been a catalyst for my thoughts on writing as a craft. I certainly could have read more, I feel like I could always read more and reading is an integral part of my learning process.
Over the years, the largest hurdle for me in learning the craft of writing was the financial challenge of higher education and the daily challenge of needing to diversifying ones writing craft in order to earn a living.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

First and foremost, I’m a poet. I write poetry, and I’m mostly indiscriminate when it comes to the avenue. I write poetry for publication, for meditation, for friends and family, for hired events, for workshops, for the community and for performance. It’s my most adored method to communicate my creativity.
I provide clients with the opportunity to get closer to their most authentic selves using writing. Whether it be poetry, memoir, fiction, or hybrid projects, I believe everyone has the potential to write something that can change lives, theirs and others. I aim to provide that “life-changing through writing” experience for each and every client. I also provide tailor-made curriculum for clients to ensure learners of all ages are achieving their educational goals.
I am proud to have clients who have used my expertise to accomplish a large range of writing dreams. No task is too big or small. Whether you want to finally start writing that memoir, become writing proficient for standardized testing, polish up that fiction story, generate new poetry, create a travel journal, whatever your creative dreams are, I know I can help.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My goal for my creative journey is to provide the world with a sense of diversity and evolution in the craft of writing. I want people to read my poems and feel refreshed, then learn from my methods and feel invigorated. Poetry is alive and well, but some of its practices, conventions, canon, theory are long dead. I want people to feel alive while writing and about their writing. My creativity goal, in short, is longevity, more life.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I had to unlearn perfectionism. When you spend your life in institutionalized learning and working systems you become accustomed to perfectionism and trying to work with the efficiency of a machine. That mindset is counter-intuitive, a detriment to true creativity. Once I began to accept the idea of failure, I began failing with intent and learning from those experiences. Learning to tolerate failure sharpened the concepts I was developing about both my writing and my business.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.MelSherrer.com
• Instagram: @MelSherrer_Poetry, @Mel.Sherrer
• Facebook: Mel Sherrer
• Twitter: @WayMore_Mel

Image Credits

Two head-shots provided by Melissa Jacks Photography