We were lucky to catch up with Scarlett Ripberger recently and have shared our conversation below.
Scarlett, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What sort of legacy are you hoping to build. What do you think people will say about you after you are gone, what do you hope to be remembered for?
We all have the desire to be remembered personally, my desire is to have my poetry out in the world for others. My poetry is full of experiences good and bad, and I struggled to find words that represented how I felt during the loss of my mother. I felt like there was plenty of poetry about flowers and love but not enough of grief. I had always been a poet but never shared any of it with the world. In my time of need, I realized that my words could help others in their healing journeys. I believe my story and my poetry will be my legacy. The feeling of not being alone, especially in times of grief, is so important. I wanted to tell my story so completing my book was important to me and important to others who have found comfort in my words and in my journey.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I’ve been a writer for as long as I can remember. It wasn’t until I suffered a tragic loss that I decided to share my poetry with the world in the hopes that my work could help others in their healing journeys. I want people to know that the art of poetry isn’t dead its very much alive and It’s not your grandparent’s poetry. We have such a large community of writers on social media platforms, and it’s become a hub for creatives to gather and show off their work. I can be found on almost all platforms and will be releasing my debut book in 2024 which can be found on Amazon. (My publisher Octave Eight Publishing) There is a little something in it for everyone. My book Footsteps of Life A Journey into a Chaotic Mind takes you into my thoughts as I conquer all aspects of life. Please follow my page or Octave Eight Publishing for more details on the release date of my book in 2024.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The most rewarding thing to me as a writer/ poet is knowing that my words can heal and connect with others. It’s important for creatives to know that our art is physically ours but once we set it free into the world it takes on whatever form the interpreters needs it to be or mean to them personally. I love the idea that my words can mean one thing to me and something entirely different to someone else.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
They say death comes in threes in 2018-2019 I didn’t realize how true that statement was. I unexpectedly lost my mother then my nephew and then my childhood best friend. I was in an extremely dark place they call this compacted grief and I felt lost in life. Life has a way of giving and taking back. On mother’s day 9 months after losing my mom I found out I was going to be a mom. I struggled a daughter needs her mother after all especially with all the unknowns of motherhood. I had my child in 2020 2 months before the entire world shut down (covid-19). Here I was a new mom, still grieving, in total lockdown with only my partner to enjoy my child growing and learning. I struggled with PPD mixed with grief and in this little box it became a powder keg of emotions. I look back at this time in a fog. I had people tell me how strong I was but I didn’t feel strong. If it weren’t for my writing and the community of motherless mothers online I would never be where I am today. Though I always wrote poetry it wasn’t until this moment that I realized my words could help other mothers and daughters my words could help anyone grieving and healing. I knew I wanted to share my work and compile my book so others knew they weren’t alone.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/scarlett.lea.poet
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/scarlett_lea_poet/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y%3D
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/scarlettleapoet/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/scarlettleapoet?s=21&t=SeRhIiXE_-5f4EUC3iLKxQ
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@scarlettripberger631
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@scarlett_lea_poet?_t=8WCHctgqbte&_r=1
Image Credits
https://www.canva.com/ used for poetry images