Mapping the Artist: Beverly M. Collins

Beverly Collins and Kathabela Wilson.

An interview with Beverly M. Collins, a passionate, songful poet who takes life lightly, engaging her listeners with all she has learned from the difficulties of life. Her questioning gives soothing strength and insight.

By Kathabela Wilson

A microscope on the poet

How did your poetry begin, what made you a poet?

My Mom died suddenly in her sleep in Summer of 2003 just a few weeks prior to leaving for a cruise. She had been shopping in preparation for it. Her sudden death and the very painful fighting that immediately broke out among my family members brought me to poetry. During that time I wrote my first poem, “Puppy”. I wanted to turn it into a song but could not get any melody to form, only the words. That was the start for my poetry writing. It went like this:

Puppy

Am I a grown woman or a little girl?
Am I just a puppy
in a dog-eat-dog world? Where did it go?
The zest for tomorrows to come.
Where something good was just around the
corner…maybe.
A dark lens, my mind’s eye looks through.
The light of the world-a distant hue.
Thought I had a grasp.
Thought I had a hold.
Thought I was a believer of
the things I’ve been told.
Thought I was at peace.
Thought I was so sure.
Think I know much less
than five years before.
Am I a grown woman or a little girl?
Am I just a puppy
in a dog-eat-dog world?

A telescope on the poet

Carrying on from that sudden beginning, what has become the focus of your writing?

I began to recall details and incidents in my childhood.​ Once, as a child, I was riding my bike in the street and ran into a bread truck. I can still clearly remember how the street smelled when I fell on it, how warm it felt and how I was afraid to be on anything with wheels for a long while after. Now years later, I can become inspired just by people watching while I’m stopped in traffic. The expression on other people’s faces makes you wonder what their back story is. Why they are laughing or why they frown?

I question life a lot in my writing. Why do human beings get a thrill out of hurting others? Why do we choose painful paths like moth to flame. I like my funny poems the most. I believe to take life lighter is better for your health.

A compass on the poet

I know you are intuitive, emotional, and love life, what were your passions before poetry?

My primary focus (for years) was music. My sister Carol and I sang together with such artists as Taana Gardner who was one of my childhood friends, Dance artist Alisha, and recorded demos with Jazz artist Nils Jiptner etc, singing in clubs..those were great times. I still love music. I believe singing is medicine for the soul. Even if you don’t like your singing voice you should still sing along with songs that you love. Don’t worry about how you sound.

Pulse of the poet

What inspires your poetry and who has influenced?

I am most inspired when I am trying to sleep. I have to keep getting up to write down the ideas that come to me so that I don’t lose them.

My sister, Deborah that used to read to me all the time when I was little. I’m so grateful to her for that. Now, I’ve joined the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and I am pursuing my interest in writing picture books for young children. My Stepfather, Raymond made such an impact on my life. He was fun to be around and so kind. I was safe in talking to him about anything. I know I would be a more angry, cynical woman had I not spent those years being influenced by him. He did a million small things that were thoughtful and heartwarming. I don’t think I could live long enough to pay-it-forward. I have a piece in my upcoming book about him called, “Lessons from Raymond.”

I love, love, love time spent with one of my close family members who has autism. I’m moved by how sharp their focus is on what they want and how little time they spend thinking about things they do not like. It is (to me) a better way to spend your time then griping about issues that honestly you can not change. It is a great reminder for me.

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> You can order Beverly’s first book, “Quiet Observations,” on Amazon.