This question calls for complex answers on many levels, but here I will attempt to tackle the concept on its most basic level. My journey with this book began decades ago, in a high school classroom where a simple challenge from a teacher sparked a lifelong passion. When I presented a poem under a pseudonym to my classmates, AJ Streator was born and became a name that would forever serve to represent my creative and poetic voices. Though life led me into a demanding career far removed from the world of poetry, this creative outlet remained my quiet but persistent companion. While my professional alter ego has published a lifetime of works in periodicals and treaties throughout the Country, my shelves and desk drawers at home are filled with unpublished reflections and emotions.
It wasn’t until I faced a deeply personal and transformative experience, which is well-documented in my book, that the idea of publishing this collection truly took shape. This book of poems is not just a literary endeavor; it represents a cathartic journey through the complexities of my own human emotions. I chose the traditional Shakespearean sonnet form not out of nostalgia, but because of the discipline and structure it demands. Each sonnet adheres to the classic fourteen-line format, written in iambic pentameter with the ABAB CDCD EFEF GG rhyming scheme. Yet within this rigid framework, I explore themes that are raw, contemporary, and deeply personal but not necessarily unique to me. The book is autobiographical, fictional, creative, and therapeutic all at the same time. Indeed, some of the sonnets contained in Shallow to Deep took years for me to complete, while a few of them were composed in only minutes.
This book is a testament to the power of poetic form to contain and elevate emotional truth. While many modern poets have moved away from traditional structures, the constraints of the Shakespearean sonnet offer a unique space for creativity and introspection. The form challenged me to distill complex experiences into precise language, to find rhythm in pain, and to craft beauty from struggle.
I am excited to share this collection not only because it represents years of work, but because it presents an eyeglass into my own emotional journey in which I suspect readers may recognize echoes of in their own lives and experiences. Whether you are a lover of classical poetry or a seeker of emotional resonance, I hope these sonnets speak to you and that you can see a piece of yourself somewhere in their stanzas.
It wasn’t until I faced a deeply personal and transformative experience, which is well-documented in my book, that the idea of publishing this collection truly took shape. This book of poems is not just a literary endeavor; it represents a cathartic journey through the complexities of my own human emotions. I chose the traditional Shakespearean sonnet form not out of nostalgia, but because of the discipline and structure it demands. Each sonnet adheres to the classic fourteen-line format, written in iambic pentameter with the ABAB CDCD EFEF GG rhyming scheme. Yet within this rigid framework, I explore themes that are raw, contemporary, and deeply personal but not necessarily unique to me. The book is autobiographical, fictional, creative, and therapeutic all at the same time. Indeed, some of the sonnets contained in Shallow to Deep took years for me to complete, while a few of them were composed in only minutes.
This book is a testament to the power of poetic form to contain and elevate emotional truth. While many modern poets have moved away from traditional structures, the constraints of the Shakespearean sonnet offer a unique space for creativity and introspection. The form challenged me to distill complex experiences into precise language, to find rhythm in pain, and to craft beauty from struggle.
I am excited to share this collection not only because it represents years of work, but because it presents an eyeglass into my own emotional journey in which I suspect readers may recognize echoes of in their own lives and experiences. Whether you are a lover of classical poetry or a seeker of emotional resonance, I hope these sonnets speak to you and that you can see a piece of yourself somewhere in their stanzas.