- When did you start writing poetry?
I can remember sitting, listening to my father read poems from Poe and from a BIG poetry collection he owned. While I do not know my exact age, I have always used writing as a tool to express my emotion. It was my way of escaping introverted sensibilities. My earliest memory of writing an actual poem was around my early teens. The poem was entitled The Neverending Silence, and I still have that handwritten poem on a sheet of old notebook paper. I continued writing into adulthood and now have 3 books available and have published 100's of other talented poets. My latest publication, In The Company Of Women: An Anthology of Sass & Class will be available in the coming months which includes 47 contributors from 10 different countries and just over 100 pieces of literature total.

- What made you decide to become a professional poet?
I am not so sure it was a decision at all. Meaning, I didn’t find poetry, it found me. I have certainly suffered and fought bouts of self doubt, but poetry is a way of breathing for me. Truly any success I experience is in connecting with an audience. I tend to express my emotion from a more lyrical fountain, or abstract vernacular and perhaps some may argue that it makes my work somewhat less tangible than the work of many local or modern poets...but it is my voice all the same, it is very intuitive, I want to weave the world into song. It is so fulfilling when readers really respond to your work and understand that there is an art to words and language that can either heal or destroy and it is always better to heal. I have even had fellow poets recite me back excerpts after hearing me read (such as at the 2011 100 Thousand Poets for Change 2011) and that has been an exceptional gift and honor.

- Where have you shown your poems?
All my books are available on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Apryl-Skies/e/B002ZK2MJK/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1328546419&sr=8-1 I have been a featured reader at the Cobalt Café, Writer’s Row and Soapbox Poets. My journalism, essays and poems have been published in England, Ireland and Australia, The International Library of Poetry as well as in U.S. journals including Poetry Super Highway, Botticelli's Literary Magazine, H Style Magazine, ModelPoetry.com, The Juice Bar, Beyond the Bookshelf, Calliope's Closet and my personal poetry website EdgarAllanpoet.com. My poem That Whiskey Blue Sway was nominated for Best Poem of the Year by Muses Review in 2010. In addition, my children's poetry & film anthology won the 2010 Gold Pixie award by the American Pixel Academy. I am the Sherman Oaks Poetry Examiner and to follow my articles on many of the talented local poets of Los Angeles utilize the following link: http://www.examiner.com/poetry-in-los-angeles/apryl-skies .

You can also find me on facebook @ www.facebook.com/edgarallanpoet and YouTube http://www.youtube.com/user/edgarallanpoetess?feature=watch

- What advice would you give other poets trying to get published?
My advice is: do not be lazy, make sure you proofread your work. Give your work the benefit of your own hard work. Always read your work aloud, this allows for any awkward line structures to rear their nasty heads. Also, make sure to do research on the quality and style of work these journals are publishing, i.e. don't bring veal kabobs to a vegan party! LOL. Be in touch with your work and the needs of these journals to be current, they want work that is going to resonate with the time and feel of their outfit...and always be humble. Having an interesting and unique bio is also a priceless benefit many poets do not put a lot of thought into.

- What do you find most fascinating about being a poet
What I find most fascinating is the irony of being an artist, writer, poet or filmmaker is that often it isn't what we say that has the impact, but what we leave to mystery~

-I hear you have a new book coming out in the next few weeks, can you tell us more about it?
Yes absolutely, I am thrilled with Edgar & Lenore’s first anthology. It is entitled In The Company Of Women: An anthology of Wit & Wisdom, Sass & Class and is an international publication. We have just under 50 women writers from 10 different countries and just over 100 pieces of literature including poetry, memoir, and short fiction. The book explores the ups and downs of the female dynamic and the effect of those relationships. A few excerpts...

“The elephant in the room
is armed with breastplates
Each time a woman’s name is called
we hurl our collective breath” ~Barbara Moore

“And whether we cover our hallowed heads
with burqa, babushka, or bandana, or let
straight or frizzy hair fly loosely bare
in breeze, we honour bond of birth and bone.
For blessèd blood of universal Oneness
circulates in sacred course through varied veins.” ~Carol Knepper

The book Introduction tells All:

“I am a story…” Cklara Moradian

IN THE COMPANY OF WOMEN broke the mold right out the poetic gate… a collection of carefully selected poetry, short story and memoir with so many facets, this body of work seems almost difficult to define.

From suburban backgrounds to groundbreaking histories of the oppressed; this colorful anthology reveals personal truths by women of yesterday, today and tomorrow. The literature contained within contradicts the conception of feminine frailty with simple beauty, complex emotion and the catharsis of survival and sustenance. Every woman is a story and whether dynamic, humorous or tragic, this collection is an intimate look at relationships between women, female bonds and the effect of these interactions upon their lives and complicated sensibilities.

This is not exclusively a tribute to a mother’s love, sister bonds or close friendships between women, but rather a testament of strength, experience and humor hidden in the awkward moments of realization, the epiphany of cyclic change or the confrontation toward what many women feel helpless to change. There is hope and tragedy in truth, beauty and wisdom in experience and this balance is the essence of what defines our histories.

Within this archive, writers Gloria Wimberley and Apryl Skies approach their experience with whimsy, hope and compassion, while writer Alicia Winski reigns as Queen of Brutal Honesty, delivering an abrupt literary snakebite. Wanda Morrow Clevenger, a refreshing dose of sagacity and poetic undertone is always unique, brimming with nostalgia and creativity. Writer Barbara Moore is always a bullet into fruit; taking a poignant approach to the poetic path, never a dull blade. Cklara Moradian; a human rights activist, urges us all to live by peaceful means and grander intention. Cklara is a young spirit who has broken through the confines of human cruelty. Each of these voices, along with the many others included, welcome you to experience the many journeys shared within.