Some nights you read words that resonate so deeply that you’re convinced they are as imbedded in you as your veins, your freckles, your pulse. This is what happened when I stumbled upon the poetry of Tyler Knott Gregson – author, photographer, poet, Buddhist. Something just clicked. It was equal parts comforting, calming, inspiring, and sexy. And he managed to do that thing where his words felt like they written just for me, but also left me needing to share them. A delicate balance, and double achievement. When asked, Tyler will tell you that he sees the world “with wide-eyed fascination and a Whitman-esque appreciation of nature, life, and the miracles in the mundane.” And while I wasn’t able to make it to Montana to pull up a chair with Tyler (and his two golden retrievers, Calvin & Hobbes), he was more than willing to share a bit about his process via this world wide web. Namaste, indeed.
Tyler’s Process
I believe that when it comes to writing, every writer does it for a different reason. Some write to create worlds they might not otherwise be able to live in, some live out past regrets and change the life they are living into the one they would have, and others do it for escape. For me, writing has always been something I have needed to do, just as much as wanted. Writing is a pressure release valve, a way to let out the things in me that feel crazy, that feel like too much, that feel like they fill me up and need to be let free. Because of this, writing has never been something I need to force myself to do, I follow no set hours, I don’t write at certain times. I’ve always felt that I am constantly inspired and words and lines come to me all throughout the day, writing has always just been a race to keep up, which makes the use of an antique typewriter that I have to use one key at a time, seem all the stranger. I think the juxtaposition of all these words needing to come out as fast as possible, and the need to go slow and watch them come to live tangibly with a typewriter has always just made me feel better. Balanced me.
I have been writing as long as I can remember, and it’s always been with me. Some writers write for their readers, for me, it’s always just been to get the words out, and let new ones take their places.
Photos via: Tyler Knott Gregson