Incongruent

Pilot - What Rhymes, with Dhanyatha - special guest, Ann Boothello

August 18, 2020 Ann Boothello Season 1
Incongruent
Pilot - What Rhymes, with Dhanyatha - special guest, Ann Boothello
Show Notes Transcript


Intro music: www.bensound.com.

Listen to the poetic sounds flowing through your heart, Follow your dreams with these thoughts. Ann Boothello, an artist in the making talks about her story of poetry writing and writing in general, with detailed thoughts and answers to keep you on the edge of your seat. She also has her podcast called Poetic Flow, links in the description down below, Tune in and listen to the magical world of poetry with Dhanyatha in the first episode of What Rhymes...With Dhanyatha co-hosted by Imnah. 

https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/poetic-flow-ann-boothello-0SMTgzeY1vB/
(Poetic Flow Podcasts by Ann Boothello.)   

Dhan :

Welcome to the Incongruent plus episode. What Rhymes, with Dhanyetta? I'm your host, Dhanyetta, here with your co host Imnah. And today we are joined by Ann Boothello who is working on the concept of developing the economic stability and the artist community. Ann is here to talk about poetry our topic for today. Thank you for joining us, Ann how are you?

Ann Boothello :

I'm very good. Thank you for having me Dhan. And Imnah, who I'm meeting, I'm meeting both of you for the first time.

Imnah :

Yeah, it's good to be here, Dhan. And it's great to meet you Ann. That rhymes, we've found out what rhymes with Dhan!

Ann Boothello :

We are ready. We're in flow already.

Dhan :

Yeah. All right. So I'm going to be asking you a few questions based on poetry. And like every normal interview asked, we're gonna talk about when did you start poetry and why?

Ann Boothello :

Well, I've always loved creative writing, and I've been doing it since I was a kid. My early creative writing was more in the line of murder mysteries and FBI cases and it's a little dark I used to, I used to like writing about, you know, just just cases to solve Sherlock Holmes style, and anything really mystical and magical. So my imagination was always kind of flowing as a child. And I think most children have that and they take it out in different creative forms. Poetry specifically has come to me in bits and bobs throughout my life, but I think it was in my 30s that I actually just amplified it. It was my outlet. I found it to be the best way for me to express whatever it is, I strongly felt whether it was good or bad. So I would say the last six, seven years have been more intense in in regard to actually writing in a way that rhymes, so more attuned with poetry. But then my definition of poetry is really the use of words to describe emotion. So it doesn't really matter if it rhymes or not. It matters if there's a story behind it. So, um, where do you get your inspiration to write poetry? I don't think you really get it. You don't go out there to try and find it. It. It comes to you. It's like the little downloads. It's this burst of words that are just sitting in you that just want to pour out because they've been contained for for a while. It's a buildup of emotions in any way. It doesn't necessarily need to be a personal situation may be something that I've dived into in regards to learning about something new. And I feel like this would be so cool to just write about it. I don't look for inspiration when it comes to poetry I feel like it's authentically finds me and I feel like people who like to write, that's what happens. It just flows through them. You're it's almost like you're a channel for whatever inspiration is coming to you because you've actually accumulated a certain amount of experience either emotionally or from a knowledge perspective that you want to pour out in the form of words.

Imnah :

Going back to a set about your early years of death and murder mystery, that was very interesting to me. I never pegged children for people to think of murder mysteries, you must have been a really creative child. So why don't you tell us a little bit about like, where exactly that came from? Was this show you us the story you heard? How did that really begin?

Ann Boothello :

Yeah, I think it was. It was shows I did watch and I was always drawn to series that just had me thinking about what the what was actually happening. Anything that kind of challenged my mind. I liked to try and find out what was happening. So I'd be that annoying kid at one point. There was a phase in my life where that's happening next. Oh, that's happening next you know that that was that was just me I like to solve things so I think it came from that and I wouldn't say it was very dark I almost thought it very heroic. I love Marvel I loved comics, I love to, you know, Tintin and Archie and all these kind of, even though those are more Tintin was kind of like that, like it was solving cases and they were always on the go as a comic. So for me anything that kind of got my mind to, to tick or even get an audience to wonder what was happening next through my writing was fun for me to write about.

Dhan :

So what is your most to least favourite genre to write about?

Ann Boothello :

Do you know, I don't have I wouldn't say there's a least favourite genre I would say I just write what I like to write. So it's not that I don't like any other genre. It's just that this is what resonates with me. So I write about it and the things I write about our life like bitesize bite sized pieces on life, love, hate, you know, sadness, anger, emotions. And besides that, it's about things that I'm learning about. So things that I feel that people should also be people who are drawn to it will find me this is what I believe I don't believe anyone needs to really know anything that I'm knowing unless they feel it, they're going to resonate with me as an artist, and they're going to hear it. So the topics that I'm actually very deeply vested into is eco consciousness, and well being, sustainability technology, exponential technology, what's happening in regard to AI versus our own human technology. So besides love and life and hate and sadness, and all these emotions that the human experiences, I also love to tie that into what is happening in regard to innovation in this world. So that's how I kind of merge the two.

Dhan :

That's very new to me because I have never heard about, like anyone writing about AI in poetry as such.

Ann Boothello :

Yeah. I feel like there's a right now. I mean, there are there are so many storytellers out there. I mean, the The truth is that the internet is flooded with people who are part of what is called a knowledge economy. And there's so much sharing that attention is so sacred, there is that this is a quote by someone I deeply admire. His name is Tristan Harris and he actually founded a company called humane technology. And what he looks at is the fact that us in an our time right now, especially with the lockdown. You know, we we are being bombarded with so many messages online, so many things that are coming our way. And a lot of time it's even bias because what's happening on these social platforms is you're getting content that you're used to seeing. So you keep saying seeing the same content, but from different people, and you're almost building stronger biases towards something that you initially believed in. So what what I have been diving into and what I like to share through poetry, which is more of a more artistic, flowing form of communicating with someone rather than, you know, sharing the course or sharing, sharing it through keynote is, well, what are you going to put your attention to, given that there's so much being thrown our way and this is why consciousness is a big part of it. Also emotions at a time like this, which is tied into how we can actually elevate our consciousness.

Imnah :

Maybe On that note, desktop what you've been working on recently what's got your attention?

Ann Boothello :

I mean, I have a podcast called Poetic Flow and it's more my creative outlet. I just I do spoken words whenever I feel like so. It Yeah, I, I actually started this when the lockdown kicked off and I said, You know what, I've got all these notes, I realised that I had so many like papers and notebooks and journals with all this poetry written and I had never shared it, you know? And I felt like if this is, we all have a gift. Each one of us every single person on this planet spends their life discovering what it is that that gift is or that purposes and it can change from it doesn't have to be one thing. And this is what people freak out about. They feel like they need to find that one big thing, this purpose that they're going to do all their life. It's not like that for everyone. So one of the things for me was, I said, Well, if I know I love to do this and and everyone who's ever been exposed to my poetry, the ones who asked me for it, I've enjoyed it. I'm like, why don't I share it? This is what got me motivated to start that podcast. And it's purely a creative dump, as I call it, but what I love about it, and this is why I share passionately about it is that it has actually inspired certain individuals like I have had someone called me and I hadn't spoken to this individual for eight years. And he called me and he said, and you will not believe I just I left my job. And I found I saw this post that you post that you launched your poetry podcast, and I just clicked on it and I listened to the latest one, and he's like that point from me. was exactly what I needed to hear, given that I had just left my position and the words you spoke, they, they consoled me and they gave me inspiration to take the next step. And I said, Well, you know, this is why people need to share their gifts. It was, it was the most beautiful thing for me if I know that there's something that you know, each one of us can do that can affect the collective positively, then we should be doing that. So poetry is one of it. And the podcast is one thing. And then I'm also focused on I have my hands in different buckets, working on in the startup economy, so to say, but all the projects and this is why I feel it's very important for people to know what they're passionate about. Every project that I decided that I would give my attention to, is something that I believe is going to help the collective. It's something that I believe I'm passionate about. So it's either in sustainability or it's in self regulation. When it comes to meditation and consciousness, or it isn't it is for the artistic community. So how can we help artists fund themselves?

Dhan :

That is beautiful. Those are that that really hit me differently. Thank you so much. So, after this, I have another question that what do you highlight in your form of writing?

Ann Boothello :

There is not one thing that I highlight. I don't even you know, I don't think about it, actually. Someone asked me it was a couple of months ago, do you edit your poetry? And I said, I don't I actually write it. And I never go back to it because I feel like people need to be raw and real. And whatever you say, and the way you say it. The first time is the way it's intended to flow out of you, especially as an artist, and you know, as if I don't consider myself an artist. I consider myself myself a human that just wants to share it, you know. And when I think about poetry, I think it's a form. It's a form of art through words. But imagine if I was to go in there and start dissecting it, I would then get back in here and this monkey mind as we know. And I would change the actual context and the inspiration that came to me to initially put it down. So when I, when I write, I just let it be and even if it can, even if I judge myself, which most people who are in this space of artistic expression judge themselves dramatically, right. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about, like, Oh, no, this is throwing its crap. Let's, let's, let's like rip it up and throw it out. Or this piece of poetry. I mean, who's gonna like it, but that doesn't matter. It doesn't matter. It matters that you actually share the inspiration that's getting downloaded through you, because someone, someone will resonate with it. Just imagine the people out there who want to want to know that there's someone who creates just like them. And if you never shared it, they would never know. And they would probably stay in the dark.

Dhan :

That is true. That is so true. That makes me think that I should share my poetry now.

Ann Boothello :

Oh, for sure. I mean, you know, there are certain points that I don't share that are very personal to me that there are points that I feel need to go out to the collective and if you feel that way, do it.

Dhan :

So do you like to be pressurised? To write something?

Ann Boothello :

You know that that is a good question. Because they there's a lot of debate and there's a lot of research actually on creativity being at its best when people are under pressure. I feel like that's not always the case. So when I write No, I like to flow. I whatever whenever I feel like there's too much contained inside me that needs a release. That's when I write. So you could look at that as maybe pressure to share. But I don't look at it as pressure I look at it as really wanting to to share. There's a point that I feel when I feel almost saturated with a certain thoughts. And if I feel saturated with a certain thought, that I feel needs to go out into the, into the field or for the collective to hear about it. That's when I share it. I believe the best art comes from inspiration and intuition. And those are moments of flow. And when you're in flow, you're not feeling pressure. You're feeling very, very much in love with the moment.

Imnah :

What about those moments where I know who's experienced that sort of like writer's block, where you're just stuck in a place. No words are really coming to you and you just have that flow. How do you cope with that situation with do then is there maybe an activity you do to get to refresh your mind someplace? You go? What's that like for you?

Ann Boothello :

Yeah, that's a really good question. I just watched a short video actually, before getting on this call by someone I really admire and space of ideas. And he he actually shares ideas on on various topics through poetry. And he's a futurist to Jason Silva. And I don't know if any of you watch his videos, but to answer your question about the writer's block, you know, there's, there's this thing that I constantly try to remind myself and I forget, like all of us do, that there is a balance between discipline and surrender. And in that intersection of both of them is when you find flow is when you actually find the best art flowing through you but you've got to be able to push yourself at certain times to develop a habit, you know, take take out 10 minutes, 15 minutes and it doesn't need to be big. That's another thing that artists or entrepreneurs tend to do. And that includes myself. I mean, it's been a struggle trying to figure out how to manoeuvre the world as an entrepreneur or as an artist without being an organisation. That was my I call it my past life, you know, where I where I was in the corporate world, and you have, you know, you're in a flow of whatever it is, the purpose of that organisation is, but when you're manoeuvring your own life, it becomes a little different, different. So if you have a vision of you being a writer, and let's say you want to launch a book, and you have a great idea, you know, how are you going to actually get to that end goal? Well, put aside, put aside 15 minutes a day 15 minutes a day to start writing. See how that builds up for you. If you feel a block, well push yourself through it. Try to discipline yourself to get some sort of momentum going. And what you'll notice happen even if you do take, let's say, a week off, what you'll notice happen is you'll start to realise whether you do want to want number one, whether you really do want to write that book. Number two is, is that the topic you want to write about? Or has it changed? So staying in the in that kind of habituation, of getting to the end goal helps you figure out if you even want to get there or if it's redirected you another way, and if that entire topic has changed, but you've got to discipline yourself to a certain extent, but know when you're getting clear intuition that this is not what you were, you started this from an egotistic perspective, because it's cool, to be an author, a best selling author, right? Wow. But are you really doing it because you, you resonate with it? That's what you find out by creating a little bit of discipline, even if it's 15 minutes a day and I call micro habits just go bit by bit and then you figure out, you know, if that's really the direction you want to be on.

Imnah :

Maybe is there a specific environment that you'd like to write in? Because I know personally for me, I kind of love noisy environments, places that are like buzzing with life drains, and a lot of people like to sit at their desk, maybe when they're working, but I love the buzz of a cafe, especially the smell of coffee, biscuit. People just walk into doing their thing. Is there like a specific place you like to work in that really helps you just get into your work?

Ann Boothello :

You know, for me, when I write poetry, I could stop in the middle of the mall and spend two minutes and jot down a poem on my phone. So I feel you from that. perspective sometimes, especially with poetry because I feel poetry is flow, like it's genuine flow. So being in the world, being in the world out there, whether it's a coffee shop, whether it's you're walking around sometimes I've kind of been in a parking lot and just felt like writing on on Evernote, you know, because it's just a quick download. So, I don't have any one place with poetry, I could be anywhere at any time. I could be in an airport lounge, I could be in the kitchen, I could be in the bathroom, believe it or not. It's like the whole range, the whole range. It's like poetry is flow. But when when I've ever written articles or if I'm writing, you know, towards an intention of putting together a chapter for a book or what have you, that's a very different feeling for me. And I like to have nice ambient music, typically with no lyrics so jazz or orchestra music playing in the backgrounds and then that kind of gives me those, you know, calmed me down gets me in some structure in my mind so then I can kind of organise my words and my thoughts.

Dhan :

We have our last question. That is, what is the future of poetry?

Ann Boothello :

Oh, that's a that's a amazing question. I feel poetry is right now in everything whether we call call it poetry or not. You have so much going on in, in the speaker arena, virtual summits, people sharing knowledge courses, and workshops, all of this. All of this is actually sharing of knowledge, ideas, emotions through words, storytelling, and the better store. The better storyteller you are, the more captivating you are to your audience. And to me, I feel like poetry is in all of these forms, because you're using the power of spoken word, written word or spoken word, to, to share knowledge or to inspire someone or to motivate someone, or to transform their lives. Boy tree is, to me should not be restrained to just words and rhythm. Poetry is actually in everything. It's the art of sharing words. That's what I believe. And now more than ever, with the knowledge economy completely booming, it is even more important how we use our words, because attention is sacred attention needs to be actually addressed in much more detail with with everyone especially what are we telling the youth What are we telling the children of tomorrow, and how our big tech companies actually influencing this as well. I mean, these are things that I think about very often. And this is what I want my work to go towards and what I would love other people to start thinking about. So, the future of poetry is bright and beautiful is what I have to say, you know, whether you call it poetry or not. The Power of Words are highly, highly powerful and influential.

Dhan :

Thank you so much, and I am really enjoyed talking to you. What about you Imnah?

Ann Boothello :

It was my pleasure.

Imnah :

Yeah, I absolutely loved it. I think there's so much to really learn about the definition of poetry. And I think this will be super helpful for any aspiring writers out there people just trying to find their creative space. Thanks so much for your time here Ann.

Dhan :

Thank you everyone for tuning into what rhymes with danyetta. Make sure to subscribe and follow our podcasts on all different sites and also check out Ann's podcast Poetic Flow. Thank you again for listening.