Author Interview Louise Sawyer; a Poet Who Writes With Joy

She looks across at the waves so far
And gazes at morning sky.
“I want to fly up above the clouds,”
She bends over to cry.

~Shellina, Part 2 ~ A Fairy Tale, by Louise Sawyer (You can read more of Shellina, at Village Square)

I would like to introduce to you to Louise Sawyer a very creative talented poet, and her writing partner/companion, Joy her guinea pig. Louise and I met at the ‘Village Square’ a literary magazine for MFA students at ‘Writers’ Village University’

Louise, What inspired you to write? Secretly, as a teenager, I wanted to write novels, but writing description was like pulling teeth, so I didn’t write fiction. I was a linguist and exegetical researcher in the Philippines. I helped write Bible story songs, using Ifugao folk tunes.

(If you don’t know what a Ifugao folk tune sounds like, so I found one on Youtube)

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozH29atLENg[/embedyt]

Louise continues: I did some reporting for our missionary newsletter and I wrote personal newsletters. In those days, we didn’t have computers and often didn’t have electricity, so I typed on a manual typewriter.

When I became ill in 1973, I experimented with writing poetry. Later I became very interested in creative writing and took courses, as well as doing a lot of journaling, which resulted in more poetry and stories.

Currently, I’m writing a fairy tale and exploring ideas for illustrations. I write personal essays and recently received great feedback from readers who read “Absent But Present” in the December issue of Village Square. I also write about brain injury and how creativity and neuroscience techniques are helpful. I’m a Creativity Coach and I plan to teach a Creativity Project Workshop in 2018. (This workshop has not been scheduled as of this posting)

Have you always lived in Canada? I’ve lived mostly in Canada. However, I studied linguistics at the U of Washington and the U of North Dakota. I also studied at Bethel Theological Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota.

My survival training was in Jungle Camp, in Chiapas, Mexico. I went through three stages of survival training for a total of five months. It included building a mud stove, bed, and lean-to shelter. Also, staying by myself in the jungle overnight without anything but a piece of plastic, a machete kit, a canteen, a rope, and a first aid kit. The first thing I did was slice my thumb trying to cut down branches to make a bed.

I enjoyed working in the Philippines for 4.5 years.

You have a sweet guinea pig companion, Joy, can you tell us how you met? The last time I moved was in 2011 and I’ve mostly been on my bed since then. I type with one finger on my iPad. For Christmas that year, I bought myself a white and golden brown guinea pig and I called her Neuron. I was beginning to get interested in Neuroscience.

I decided in 2013 that Neuron needed a companion and so I adopted ten weeks old Joy. She was feisty and it took a few months for the two of them to bond. Neuron was used to being ‘an only’ and had bonded to me. But Joy and Neuron started enjoying companionship and Neuron taught Joy most of what she knows.

In March 2015, Neuron died leaving Joy and me together. We had not really bonded, but now we are close. Joy is 4.5 years old and enjoys my attention. She goes for rides on my walk

“The creatures that inhabit this earth–be they human beings or animals–are here to contribute, each in its own particular way, to the beauty and prosperity of the world.”~Dalai Lama

Thank You, Louise, for letting us in. I am so sorry for your loss of Neuron. I enjoy our conversations. You are an inspiration to writers; you have an amazing outlook. Hugs to you and Joy.

Louise is in need of help, with her medicines. I copied and pasted in the letter, which was written by The Dovecote Board. Here is the link to the online letter.

Dovecote Advocacy Networking Society

Dear Friends of Louise,

We wish you many blessings during the Christmas season and throughout 2018. Thank you for your notes, prayers, and support for Louise and her guinea pig companion Joy.

Joy had major surgery last December. Both her vet and her surgeon at the Breadner Veterinary Clinic were pleased with Joy’s recovery. So was Louise! Joy grew hair again over her long scar and was happier.

Louise took several MFA writing classes online at Writers’ Village University. And she wrote a rough draft of a fairy tale in ballad verse. Louise is a contributing editor to Village Square, the new literary magazine for MFA students. Check out Louise’s memes and word search puzzle on the Leisure page, her bio on the About page, and part one of the fairy tale Shellina in the Poetry column in the November Issue. writersvillage.com/VillageSquare December Issue will be published this week and may include Louise’s scramble puzzle, memes, part two of Shellina, and an essay about Louise’s birth. She will be 73 on Christmas Day.

Louise started to learn to create memes about eight months ago and she has been making them ever since. Here is a sample:

We invite you to pray for strength for Louise, as she still struggles with severe Multiple Chemical Sensitivities and Fibromyalgia. She experiences overwhelming fatigue and pain, and she has difficulty listening and speaking, so she only interacts about three times a week. Joy has had pain in her limbs and is getting older, but Louise takes good care of her. And Joy is a cute companion.

Please pray for a scent-free care aide with a car for Louise, because she needs personal and cleaning help in her home as well as outings. Please also pray for a family doctor for Louise. She needs lab work, referrals, and surgery.

If you are able to take part by email, Dovecote needs help two to four times a year to set up fundraising for Louise for health equipment and products. Please let Louise know at lesawyer12@gmail.com

To help Louise supplement her low senior income, you can send gifts to PayPal, using lesawyer12@gmail.com Gift cards are also a big help: Amazon, thriftyfoods.com, spud.ca, Petsmart.ca

Love and Joy to you,