Taylor Phelan has just graduated from high school, but her path is clear. In the fall she’ll attend Brigham Young University to major in editing and publishing. She has been writing for as long as she can remember, finishing her first novel at age ten and expanding to short stories and poetry as she got older. She has won local writing contests and competitions, and recently published a book of poetry called life & breath. She anticipates that writing will be an essential component of her future.
“I aspire to be an accomplished published author with my novels and poetry, and I hope that I can be highly involved in the realm of book publication. I know that writing will always be a major part of my life.”
Taylor credits many people for supporting her ambitions. Although her high school was highly STEM-focused, she sought out writing teachers to help guide her. “My most influential mentor was my Creative Writing Club teacher. He was the first to read my biggest novel, and always made sure to say keep writing, and keep reading, inspiring me to do so.” She also shared her creations with other students through workshops and classes, even though accepting critique can be a challenge. “I am quite a sensitive person, but I have always known that my career of choice will inevitably involve critiques. I have grown immensely in learning how to take that and use it to improve my work.”
Taylor’s poetry runs the gamut of styles and genres. “I love to experiment. One of my favorite things about poetry is how free it can be. I prefer open-form poetry, and recently I’ve tried my hand in slam poetry. I vary every poem in an effort to be the best-rounded poet I can be.”
Although her novels are usually fantasy-based and her short stories geared toward everyday struggles, she finds that poetry is suited to expressing profound emotions, especially beauty and grief. “My poetry is an outpouring of deep feeling. I love to look at the people around me and think about how every human carries grief. It is an essential human experience, though it comes in many different forms, and I try to write about how to understand and accept it.”
The poems of Robert Frost, Emily Dickinson, and Amanda Gorman have moved Taylor, each in their own distinctive way. “They all have a very different range of styles, but I am inspired uniquely by each of them. Robert Frost’s poems surrounding nature are just beautiful to me. Emily Dickinson has very insightful, powerful poetry about womanhood and overcoming human pain. Recently I’ve been inspired by Amanda Gorman’s social, political, and feminist poetry, especially in her delivery of reading aloud.”
Taylor is continually immersed in thoughts about writing. “There are always phrases, ideas, dialogue tags, characters, plot points and poems floating around in my head. I’ll admit I daydream too often when my mind gets highly invested into whatever I’m thinking about. I use my bedroom as a creative space where I like to sit down and just write away. Most days I will come home and write down whatever has been pressing on the forefront of my mind.” Taylor’s parents and family have provided constant support and encouragement for her writing.
She was born and raised in Prescott, and appreciates growing up amid the town’s lovely scenery. “I’m always inspired by Prescott’s nature. My favorite things are the sunsets, the changing seasons and the beautiful hikes. I spend the majority of my time writing, sitting inside my room, but I do love to get out and breathe in the Prescott air.”
In recent years Taylor finds herself more drawn to poetry than other forms of writing. “When I first started writing I did not consider myself a poet. I considered myself solely a novelist. The older I become, the more poetry I read and write.” This is primarily because she finds poetry to be communicative and therapeutic. “Poetry is unique in its ability to be the purest form of self-expression. Whenever I am under any sort of emotional hardship, I tend to write my pain and cope through metaphors. Writing, to me, is my lifeblood.”
Contact Taylor at aspiring.author75@gmail.com.
One step outside, nostrils blocked.
Eyes burning, tasting smoke.
Too strong to be a memory,
Too weak to incite adrenaline.
In the sky, a haze
the sun is blocked,
still hot.
Controlled, they say,
it’s burning
the excess, the fat, the grease,
the unwanted weeds
reaching their dangling fingers
onto our land.
A mask, a cloth
block the burning
breathe —
it’s burning,
billowing,
brimming —
a drum, a flute,
feathers and hats,
guns and cannons.
I am the excess, the fat, the grease.
I am what they are burning,
but no one bothers
to put me out.
there is always a sunrise
after a sunset.
i’ll never forget
the way you smiled
and whispered between
your shivering lips,
“there is no such thing
as an end —”
energy is transferred,
never destroyed,
and when your body laid
in the dirt,
it grew new life.
I stumble home to darkness
and rise out of bed to light.
I carry you with me —
heavier each day —
but I learn how to carry
the sunrise on my back.
Dee Cohen is a Prescott poet and photographer. deecohen@cox.net.
