Creator's Corner: Franks Martin - Poet + Yoga Teacher
Franks Martin | Poet + Yoga Teacher
Franks is a woman of extremes that uses her words can connect and empower. She writes from personal experience, opening her heart and baring her soul to readers.
Here she talks about how self-publishing her two poetry books, how ancient myths are inspiring her creativity, and the misconception about pursuing a creative career that she wants to rectify.
Tell us a little about yourself! Who are you and what’s your creative background?
I’m a writer, poet, and yoga teacher inspired by nature and this wild and wonderful human experience we’re all having. I’ve always been obsessed with words and how they weave together to create a felt experience: I would write poems as a kid and teen but I abandoned this for a more ‘sensible’ path into business; specifically marketing.
Looking back, it’s easy to see how my interest in human behaviour and the written word unconsciously trickled into my career; I spent a lot of time analysing consumers and writing about it! In 2016 I left the UK, curious about what it might be like to teach yoga - an ancient practice that had enhanced my life intensely up until this point.
It’s through practising and teaching yoga that I was able to find, cultivate and develop my physical voice that I was able to build the courage to revisit and express my creative voice through poetry. So far, I’ve self-published two poetry books and completed a third, ready to be birthed in 2021. At first glance, it’s easy to separate writing and teaching, but I wouldn’t be where I am today without the peaks and troughs of growth and expansion that teaching offered me.
Your poetry honours deep emotion, the cycles of life, heartbreak, expansion, empowerment, and acceptance (just to name a few). Are you always expressing from a place of personal experience?
I would say my intention is to express from personal experience, yes. It gets muddy for me creatively when I move toward how others might experience whatever I’m writing about. I have always been a deep feeler and my art allows me to own my experiences and honour the intensity of how I feel. For me this is empowerment. If anyone reading resonates, this is a beautiful bonus.
Have you ever had reservations about being vulnerable and sharing your soul with the world? If so, how did you move past it?
Absolutely! My first book took me 18 months to put together. I had all of the content but I would procrastinate through fear for months at a time. When I’m feeling fear about anything I’m expressing I always remind myself of the growth that is on the other side. A good question I ask myself is ‘what would be higher (or best) self do?’ usually the answer is do the damn thing!
What is your intention with your writing? How do you hope people feel when they read it?
My intention in anything that I do whether it’s teaching yoga, writing poetry or content is: create space to feel. For me this means writing the intense or vulnerable or uncomfortable things, when they arise. When I give myself permission to feel fully and deeply, I believe this gives others permission to feel fully and deeply. It’s something I wish I’d experience earlier in my life.
You’ve self published two poetry books and have a third one on the way. Tell us about how inspiration came for the new book during lockdown?
I wish I could paint you a picture of creative space and meditation and yoga practice! In reality, it involved a lot of space, re-living and grieving of past connections (romantic and otherwise). I had to anchor myself with grounding practices so that I could re-visit these experiences from a steady place and not get caught up in the sadness or anger or love that once was.
Let me tell you it was 80% messy, raw and ugly cries. My third book is titled Mythology and the poems ask the reader to travel through their own heroes journey: to become their own saviour. This is what I am learning too.
Do you have any rituals that help you get into the zone before you begin writing?
I have to carve time and space for myself. This is number one. I can’t create if my schedule is over-filled: I am often cranky and uninspired if this is the case! I identified that my favourite times to write are late morning and early evening so I slow myself down around these times.
I often meditate on a word, of phrase or concept that I’m feeling drawn to create around, this is also a non-negotiable for me. A lot lands for me when I am still. The ocean is my number one muse, I am fascinated by her - as are the deep and soulful conversations I have with my close friends.
What does a day in the life look like for you?
My days are often varied. Though I love routine in the morning - I find some element of variety in my days inspires me most. I often start with a meditation, lemon water and journalling. If I have time, I’ll pull tarot cards and spend some time reflecting on the week just passed.
I drink my coffee strong in the mornings and I love to savour this time in silence with mindful sipping. Moving my body is non-negotiable for a happy Franks so I will take a couple of grounding asana postures to feel powerful in my body.
I have just stepped into a leadership role at an incredible yoga studio I’ve been with for some time so I can be found there during the day, or on my days off I catch up with friends on the beach and surround myself with delicious food. In the evenings I love to write and read as I wind down. If I’m working on a creative project, golden hour is my favourite time to write.
What’s currently influencing your creativity?
Ancient myths and storytelling. I am absolutely obsessed with Greek mythology and have been as long as I can remember. I’m in awe of stories passed down to highlight morals, values, cycles of nature and how things came to be. I love symbolism and I find that fables and tales and myths have so much, I love digging deep and reflecting on my own thoughts on them. I think whether you view the world intuitively and creatively or scientifically and literally (or all of the above!) - they have a lot to offer us.
What’s one misconception about pursuing a creative career that you want to rectify?
That you have to struggle to make it - or to be a valid artist. My goodness, this is completely not true. I find myself most creative when I am completely out of fight or flight and am feeling very stable, secure, and abundant. Creativity also brings me a lot of flow and joy - I don’t buy into the struggling, angst-ridden artist persona anymore. Similarly to this, in my personal experience, I also do not agree that if you’re pursuing your creativity it has to pay all of your bills or it doesn’t count: I am most creative when the pressure is off financially.
What is the proudest moment in your journey so far?
Publishing both of my books. Writing a book has always been my main goal in life and I am so proud of myself for having the courage to self-publish. I’m truly glad I didn’t search for external validation to tell me whether my poetry is ‘good enough’ (what does that even mean?!)
How do you see your art and poetry evolving over the next few years?
When I first wrote poetry, it was to process a lot of my experiences and emotions. I can already see my journey as a woman evident throughout all of my poems and chapters. As I mature and grow and learn about myself and my boundaries and my needs I know that this will reflect in my writing too. A journey from maiden to empowered warrior woman, if you will!
What do you look forward to each day?
Coffee, meditating, journaling and walks by the ocean
When you’re not creating, what can we find you doing?
Eating, moving or swimming in the ocean. I love strong grounding movement practices and I LOVE SNACKS. I love the sensory experience involved with eating good food: the smells, the taste, the connection with others over a shared meal. I also moved to the beach a couple of years ago and will never ever get bored of having the ocean on my doorstep.
What advice would you give aspiring women wanting to turn their passion or art into a career?
Don’t overthink it, get in to your body and let your body tell you what and how it would like to express itself. Believe in yourself and trust yourself and your art. Find a good therapist. Don’t give up your main source of income straight away: be kind and patient with your creativity. Creative space is important, even if you don’t create in the space you’ve given yourself. Trust that small steps are as powerful as big leaps. Take one day at a time!
Finish these sentences
My go to music is: HAIM, 70’s Rock n Roll, Country music, (new) Taylor Swift.
I lose track of time when I have my teeth deep into an evocative poem.
I can read Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert over and over again.
I believe transmuting experiences and emotions into creativity is one of the most empowering practices in this wild ride of a lifetime.
These 3 adjectives describe my life right now: Lighthearted, Abundant, Aligned
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