The Two Wolves Inside Me

It's fascinating to think about the different lives people live within themselves. I'm a writer, a musician; I hold down a day job in a career that brings me a lot of joy (and allows me to help others and be a leader every day). There are so many parts of my life that make me who I am - music, film, photography, leadership, love... and, of course, words.

When I was in graduate school pursuing my degree in Creative Writing back in 2018, a divide formed within me, separating poetry and prose - my two wolves. During my first poetry course, the professor was... less than encouraging about my poetry and encouraged me to stick to prose. I'm not going to write a sonnet, ode, or villanelle; I've never been the person to consider creating an elegy or ballad.

The author as she re-entered her poetry era

I am, however, the type of person who hates rhyming and loves to play with words and find ways to combine them to create layers of meaning. I especially love searching for unique formatting options to make the words pop on the page and enhance them even further! In 2024, I had the privilege of having a poem published for the first time as part of the Renascentem: Crow Calls VI collection published by Quill & Crow Publishing House (more about them here); the creation of that poem on a moody, sleepless night led me back to my love of poetry.

Alas, that solitary poem grew and grew, and now I will be releasing a poetry collection at the end of 2025 inspired by the music, films, shows, and books that I surround myself with every day. I can't wait for you to get to experience this piece of my writing journey! So here's a teaser for you, dear readers - one of the poems from my collection, all pretty and polished for you!

"Collide" by Tiffany Putenis - Part of an upcoming poetry collection she will release in late 2025.

So what do you think, readers? Should poetry rhyme, or is the emotion it inspires in you the most important part?

With love,

T.