As I think about it more and more, the less I believe it possible to teach someone how to write. I could cite experience, books, articles, podcasts and conversations on the subject, not to mention literally hundreds of hours in various open mics and writing groups, but really the whole matter boils down to this: Language emerges from the very core of who we are, and if you got it – you ‘got’ it, meaning talent. If not, well then acceptance brings peace. In the same way as some people have exceptional skills in athletics or dance or painting, what are termed ‘natrual gifts’ that can be enhanced by developing a skillset, its simply impossible to inform or implant an artistic ability with taught skills. People spend countless millions worldwide in universities doing all kinds of writing courses and though it might help them somewhat and give them all-important confidence and self-belief, there is a real sense that these courses are promising something they can never deliver, meaning a kind of literary aura, a sense that the person who has attended these courses somehow has grown talent, when more often than not they know more about literature and have acquired the tools of writing when in actual fact what they really wanted was to become what they cannot because of human nature rather than the nurture brought by extremely expensive courses and university degrees.

At the risk of sounding elitist or undemocratic, this article wishes to point another way, being the punk rock way. You may not be William Blake, or indeed William Burroughs, but you are who you are. All of us have one immutable talent – our true voice. It may be constrained by circumstances of education or indeed circumstances, but its as unique as a sonwflake, and infintely more resilient than one. All of us can speak our truths in poem, story or blogpost – indeed whatever medium you choose. Rather than wasting one’s hard earned cash on a course or degree that might, but probably won’t, make any difference in the long run to ones self-expression, perhaps you could sit down after reading this very short post and write something about oneself, something that comes from one’s core, some deep unnameable truth about one’s life, ones loves or one’s losses. Don’t worry about style or language or ‘saying rather than showing’ or one’s use of pronouns, or use of complex florid words that are mere window dressing, go punk rock. Say it simply. Say it true. Do this every day. Get your kids to do this. Get your Grandma going on her memoirs. Buy your loved ones good pens and note books for birthday and/or Christmas and/ Hannukah and/or the Chinese New Year. Encourage a punk rock mindset – simple uncomplicated honesty, for all your friends. Never mind the bolloks, here comes our poetry. Lets express ourselves and change the world with the power of our words.