At the age of 19, most people are busy studying and beginning to find their true passion in life.
For Rachel Stevenson, though, the age of 19 is the time when she became an author for the second time, following the upcoming release of her second poetry book.
The teen not only wrote the content of the books, but she also published the works which are currently on sale online.
The love of writing started at the age of 10 for Ms Stevenson yet it was only about three years ago when she found her true love, poetry.
Ms Stevenson said: “Initially, I used it as a stress-reliever. Later on, I discovered that it was my writing niche. For such a long time before, I tried to write novels, but got side-tracked with another idea and kept on starting over.
When I started writing poetry, I realised that it worked for me – to create pictures in shorter forms and use poetic words to tell a story. I would still love to write a book one day, especially a children’s book, but I do believe that poetry has become my greatest love.”
The Protea Valley resident added that her first book, Pressed Dreams and Forgotten Flowers, took over a year, but for her second, Heart Songs and Dancing Wallflowers, it only took seven months.
The idea to publish her own books came from her sister, Catherine.
“I had started a poetry journal where I would type the poems out on scraps of paper with my vintage typewriter and stick them in my notebook with dried flowers pressed around them. I showed it to her and she said it was very creative (she is an artist) and that people would buy that sort of thing.
From that point, I couldn’t get the idea out of my head. When I tried scanning these journal pages in, however, it didn’t come out as expected, and I had to change things. So I decided that I would draw small illustrations to accompany my poems – that is how I started Pressed Dreams and Forgotten Flowers.”
Nature has been a big influence on Ms Stevenson’s writing, and she hopes that she will continue to be inspired by it as she plans to publish more books in the future while also pursuing her other passion in life.
“I am also a classically-trained flute-player, and I hope to start teaching beginner lessons soon. I am currently studying flute, and I have completed my first performance diploma exam last year through the Association Board of the Royal Schools of Music. My plan is to focus on both writing and music, wherever that may lead me.”
Heart Songs and Dancing Wallflowers will be available from July 1. If interested in buying the book or want more information, contact rachel@atfotc.com or @driedflowerpoetry on Instagram.
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