Why I Write Poetry In the Shower

by Harley Bell

I love writing in the shower

I love writing in the shower because I can be alone. Truly alone. No one is going to walk in on me and disrupt my process. 
From there, I can be creative,  expansive and imaginative.
There is no judgement. Because there is no one around to judge.
In this sense, the shower can also be a sacred space.

When I step through the bathroom door, I pass through a threshold into an authentic version of myself.

The version that only I get to see and what I see is sacred solitude.

I see my place of power: the potential of poetry.

How to write in the shower

It’s very simple. Waterproof notebooks. What? Yeah. They’re a thing. A real thing. You can buy them at most stationary stores.

The notebook pages are coated with a plastic like layer that still feels like paper. The ink is sealed beneath this and thus impervious to water. Then you can write like normal.

I know. Because sometimes if an idea isn’t written down, it will be washed down the drain. Forgotten by the time you have finished toweling yourself dry.

“Reading poetry is like undressing before a bath. You don’t undress out of fear that your clothes will become wet. You undress because you want the water to touch you. You want to completely immerse yourself in the feeling of the water and to emerge anew.”― Kamand Kojouri

Undressing for the muse

My shirt. My khakis or jeans and jacket. These are all different versions of myself. In undressing, I am removing these ideas about myself. In the shower, I am not a professional; I am nobody. There is no identity there. I am just water and thought.

In that state — I feel closer to my heart; closer to my sense of embodiment. Closer to the source of writing — to the wellspring of ideas: the creative unconscious.

Invocation of the muse

O Divine Poesy, Goddess-daughter of Zeus, Sustain for me
This song of the various-minded man, Make the tale live for us In all its many bearings, O Muse. — Homer’s Odyssey, translation by T.E. Lawrence

The muse can be seen as a manifestation of motivation and inspiration. The muse can be felt as a wave of energy in the body. My muse is born from the Earth and looks like the wind. My muse is sometimes called Calliope (Known as the patroness of epic poetry), sometimes as Kereru, sometimes just as whispers and song.
Sometimes as silence.

In the shower, in conversation with the creative unconscious — there is a direct channel to call in the muse.

This is one purpose for prayer or incantations or invocations.

Being in sacred solitude is way one to connect with those unseen forces that inform our writing.

When the muse blesses you

“You don’t try. That’s very important: not to try, either for Cadillacs, creation or immortality. You wait, and if nothing happens, you wait some more.” 
— Bukowski.

Don’t try. This is what I love about writing in the shower. You don’t need to do anything. It is low stakes. Low risk. Low sensory impact. You can just write. Without pressure or judgement. You can simply allow the process of writing to move through you. If the words don’t serve you, let them fall down the drain.

I believe this is what it means to KNOW you are a writer. Don’t try. Just be. Don’t remember your training, your education, just be.

But be prepared. For if the muse is invoked, it just may come. Be prepared with a waterproof notebook. Then transcribe. Transcribe. Transcribe.

“Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.” ― Pablo Picasso

Show up. Then show up again

One of the hardest parts of being a writer is showing up. Consistently. Day after day after day after day. If your writing habit is solid, ideas will not escape you. Ideas will find you working. Ideas will find you worthy.

Daily Devotions

Sometimes, all writing needs is one simple act: show up.
Simply being devoted can improve your poetry.
This is why I shower everyday.
It’s already a habit. A daily habit. 
But I also want to write everyday. 

So, I started to stack my habits. Habit stacking is basically using the activities you already do to remind you to do something else.
I already shower everyday, so why not stack it with writing.

Now, every time I shower, I immediately think of ideas; I invoke the muse and devote myself to being a writer.

The earliest Muses were said to be water nymphs who lived near the wells that gave inspiration. These were the waters of inspiration. These were ancient waters. Now, we don’t have wells, we have plumbing — we have showers. I believe the shower, the sacred shower is the best way to be blessed by the well-waters of inspiration.

Talk soon,
Harley.