My Introduction as a Hive Poet

Hello Hive❤️

My name is Aten Ra, and I have been writing #poetry for the last 15 years. I did not learn how to write in school like many, but, from reading other people's work #online as a teenager. Poetry has always been my preferred medium of expression, however, in more recent years, I've begun #writing more rap-style poetry as I take in different aspects of my favorite musicians.

Many years ago, I wrote regularly on Tumblr, before the sale to Verizon and its subsequent censorship and poor management. As of this moment, I have a #trilogy of #books written, all in the post-production editing stage. These books were written back in 2017 while I was living abroad in the Land Down Under.

Without further ado, here's where I'm coming from, my artistic influences, and where I draw inspiration from. :)

Beginnings

My personal life background is less important in this specific case, but my origins as a writer started very early on, around middle school age. I didn't learn how to #write from being taught in a classroom in school; I learned how to write from reading other people's work, including lots of philosophical papers, on the internet. My vocabulary was already way ahead of what was considered "average" for my age #demographic. When most of my classmates in high school were going out and partying every weekend, I was in the #lab, writing, honing my craft. I have always had a fascination with #history, particularly European history, which has shaped a lot of my worldviews throughout my childhood and early adolescence.

The very first #poems I ever wrote were sadly lost to history, in an AOL Instant Message to the person who first turned me onto the #art form. While I don't recall any details of those first three pieces, I have carefully and meticulously documented and kept records of every single poem I've written since, going back more than 15 years.

During this time in my life, I have compiled a #collection of poetry, including all different styles, that numbers somewhere above 1200 poems. It sounds like a lot, I know, but if you really do the math, in 15 years, 1200 poems is close to 80 poems per year, or 1 poem every 4-5 days. In my earlier years, especially in high school and my first few years in college, I was far more prolific in my #composition.

There was a point in time where I wrote something every single day for 2 straight months. One day, those pieces will be brought to light, shared with the world, as they deserve to be. This isn't an attempt to brag, but poetry has been the only form of #therapy I've ever had in my life. Poetry is the only consistent art form that has permeated my adult life, while most others have either been cast aside or de-emphasized.

My Style

I am not in any way a traditionalist. I break rules because they are placed in front of me to dictate or control how I practice my #craft. Sometimes I will hold steady to different #rhyme schemes like your typical ABAB BCBC or ABAB CDCD, but never expect me to. I don't naturally think in rhyme, that's a bit..odd. I'm more of a stream-of-consciousness and freeform #poet.

I have taken bits and pieces of different styles from #music like rap and hip-hop, nu metal, but also flows from jazz, funk, and other 20th century material. In many cases, I have listened to a song, and then written something after-the-fact or sometimes during, while listening to the #beat.

In my earlier days, my poetry tended to be extremely dark. There are themes written about back between 2007-2013 that would probably make parents uncomfortable, especially if those parents were older, like the baby boomers. I never #censor, adulterate or change content in my poetry. I only edit for spelling and stanza formation.

A lot of what I write comes out initially as just a wall of text, and I only re-organize and separate it out into stanzas after the #content is written. I view poetry as a way to express myself, my emotions and feelings, and my traumas, struggles, and #successes, in a way that retains my personal privacy, but also allows others to see that I'm a human being, even if my face is shielded from #public view.

I'm naturally an introvert around strangers, but an ambivert around people I'm more comfortable around, so I tend to keep a lot in my head, pretty much all the time. The words that I share with the world are only a small sliver of what takes place internally for every waking moment I'm alive. My internal #monologue is constant, I rarely have a moment of complete and utter silence, so the easiest way to experience that feeling of calm and relaxation, is to pour out those words onto a page, so that I can see them, accept them, and move on with my #life.

I've written a lot of poems specifically regarding childhood experiences, college, and the struggles of adolescence and one's twenties. I do not and will not name names, specifically, because I do not wish to give those people any power in my life or in any way. As a writer, I believe the pen is mightier than the sword; information, data, #knowledge, is the most precious resource in the world today.

What Makes Hive Special?

Those who control the pen, control what is recorded as history, what is written in the mainstream #media, and what socially-acceptable norms are. I do not believe that anyone has the right to deny anyone else's existence purely for being different than theirs. They say in history, to the victors, go the spoils, but that completely ignores and erases the people who were not so lucky.

I chose #Hive as the home for my poetry because I believe that my feelings are immortal. The way to immortalize something in the 21st century, is to record it on an immutable, censorship-resistant blockchain #ledger. This isn't novel #technology, after all, accountants and #businesses have been using ledgers for centuries. Credit card companies and banks have been using a basic form of digital ledger technology for generations.

Distributed Ledger Technology takes this all a major step forward, and only strengthens the power we, as writers have. As a poet, I have an extremely large collection of work, I like to think of it like my gold mine. It will produce value and content for me to publish and share, for generations, to come. I value content #ownership very highly, and I prefer to control access to my work, rather than entrust some third party, like Facebook, to do so.

Using Hive, I am able to solidify a permanent record on the #blockchain that documents the time and block of origin where my work is published. This establishes a clear chain of custody over the content, much like a deed to a house guarantees the right to possession. At its core, the Hive blockchain is a decentralized database for information, and as someone who has experienced #censorship and shadow-banning elsewhere, information control and #distribution of content is everything to me. Hive presents a unique approach to intellectual property ownership. I am the only person in the world who controls my #private keys, therefore, I am the only one who can access my wallet and publish my work online.

What Should You Expect from Me

Here is where the fun starts! My first book, "Awareness" is set to be released this Thursday, September 7th, in .pdf format. It will be able to be purchased on my official online shop on payhip.com (stay tuned for the official release link!). It will be sold for $9.99 USD and I will have Patreon and cryptocurrency donations & patronage options for anyone interested in purchasing my work or supporting me in this journey as I bring my words to life.