Writing
by Lucy
Doherty
About Lucy
Poet, aspiring librarian, and intentional eccentric, Lucy Doherty (she/her) is based in Madison, WI and studies Creative Writing at Columbia College Chicago. She is proudly bisexual and autistic. She is a mental health advocate with a passion for autism acceptance, and often draws upon her experiences with disability in her work. In her spare time, Lucy watches fancams of sitcom characters.
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PUBLISHED WORK
Poetry
Commentary
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ARTIST STATEMENT
I am a poet. I don’t really use metaphor; I simply describe my own experiences and if you think they sound like metaphors that’s on you. I am influenced frequently by my own philosophies, often surrounding disability and anger. The act of creation excites me, the feeling of creating something out of nothing. I want people to read my work and hear my voice clearly, immediately recognize and connect to the fact that there is single artist with her own specific experiences behind it.
Although I’d love for my audience to be as broad as possible, I think I mainly make art for other artists. I want other artists to be inspired by or relate to my work. As much as I’d like for my work to influence others, I don’t often find myself drawing direct inspiration from other media. I’ve never been one to idolize or even look up to other people, and I suppose that this has led to my work solely being inspired by my own real-life experiences.
Also, I lied. I do sometimes use metaphor in my poetry, it just bothers me how frequently my most honest and direct writing gets interpreted as though it is written in a mysterious code. I am motivated to write through a need to be understood. I love watching people’s faces as they read or hear my work, seeing that glint of recognition as they begin to feel at home in my world. Some distinctive qualities of my work are blunt and harsh language, addressing an unnamed “you”, frequent reflections on childhood, the audience being left with curiosity, and lots of use of otherness as a theme.