Meet Nicholas Boucher - dipity Community Spotlight Q&A Interview no. 6
learn more about poet and author Nicholas Boucher's work through dipity's global interview monthly spotlight feature
Introduction
Nicholas, 41, is a father of two children, 9 and 11, living in the farmlands southeast of Montreal, Quebec. When he is not working his day job at the office, he likes to write, play with the kids, and spend time with his significant other.
Having been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and borderline traits, he has learned to cope with the illnesses and their symptoms through writing poetry and listening to music. This is how he came to write not one but two books within a year.
Unhealed by Nicholas Boucher:
My blue-green eyes, haunted by the truth in these lies. I search my sallow pale skin for traces left by sharp knives. The lasting lowest sadness envelopes all this madness like a blanket full of thorns marking, scratching, piercing horns. As this torture takes its rise to become all-consuming cries, a black hand hidden in shadow grabs me by a shaky elbow. It pronounces a single word of which sound I've never heard. My pain vanishes without a trace and I feel nothing, without a face. Far away, without moving my heels left with pain unfelt and fully unhealed.
Q: What is the backstory of this poem?
This poem was written right after coming out of therapy. We explored how I tend to detach myself and dissociate from my feelings, especially strong ones. I wrote exactly about that. How I will start to feel something rise in me and suddenly it just stops and I feel nothing. Leaving me unhealed.
Q: What was your most recent publication?
I have self-published for two books, Alliterate Bifurcations Collection and Mine Mangled Me (2023).
Q: What are some of your fave publications (could be one of your own or a recommended read elsewhere?
My Book: Mine Mangled Me (2023)
ABOUT: A collection of poems written while coming to terms with bipolar disorder.
Q: What else do you do outside of the writing or poetry community? or What else are you working on or excited about in the future? Any fun hobbies?
I work full-time in an office (very much not exciting) and take care of my 2 children, a dog and a cat. I am an avid gamer and love to unwind with that come the evening. Otherwise, I focus on advocating for mental health on my Instagram when not publishing poetry.
Q: When did you begin writing? OR What or who sparked and inspired your writing journey?
I started writing initially as a therapeutic tool. I would practice automatic writing in my journal to put down my raw emotions on paper. One day, however, I noticed how many of my writings started to take form, have a rhythm, and even rhyme. That is when I started focusing my efforts on consciously writing poetry. This was approximately two years ago.
Q: What advice would you give aspiring poets, authors, or fellow writers in the community?
Write what you feel, start with one word that haunts your mind, and build on that. Don’t be afraid to erase and restart.
Q: What are you currently reading? OR What book(s) would you recommend to others right now?
I am currently working my way through Stephen King’s collected works, I’m currently on The Green Mile.
Q: What was the last movie or TV show you watched or recommend others see in the
community?
Currently, I’m watching (and strongly recommend) Shameless, available on Netflix.
Q: Which poets, artists, or writers inspire you?
Caitlin Maree O’Shea (@cait.maree.o), M.C. Soles (@m.c.soles_poetry), and Kari Pritt (@wyrdpoet) from the Instagram poetry community.
Q: If you were stuck on the moon with anyone or could pick your space flight partner who would it be ( it could be someone from the past or present time)?
I’d take Tom Hanks because he knows how to prevent disaster on a doomed flight.
Luna Shadows - Thorns
Q: What's one of your favorite poems in existence?
“Unbound” by @m.c.soles_poetry.
Source: (M.C. Soles’s Instagram)
To Check Out More of Nicholas Boucher’s Work
Please Def Visit: Instagram and read some of his work linked above in this Q&A, on social media and head over to Amazon.
Please Def Follow: @bipolar2.poetry
on Instagram
[Interview Processed By VFORROW]
Note: We choose one song for fun to pair with each Substack submission similar to our website’s online tank.
[Thank You Message From the Founder]:
It’s awesome to see poets share important messages in their work such as tackling bipolar disorder and writing about what they face in their own lives — absolutely it helps others take the steps to begin to share their personal experiences through a poem or piece of writing when coming across work that exhibits vulnerability and truthfulness.
BTW I have seen Shameless episodes a bit (not all episodes still quite yet in the series either) as well and do enjoy Tom Hanks films — my fave is prob Cast Away (2000) and I’m a Stephen King fan—particularly of Under the Dome (2009) which also briefly had a TV series adaptation. There are a ton of fellow poets who are certainly inspiring within the Instagram community—those of you reading this do please visit those three other Instagram poets accounts too!
We’ll have to check out your two awesome poetry collections! Thank you so much Nicholas for taking the time to share about yourself through dipity’s Substack community spotlight!
~ Jazz Marie Kaur (Vevna Forrow)
We truly strive to share as many amazing writers of all ages as possible from around the world and carefully take the time to review all submissions. Please note it is incredibly hard to decline any. P.S. We have opened this up to film photographer and Polaroid art spotlights too — so stay tuned we have a few more interviews, event announcements, reminders, and updates coming your way as we head into 2024! A reminder that we just released ANTIQUE ROADSHIP issue no. 4 and have a few new categories open such as tattoo-inspired poetry and spoken word. Remember our Symphonic Challenge is open too. We will be trimming issue sizes way down in the future to get initial pricing down further although back issues end up getting discounted over time with enough order volume. We hope to launch our chapbook submissions soonish.
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