Camille Harris joined the HubPages moderation team earlier this year, and as we were in the process of planning the HubPatron of the Arts contest, we discovered that she enjoys writing poetry. Naturally, we invited her to be the official HubPages staff judge on the poetry panel of the contest. We’re very glad she accepted!
We took some time to chat with Camille about her background, her poetry, and her approach to judging in the HubPatron of the Arts contest. We hope you enjoy this insider peek at one of HubPages newest and coolest team members!
HubPages: You are a relatively new addition to the HubPages team, so for those Hubbers who are not yet familiar with you, could you tell us a little about yourself?
Camille Harris: I’m an East Coast-West Coast transplant, that is, I was born in Oakland, migrated to Maryland, and moved back to “the Town” in 2007. I’m a psychology junkie and am currently working towards being qualified enough to enter a Ph.D program in Clinical Child Psychology. Oh, and I LOVE tea.
As of this interview, you have written three Hubs on HubPages, one of which is a poem called Indelible. What inspired you to write it?
I was actually looking at a tattoo of mine and thought about my motivations for getting it. The tattoo is a large garden on the inside of my forearm, which is a tribute of sorts to my late cousin. I’ve found that the most meaningful tattoos tend to be the ones that mark a painful time in our lives, and so “Indelible” was born.
Do you write much poetry? What sorts of poetry do you like?
I don’t write as much poetry as I’d like to, but I’d say I write at least one poem a month. I like poetry that makes the reader feel where the author is coming from. I want to be gripped by the words and understand the author’s emotional state.
As a judge on the poetry panel of the HubPatron of the Arts Contest, what will you be looking for in entries?
I’ll be looking for depth in the poems, which can be accomplished in very few words. I want to see that deliberate word usage that really grabs the reader.
What advice could you give to aspiring poets on HubPages?
Don’t worry about rhyming 🙂
[Thanks, Camille!]
For more information about the HubPatron of the Arts Contest, visit the official contest page.
HubPages Blog 
Camille, welcome to the panel of judges, as well as a big welcome to Hub pages. You will discover as I’m sure you have, a diverse group of writers and talent. Enjoy your poetry writing and I look forward to reading more of your scribes in the future. I agree with your words.
“I like poetry that makes the reader feel where the author is coming from. I want to be gripped by the words and understand the author’s emotional state. Well said.
Yeah! A woman after my own heart! “Bleep the rhyming!”
Most of my poems tend to just come to me as gifts, full-blown, and I must scramble to set them to paper before they fly away again.
Trying to write a poem “on demand” does not work for me, nor does rhyme. I write in free or blank verse almost exclusively. My few rhymed poems are more or less accidental flukes.
Trying to rhyme on purpose, for me, results in a stiff, awkward, forced-sounding verse that is not at all pleasing.
It is nice to learn more about you Camille. You will so enjoy the contest as a judge. And thank you a thousand times for making the statement “Don’t worry about rhyming.” I just cringe when I see someone twist a sentence just to make a rhyme. Thanks for doing this interview. It is great to learn about all the judges. Welcome.
I’m a Midwest gal who ended up on the West coast (CA) and am now on the East coast. We share some things in common-I write poetry when the muse moves me; I miss the West coast and I love tea! Welcome to Hubpages.
Make no mistake; I absolutely freely admit my arguably biased comments, (Yep, she is indeed my “baby girl”). To be sure, I am one “proud papa!” Ms. Harris has consistently, selflessly, and tirelessly given of herself in the pursuit of doing her part to create a more just and egalitarian society, absent the plethora of “isms” that sadly plague the world. Her noble philosophy and rationale for this seemingly, hopeless, thankless, endeavor, can be summarized as follows. “It is far, far, better to light just one candle, than to curse the darkness”…
I am certain that her ‘can do” attitude will be the catalyst for the expanded success of Hubpages.
Kudos,
Always great to meet a “Candle-lighter” – the world need more of you! Belated welcome to HubPages.