By Kareena Dhillon
Staff Writer
Senior Lydia Hirsch faced her future in literature and publications as she created her own book of poems.
Hirsch self-published her own book, “The Woman on the Green Bicycle,” in August 2016 through an online self publishing and eBook company, lulu.com. The book contains 52 pages full of poems that Hirsch wrote during the summer of 2016. “Sometimes, I’m just so inspired by something that I have to write it, almost like it’s a necessity,” Hirsch said. “Then, sometimes I have to force myself to write, and then the process can take me a long time.”
Senior Lydia Hirsch writes poems and makes her own poem books.
“The Woman on the Green Bicycle” is not Hirsch’s first published piece. In August 2015, Hirsch published an eBook on lulu.com called “A Long Day: A Poetry Collection” under her pseudonym, Annalise Berkeley. She has also written poems on websites such as Teen Ink, a national teen magazine, and Hello Poetry, an online forum for creating poetry.
“Lydia uses poetry to express her inner thoughts and feelings,” junior Katie Harfouch said. “Writing poetry has helped her observe and analyze experiences more thoughtfully and thoroughly. Everything about her is just surreal.”
Photos: Hirsch’s favorite poem in “The Woman on the Green Bicycle”
Hirsch sells her books on Amazon and lulu.com as well as to her friends and the attendees of InHouse Arts, a monthly event where Costa students perform songs and spoken poetry at various participants’ houses. She has even bought 25 of her own books and resold 11 of them.
“I received a lot of help from my friends who were supportive of me,” Hirsch said. “I feel like publishing this book gave me a feeling of legitimacy as a writer that I wouldn’t have felt if I didn’t publish it.”
Video: Ira Glass interviews Teen Ink, an online site that collects written pieces from youths around the United States, which is one of the magazines that Hirsch contributes to. Hirsch has written several poems over the course of her high school career and Teen Ink is just one example. (Courtesy of TeenInk)
Hirsch’s mother’s Ph.D. in English sparked Hirsch’s passion for poetry by introducing her to advanced literature at a young age, she said. Her favorite poem in “The Woman on the Green Bicycle” is “Beach 1,” which illustrates a camping trip her family took to the beach. “Lydia is extremely creative and unique,” senior Asha Berkes said.
Hirsch’s profile on Hello Poetry, where most of her poems are published.
“Her poetry is very beautiful and reflects her eloquence and passion for social change. I know poetry is a huge part of her life and is her form of self-expression, and she is incredible at her work.”
Take a look at Teen Ink with hundreds of magazines crafted by teenagers across the United States.
In the future, Hirsch plans to write several more books. She believes self-publishing was a good experience, but she would rather go through a publisher next time, so it is simpler, Hirsch said. Hirsch hopes to attend UC Santa Cruz since it has a highly-renowned literary program and an active literary community in the Santa Cruz area.
“It seems like there is a thriving artistic community there, in the school and surrounding town and area,” Hirsch said.
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