LOCAL TALENT
PEO PLE
Jack of all trades Poet, writer and runner says it’s never too late to start working on your goals. STORY: VICTORIA SCHLABIG
≈ PHOTO: DOUGLAS TYLER
ne night, when Carl Scharwath was on a run, he heard voices down the road. He turned his head and was immediately greeted with two bright headlights, so he quickly sprinted, barely making it out of the car’s path. The scary incident sparked an idea, so the next day, Carl wrote both a poem and a short story about the night before. He had never been a writer or written poetry, but both the poem and the short story ‘The Sinful Runner’ ended up getting published in 2014. Since then, Carl has had poems, short stories, essays, interviews and photographs published in over 170 journals worldwide, with seven of his photos appearing on the covers of journals. “I wrote poems for maybe about four years, and then I decided to write more short stories,” Carl says. He describes his poetry as “minimalist,” short poems of 12 lines or so. He writes “philosophical” poetry. His goal is to help people see the beauty of life rather than just to get published, although that feels pretty good, too. Carl has also written a 10-minute play he hopes to get on stage. “I think I became a writer because I’ve always been a reader. Basically, every day I read an hour, consistently since college. But when I read, I like reading older classics. I figure, I don’t wanna read modern books because I can watch it on TV,” Carl says. His favorite author is Hermann Hesse, and Sylvia Plath is his favorite poet. Carl has two big goals he’d like to accomplish. Number one, to get published in The New Yorker, the magazine he submits his poetry to twice a year. Second, he wants to get his 10-minute play on stage. He has corresponded with some local theatres and he hopes to organize a 10-minute play festival featuring local actors performing his and other local playwrights’ works. Carl recently checked a big goal off his list when the Mount Dora Center for the Arts featured his photography as part of its “Be a Part of It” online auction in September.
Do you know talented people in the community? Send recommendations to victoria@akersmediagroup.com.
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