The Wisdom of Transformations with Hannah Grace Greer

By: Regie Vocales

The world is no stranger to phases and changes. Seasons change, people change. Systems and traditions shift within centuries and millennia. But even if changes are happening all around us, very few are only able to grasp and live by the wisdom behind them—and NRM has found one who did.

Hannah Grace Greer, as a child, once aspired to become a singer until the challenges of adolescence overshadowed her. At fifteen, her passion took a turn towards writing poems, and poetry welcomed her with opportunities. She began joining poetry clubs in high school that led her to decide to take creative writing as her major.

Hannah was in love with singing and had thought about competing, but the shift to poetry was rather easy and bound.

“When I think on how I came into poetry, I know that for me it was because poetry in its form is most tied to song(s)... (poetry) awakened a passion that is a lot more life-sustaining and fulfilling than the act of singing ever was for me.”

Hannah’s writing is mostly influenced by Romanticism, also taking inspiration from fairytales, Greek and Celtic mythology, music, and spirituality. Although she has been pouring her creative juices into poetry, her style does not stray far away from her first love of singing.

“My writing inclination can vary from poem to poem, but generally it has been referred to as bardic, which is a good way to say that I like my poems to act as stories or glimpses that you would find in larger stories.” When the pandemic hit the globe and plagued the streets, Hannah’s time for writing became more constricted since staying at home and multiple house chores also required her attention, which can be draining at times. As a student, Hannah has already been juggling her time between schoolwork and self-expression, and the lockdown has made it more of a stretch. Added to it is having to heal from a car accident and the occasional migraine and fatigue.

But given the setbacks and time constraints of quarantine, Hannah is not one to back down, and she has incredible advice for those who are experiencing creative blocks:

“My biggest advice would be to go somewhere you don’t spend most of your time in/at or maybe even somewhere you’ve never been. I find that if I ever get stuck, I can go outside, and that can immensely help the writing process.”

She also recommends using other media such as Fine Art America, Google Images, YouTube, and many others to revitalize creative flow.

Three of Hannah’s most valued works are featured here in NRM: Angel’s Outpost, The Creation of the Sea, and Riddle #1.

For Hannah, Angel’s Outpost has likely the most interesting origin.

“On my drive back home on the Pennsylvania turnpike some time ago, I spotted a dark wood building dating to about the 1800s, an outpost for travelers, and I got the title for the poem that day. About a month or two later, I sat down, the poem (was) not premeditated, and somehow found this 15th century Georgian Hymn music (432 Hz) on YouTube and the poem just flowed from the music to me, and then was edited sometime later.”

Creation of the Sea is Hannah’s first prose poetry after stumbling upon a mermaid-themed playlist one day. “I remember being really delighted with how it came out because it (was a) completely unexpected poem.” she muses.

Her third poem, Riddle #1, is inspired by Old English riddles. “I ended up really enjoying inhabiting the persona and the voice of the riddle whilst attempting to provide a balance between hint, imagery, and engagement.” Hannah currently has six riddles, and Riddle #1 is a close tie for her favorite.

On the topic of solstice and equinox, Hannah shares to NRM her insight:

“Solstice and equinox are events of transformation. Maybe these transformations are slight or maybe they even get hindered, but the possibility of transformation and of something awakening is what makes these events so important to us.”

For Hannah, solstice and equinox symbolize the life that covers us with an enchanted umbrella over our heads so we can see our own trials under, and art, as a medium, visualizes it in which we can get a clearer view of ourselves and the world.

Symbolically in her life, Hannah’s solstice and equinox came when she went android for a year and was shaped by the experience and came home seeing things from a different light. She was able to see life from the outside looking in and began to value fewer but healthier relationships rather than multiple acquaintances.

Hannah imparts advice to people also undergoing their own period of solstice and equinox:

“If it’s good, although good is a subjective word, I would encourage those undergoing their own solstice/equinox to embrace it. If it’s not so good, I would encourage those to keep looking onward to see the light yet to come. And then when the world is shifted right again, to think on what to take from the experience.”

Hannah is focused on continuing to write and grow to improve in every work. She’s interested in witnessing different music compositions change the way poems are formed and rhythmed. She’s also exploring fiction to create her own fullfledged myths.

Currently, Hannah is working on her poetry chapbook A Hero’s Journey which is modeled from the different stages of the hero’s journey by Joseph Campbell. “The poems are a mix of imaginative, mythic, and memoir-like. Angels’ Outpost is (the fourth) in the collection, and I hope to get more of those poems published soon.”