HC: Hello, can you tell us a little bit about yourself to start off?
IA: My name is Iris Aloe, I am a writer of all sorts. I’ve been writing my entire life. I would say I officially started as a songwriter when I was twelve. From there I began to get into poetry, screenwriting, musicals, prose, short stories, and monologues. Any sort of writing you think of is something I do.
And it’s something I really really enjoy doing. I love writing as it’s a way for me to express myself and to express my emotions. I’m especially obsessed with using a variety of vocabulary in my writing. And to be able to share it with the world is such a privilege. I’m very grateful for that.
HC: You said you started writing with music when you were twelve. Can you tell me what got you into writing music?
IA: I grew up listening to a lot of Taylor Swift, and I’ve always been super into music. I’m especially into country music, as there’s a lot of incredibly witty songwriting in country music. I know there’s a stereotype that country music is all beers, trucks, and hunting, but it’s a lot more than that.
Contemporarily, I listen to a lot of Morgan Wallen, Jason Kimmel, Amy Winehouse, Freya Skye, and Elizabeth Nichols. I also sing, so when I would write, it would come out in a musical way. I still have a voice memo of my first song–the first song I officially wrote down.
HC: Would you say that coming from a songwriting background has made you lean more towards poetry writing?
IA: Yes, and I think that it has contributed to the distinct voice I have in my poems. Oftentimes when I write poetry, I’m singing the words in my head. I was showing one of my friends a poem of mine, which will be in my debut anthology, hopefully coming out later this year, and he remarked on how the poem felt like it was a song.
This was ironic, because it was originally written as a song, and the fact that he picked up on that was hilarious to me. I also think my songwriting background allows me to be a lot more blunt with my words in my writing. Typically in poetry, the metaphor is king, but I write a lot of poetry that is simply me stating how I’m feeling or what’s happening, and my songwriting background definitely contributes to that happening.
HC: You mentioned writing musicals, so tell me about that?
IA: I’m currently writing on a musical, and I have a list of ideas of musicals that I hope to write in the future. I would love to see a musical of mine on a stage one day!.
HC: What would you say are some of your biggest inspirations as a writer?
IA: A common inspiration of mine is dreams. I recently wrote a poem called ‘I Had A Dream,’ and ironically it was written on MLK Jr Day. It’s one of my favorite pieces I’ve ever penned, and what I did was I wrote down everything that occurred in the dream I had the previous night. Other inspirations include people I know, people I really like, people I don’t like, nature, what’s happening in the world. I write a lot when I’m traveling. Boston is one of my favorite muses.
Also, I’ll see random bits on the internet and I’ll screenshot them and add them to a photo album of mine called ‘Ideas and Inspirations.’ I write about the passage of time, common adages, life advice, music, movies. I write a lot about pop culture. I was reading a song of mine I wrote recently about Matt and Daisy from Madame Secretary, and that song was written because their story just so happened to be on my mind. I’ve written a lot of things inspired by Taylor Swift’s music. I’ve been writing a lot recently about Pride and Prejudice, because that’s what I’m currently reading. I also like to write about fictional characters and their relationships.
HC: I think it’s interesting that you have both nature and cities on that list. Would you say that you are more of a city person or a country person?
IA: I’m going to say I’m more of a city person, because when you are in the downtown of a city, there’s a palpable heartbeat that makes you feel so connected to people around you, even though you don’t know any of them. There’s just a chemistry there that lets you forget that you have any problems.
HC: One of my favorite pieces of yours that I’ve put on Forwritten was ‘Why Are You Flirting With Me?’ Could you talk a little about the inspiration for that poem?
IA: Fun fact: I wrote that poem last September when I was really into the word ‘muse.’ The poem is about when you’re interacting with someone you really don’t want to be interacting with, but you have to interact with them because that’s just how it happened to work out. And then they’re bringing up old bonds and memories, and saying things that only a dumbass would not count as flirting.
I was thinking about all that and I was just like ‘let me be really really angry right now.’ I use a lot of profanity in that poem, and I love that, because I’m not one to be cursing every five seconds, but with this poem, it felt like a necessity. I really like the idea of being able to intermix profanity with regular English, and this poem is the pinnacle of that.
There’s a line in the poem that goes:
“And fuck you,
Cause you’re a fantastic muse
I wasn’t going to devote anymore attention to you
But then my mind materializes the best line,
So here I am,
Writing about you,
Again
This is so fucking annoying”
And that pretty much just sums up what I was feeling. After writing ‘Why Are You Flirting With Me?’ I remember thinking: ‘this is great for my writing quality, but awful for my sanity.’
HC: I know what you mean, I think a lot of good writing comes from immersing yourself in a feeling which can tend to create a lot of stress.
IA: Typically when I’m writing, it’s because I’ve been thinking about something all day, and then at night, I’ll finally transcribe it. I’ll have come up with the main line for a poem earlier in the day, and I’ll forget to write it down. But then, I’ll be lying in bed trying to fall asleep, and I’ll suddenly remember it. And once I remember it, I have to write it down, otherwise I won’t be able to fall asleep.
HC: Alright we’re nearing the end now so I’m going to ask you the same questions I ask everyone that I interview. First, how would you describe your experience on Forwritten so far?
IA: Excellent. You’re a great collaborator. You pick the best images for my poems. I remember when ‘Except’ was published, and I saw that the image you chose for it was of blue pajama pants, and I thought that was genius. When I saw the image you picked for ‘Why Are You Flirting With Me?’ I laughed for a good five minutes because it was so stellar and so on-point for the poem. I’m very excited to see what images you’re going to choose for my featured poems.
HC: Alright, last question of today: Do you have anything you’d like to promote or anything in your writing career you’d like to give a shoutout to?
IA: I post frequently on social media, and you can find me there @irisalo3. I just began my new series, Tidbit Of The Week, where every Tuesday, I share a tidbit I’ve written that I love. Additionally, I’m a published writer, and you can find my poetry in Issue 2: Voltage, from Navy Pen Digital Literary Magazine, in Issue 5 of Summur Magazine, in the 2025 North Carolina Bards Anthology, and, of course, on forwritten.com.
I’m currently crafting my debut anthology entitled ‘How To Fall In Love: An Anthology Analyzing Love And Loss.’ It’s going to be very good, if I do say so myself, and I’m aiming for a Summer 2026 release. I’m a songwriter; I’ve been writing songs since I was twelve. I’ve been trying to get more into the songwriter scene, so if you happen to be a singer who is looking for an excellent songwriter, I am here. I also write musicals and plays, and I hopefully will be doing more with that in the future.