Features “Dissonant Demons”, “Self-Sufficient Psyche”,
and “Love Is Immortal”
from Rather Be Haunted on Amazon.com
Tag: Rather Be Haunted by Valerie Parente
Poetry Reading & Analysis (Grand Scheme ~ The Fear I Long For ~ Ghosts In My Room) (VIDEO)
Features “Grand Scheme”, “The Fear I Long For”,
and “Ghosts In My Room”
from Rather Be Haunted on Amazon.com
Poetry Reading & Analysis (Looking At The World Upside Down ~ Tangled ~ Worth It) (VIDEO)
Features “Looking At The World Upside Down”, “Tangled”, and “Worth It”
from Rather Be Haunted on Amazon.com
Poetry Reading & Analysis (Old Soul ~ I Will Never Be The Same ~ A Poetic Manifesto) (VIDEO)
Features “Old Soul”, “I Will Never Be The Same”, and “A Poetic Manifesto”
from Rather Be Haunted on Amazon.com
Poetry Reading & Analysis (Broken ~ Mirror Image ~ The Way You Treat Me) (VIDEO)
Features “Broken”, “Mirror Image”, and “The Way You Treat Me”
from Rather Be Haunted on Amazon.com
Poetry Reading & Analysis (Self-Inflicted ~ One Dimension ~ Value) (VIDEO)
Features “Self-Inflicted”, “One Dimension”, and “Value”
from Rather Be Haunted on Amazon.com
Rather Be Haunted (VIDEO)
Theme of Rather Be Haunted & Explanation behind Title
– Valerie Parente (7-13-2020)
Poetic Plot
Poetic Plot by Valerie Parente
For the past few years
the only thing that got rid of my writer’s block
was when you’d go and pissed me off
so now that you’re dead and gone
I’m struggling to remember how to start.
How do I write a piece from my heart
without getting your image involved?
Because you were the one to break me apart
and I know that contradicts my thoughts
that I’m trying to write about moving on
but it’s way too damn hard
not to end this with a vicious remark
a quick fuck you for affecting my art
and a quick thank you for making me your pawn
because that sick game you called my fault
made a hell of a good poetic plot.

– Valerie Parente (7-6-2020)
New to Patreon!
For anyone interested in supporting my mission to find beauty in darknes, I just made a Patreon account. No pressure to join, I just figured I should make the option available as an artist in this day and age. http://www.patreon.com/valerieparente
The overarching theme to all my artwork- whether it is poetry, prose, stories, drawings, paintings, or photography- is finding beautiful darkness. I love finding the positive in dark moods, situations, and imagery. This is evident in my written work on my website, valerieparente.wordpress.com, and in my novels available on Amazon (“The Artist, The Muse”, “In Touch”, and “Rather Be Haunted”. I draw inspiration from a lifelong and personal struggle with very severe Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and anorexia. Each body of work I create centers around mental illness.
The Artist, The Muse : a poetry and prose collection about what it is like to have a mental disorder that influences your art.
In Touch : a fiction novel about a female with OCD, based on my real-life struggle with OCD, through the eyes of a male without the disorder.
Rather Be Haunted : a poetry and prose collection that explores love, heartache, and death from the perspective of a girl with OCD that feels “haunted” by the motifs in life that define her humanity, including my signature Mannequin Art (used as a commentary on what it means to learn how to be a “normal” human).
Thank you from the bottom of my heart if you are interested in my journey to discover beauty in darkness.
Rather Be Haunted
Rather Be Haunted by Valerie Parente
Emotions haunt me like ghosts
manipulating the energy inside of me
drawing from what I want the most
because my intensity sets the ghosts free.
The more meaning in my interactions
the more meaning in my poetry
because these interpersonal relations
have me evolving spiritually.
I used to identify as the tortured artist
but now I identify as a human being
creating words so painfully honest
Hurt, feel, heal, then repeat.
The pain never starts out pretty
but the ghosts give me an artistic opportunity
in turn I give them the satisfaction of being seen
while I turn those emotions into a masterpiece.
It isn’t easy learning through ghosts
but if its between getting what I wanted
and the force of emotional growth
then I would rather be haunted.

– Valerie Parente (2-25-2020)