Order here: etsy.com/shop/SteveSkafte
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SteveSkafte.substack.com I've lived just outside of Bridgetown, Nova Scotia ever since I was born in 1987. By the summer of 2007, nearly everyone I grew up with had moved away, out west or to the city. I left too, taking my bicycle across New Brunswick and Maine, wandering around for weeks in the countryside. I c
ame home that fall, and realized I hardly even knew what I was leaving behind. That's when I started a daily photo-journal that I've created and shared ever since, a combination of photos, prose, and poems. It began as an excuse to get me out driving and hiking the backroads of Annapolis County, and to finally explore every inch of home. But it's ended up following me through everything and everywhere since, beyond Nova Scotia, from Greece to Chicago, on the day my grandfather died, and on my wedding day – everything is remembered. It recaptured the sense of adventure I always felt as a kid, when every backyard and tiny stream seemed endless and full of wonder. I come from a blue collar background, and a family without much interest in art. So I learned to be a storyteller, to try and reach people on an ordinary level, but sneak in something deeper on the inside. I spend nearly all of my time alone, and what I've learned in these years is how isolation can be a powerful creative force. What you can achieve with aloneness is time to think, how to handle your thoughts with no one else to listen. We all just speak the way we were raised, but writing is tool to shape a language within a language, a style of expression you invented for yourself. I don't care for complex conversations, but words in text offer a depth that comes with forethought. I’ve always mumbled and stuttered, tripping on my own tongue, so slowing down did a lot for me. I have an overwhelming anxiety, but writing holds back the nervous energy until it’s something worthwhile. Poetry, prose, and photography are like a barrier and a door, cage and key, restraint and escape. The hikes I take down forgotten roads and the explorations of abandoned buildings are mirrors of my need to be noticed, and most of all, useful. There’s nothing better than letting someone know that it’s okay to be a dreamer. I’ve self-published many books of photography/prose, poetry, and even a couple guidebooks – all available here:
www.etsy.com/shop/SteveSkafte
You can support my work for as little as $1 a month here:
www.patreon.com/SteveSkafte
