Meet Steven Law | Writer and poet

We had the good fortune of connecting with Steven Law and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Steven, what habits do you feel play an important role in your life?
One of my most beneficial habits is regular meditation. I find that after a good meditation session I am once again centered and grounded. As a writer and poet there is a certain sweet spot, a certain balance, a certain zone where, when I reach it, my best ideas, inspiration and insights flow. My best writing occurs when I’m in that state of consciousness and calm.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I began my career as a journalist in 1992, working for a daily newspaper in southern Utah. I was also an avid backpacker and outdoor explorer. As my career progressed, I was drawn more and more to outdoor and travel writing and began doing that as a freelance writer. In the beginning, my outdoor stories and essays appeared primarily in regional outdoor magazines. By my mid-30s my writing morphed to poetry, longer, more contemplative essays and books. It has not been an easy career. By 1998, only six years into my writing career, the arrival of the internet was having a profoundly negative impact on print journalism. All across America, newspapers were laying off staff by the hundreds, which then terribly flooded the freelance writing market with very talented writers. Making a living as a journalist was difficult. This was a big reason why my writing morphed to poetry, longer essays and books; since I wasn’t getting paid enough to make a living as a journalist, I might as well write poems and essays, which also don’t pay much, but was a form I enjoyed a great deal more.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I live in Page, Arizona, one of the most beautiful locations on the planet. It is ALWAYS featured on any list of top-ten travel destinations. Page is located in northern Arizona at the center of the Grand Circle. I would take them backpacking to my favorite little spot on the Paria Plateau, hot air ballooning in Page, fishing on Lake Powell, meditating on Clark Bench. As far as dining and drinks, we’d take a little road trip from Page to St. George, Utah and stop at cheese shops, sushi houses, coffee bars and steakhouses in Kanab, Toquerville and LaVerkin.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I knew I wanted to be a writer and journalist when I was 16-years-old. Early in my writing career I was still figuring out my writing voice and style, as well has how to be a good writer, a compelling writer. In that effort, I devoured magazines and books and when I discovered a great writer I would then read everything they’d ever written. I found that I was drawn to writers who are good at using metaphors and similes in their descriptions, and I began using that in my own writing. The writers who have had the biggest influence on the way I write are Annie Proulx, Henry David Thoreau, Tim Cahill, Tom Robbins and Mary Oliver.

Website: www.stevenwesleylaw.com

Image Credits
Steven Law pic 2: Brian Henderson Steven Law pic 3: Alissa Jones Steven Law pic 4: Bob Hembree Steven Law pic 5: George Hardeen Steven Law pic 6: George Hardeen Steven Law pic 7: George Hardeen Steven Law pic 8: Sven Jenn