Interview with Connor author of Atomic Flower

Cindy Georgakas

February 4, 2022

Happy Fun Fri-Yay My Friends,

Today I’m excited to share my Godson’s poetry book, Atomic Flower, with you available at Amazon.

Just a little background about how we met. Connor’s mom and I were roommates in college and have remained best friends ever since.

I remember when Connor was born. He was so adorable and charismatic and even then commanded the room. He kept us in stitches and was cute as a button.

To be clear I was not given the title of Godmother since I wasn’t Jewish or Catholic, so he has 2 other Godmother’s that love him dearly and have been very influential in his life.

He adopted me as his Godmother of his spirit, I think would be safe to say, which I hold very sacred and is near and dear to my heart.

He has grown into a wonderful young man, loves being in nature, listening to music, loves ice hockey, his animals, trying new things, his family, partner and especially poetry.

He shares openly and candidly, his experiences of the pains of growing, the joys of living and loving while asking the big questions we all ask ourselves about who we are in the unIverse.

His poetry is open and inspires as he moves through challenging times, finding love, God, connection with our earth, animals, mother nature and his family and friends. It is sometimes raw and always hopeful and honest in experience, rich with insight and experience.

I am honored to be written in his Acknowledgements section in his book of 80 plus poems. Here are some pictures I took of our time together at JIKOJI where we hiked and did our interview.

I love poetry,

it encompasses all things,

God too.
By Connor Licolli

He throws a stone in a nearby pond with a signature flower he draws to bless the earth.

Who in your life inspires you?

I am inspired by music and nature every day. It never disappoints and is always vast enough to hold me during my euphoric times and the times I need to be held. I get so much inspiration on my hikes with the the many gifts that clear my mind and create a space for creation in my poetry. Just look at this vast vista and trees in this picture that are full of growth and revitalize our planet and ourselves. I am so blessed.

I too am inspired by my Mom who is always consistently there for me and goes above and beyond to create a good life for her family. My Mom finds joy in the simple things and always helps me return to myself and the present moment.
And, I’m inspired by you, Cindy!
And, of course, the pups in my life!

What inspires your writing?

The greatest force of inspiration to my writing is, essentially, emotion itself. I feel that poetry is a means of archiving deep emotion, and I believe that it is deep emotion that is like the current that propels the isness of the upcoming moment. Being a Cancer, astrologically, I am essentially ruled by the moon, and emotion!
I am also deeply inspired by Nature, specifically trees, which truly grow in stillness.

You have a big love of music. Do you have a favorite musician?

My favorite musician is Porter Robinson. I believe he has captured the movement of emotion and sound in Nature in a remarkable way. His music and story are very relatable to me. His music is also very fun!

What is your biggest challenge?

My biggest challenge is perhaps similar to many other people… Waking up in the morning! Waking up with motivation to create something in the day and bring life and energy to it. I hope to bring a big energy to days that may even be mundane days. I am also challenged by rumination and thought in general. It seems the human consciousness has been overtaken too much by thought, and repetitive thought. Poetry appears to be an excellent means to return to that primal state of being, moved, moving, and it is usually apart from any sort of draining skepticism or nihilism.