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Interview with John Ireland
This is the first Square-Peg Spotlight featuring a male Square-Peg! And between the interview being a first - and the fact that John is such a free spirit we decided to play loose with the interview format. You won't see all the regular questions - but you'll get to know a lot about wonderful, creative John Ireland.
We had an incredibly interesting interview call - I think John is a born connector (one of those people who just jumps out and grabs your heart). We talked about everything: the state of schools, mental health work (we have both worked in the mental health field), family, Fall, surviver/thriver issues, grief, even a bit of politics. There was a LOT of Square-Peg energy - ideas bouncing all over.
I noticed some Bucks County pictures and references in John's work - that led to more exciting discussions. John has ties to Bucks County, which is where I live - there are Quakers in his family tree - and I attend a Quaker Meeting. I love when I get a chance to talk to other Square-Pegs and find out what we have in common.
John is a poet and photographer."I've been writing since I was a kid." He was writing when he found Square-Peg-People. "Some spirit-guide led me to look on the net."
His nature shots take your breath away, especially Fall pictures. You can feel his passion for Fall in his photos. John says: "i am an absolute fall nut since i was wee johnutty mac chuckles o'lunawacko."
He also creates different types of collages - some are family oriented and inspiring, others are light-hearted and full of wonder.
We talked about one of John's loves - genealogy. "I'm very into genealogy." Many of John's collages incorporate family photos and/or information he's gathered while hunting stories of ancestors.
John shared tales of his family with me in such a way that I now feel I know them! He mentioned that his "mom had a love for genealogy, too."
He knows so much about - and loves his family's history - and is such a great story-teller. And stories is the big word here - John talks about his genealogy findings in story. It's exciting to hear something that usually is couched in dry fact come alive.
John is very proud of his parents and loves to tell stories about them. "Both had a spiritual side. My mom was a nurse with a great sense of humor, the backbone of the family...My mom stayed home until I was in high school., then she started doing nursing. She loved geriatrics, she was not in nursing for the money. Some friends of hers even made fun of her for this." His dad was a policeman.
When John was 38 both his parents passed away (within 5 weeks of each other ) - his mom in September and his dad in October of 1998. John used genealogy to help him through his losses. "It's a weird grief tool. I've accessed my spiritual side through genealogy."
Horrifically, John's childhood world included "multiple perpetrators of sexual abuse/rape including clergy." John told me "When I hit 30 I told my parents about being abused, they were very supportive." I asked John when he began to work on survivor issues.
John spent 10 years as a teacher of 4th and 5th grades. When he talks about teaching you can hear his passion. One of the exciting things he did as a teacher was to develop a social studies curriculum. I imagine - like the genealogy stories he told me - John pulled the children in to history - having it come alive.
Unfortunately, he was told (by his principal!) that he was "too caring, too creative and too much of a free spirit." John says that he "...saw that things were so wrong in the system and got into a deep depression over seeing how people closed their eyes to wrongs."
In the Fall of 2002, after he took sick leave, John would have had to go to the Board of Education to get reinstated, but he "...chose to not return to the 'board of dread' (my term for the horror system...)"
He has also "...worked in a psych unit" and told me how he "could get some of the catatonic patients to laugh. But I got in trouble for that..." I was so excited when he was telling me this that I must have interrupted him 5 times. I thought it was wonderful that he would do that - made me think of my favorite movie Awakenings.
We discussed many things about the mental health field, including disclosure in therapy. John noted: "...it's a shame on the therapy world that things are supposed to be so secretive." That's one of my pet peeves too - that some therapists hold their own cards too close to their chests - as if they are "above" having difficulties - thus alienating clients.
John talked about having been "... a compulsive overeater." when I asked him how he got over that he told me: "confronting the deep issues through years of therapy & writing led me to not using food...(although i still love to indulge...lol) unlike alcohol & drugs, you gotta eat."
First, i must share of Victims No Longer by Magic Mike Leaping Lew...this book literally saved my life...it took me quite some time to get the courage to initially purchase it at those 'scary' moments when i first delved into healing..."
Fall Freedom Forest
Inspiration in my ancestral Poconos
Creative partners in crime bonded
Testimony to Mike's magic serendipity
Innocent boys await rebirth in scarred men
Magnetic radiance flows as years pass
Soothing tranquility grants mystical healing
Nerve~wracking emotions quickly vanish
Outrageous victimizers lose their paralyzing grip
Leaping Lew and Heartwarming Harrigan guide
Offering amazing energy to lucky guys like me
Nourishing vibes are always a permanent gift
Genuine life journeys like this are quite rare
Empathic pathways of healing restore vibrancy
Reading this book truly saved me from death
Cloud "17" jumps with infinite joy :):):)
DREAM~~~DARE~~~DIVE!!! :):):)
You can see a larger picture of this collage (and other collages, photos and poems) at John's gallery.
: > ) : > ) : > ) : > ) : > ) : > )
Proud to share Scottish ancestry with J M Barrie
Everlasting Celtic magic in
his words of wonder
Treeeee~mendous leafy pals are sure fun to fly
with
Eager to jump with joy with the legendary Lost Boys
Rascal pirates
are using their trickery as they chase me
: > ) : > ) : > ) : > ) : > ) : > )
Pandemic Fairydusitis transforms the entire world population
Adventures are
everchanging each time you turn a page
Neverland tickets are free for those
who BELIEVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
: > ) : > ) : > ) : > ) : > ) : >)
"17" chilling chapters with cheerFULL chums :):):)
DREAM~~~DARE~~~DIVE!!! :):):)
"...next is a double fav...Vein of Gold & The Artist's Way by
Julia Cameron...her creative free spirit books inspire me to the max...being a
square pegger...i also took a 13 week group thang based on The Artist's
Way."
See acrostic and bigger picture here.
How about John's comfort in playfulness and expressions of wonder? He seems to share that part of his world as easily as he shares his ideas and thoughts.
One of the ways John's sense of wonder shows up is in how he plays with words. You can see this in his poems and acrostics. He even howls: "ahooooooooooooooooo". He loves nicknames - has changed his a couple times in the relatively short time I've known him (his current nickname is johnutty everkid). John gave me a nickname that I treasure: koolio kreative kharismatic karen! How can you take yourself too seriously when you've got a goofy nickname?
He has influenced me in lightening up - remembering to play more. One of my favorite things about John is his rare ability to inhabit both the world of play AND the world of struggle. No denial about struggle and pain - and no forgetting that the world offers FUN!
John's done the intensely hard work of moving through multiple crises (grief - loss of his parents and work that meant so much to him plus childhood rape). He now calls his scars "stars" - and has grown from them. What an unbelievably beautiful use of crises!
John used many things to assist his growth. He talked about reading, therapy work, art and even horror movies. I've never been a fan of horror books or movies - they traumatize me. In the past few years I've spoken to a number of people who've been able to explain something that I didn't "get" - the positive influence that horror is for some people. It's been interesting to talk to John about this. In the "favorite book" section he mentioned that horror "gave me a fantasy outlet from all the real hell endured..." I'm glad that possibility exists for people - I'm glad there are so many ways to work through trauma (still, don't invite me to the next horror movie...ew..I'm not going!)
John's decision NOT to be silent about childhood sexual abuse is inspiring to me. I've spoken with a number of Square-Pegs who've brought up survivor/thriver stories. I've been asked to make a Dealing with Childhood Abuse section. And I'm a survivor/thriver myself.
Talking with John has been a nudge to me to move faster on putting a Square-Peg survivor/thriver section up. If you'd like to suggest topics to cover in the section, please use the contact form to let me know.
You can see John's art and writing at John's gallery. And you can see and hear him (and some of his playful voices) in YouTube videos.
Go visit him, say "Hi!" - and when you feel the fun - give yourself a nickname. It'll change your day!
Here are John's favorite books: