The Third Self explores the beautifully messy creative process: an interview with Salem Paige
Salem Paige’s new book, The Third Self, is a meta collection of poetry divided into three parts: “Identity”, “Uncertainty”, and “Creativity”. The concept of the third self was presented by Mary Oliver in her essay "Of Power and Time". She describes it as the state-of-mind responsible for creativity. You have likely experienced the trance Oliver refers to if you have ever been free of distractions and open to the vision that emerges on the canvas. In The Third Self, Salem springboards off of this concept and explores what it means to be an artist. While their musings are relatable to all creative types, they examine artistry through the lens most familiar to them: that of a writer.
What does it mean to be a writer? This is the big question Salem attempts to tackle in the first section of The Third Self, “Identity”. To become a successful writer, one must write. Creation begins with action, but action can sometimes feel impossible. Salem, like most writers, experiences blank page syndrome: feeling stuck and held back by self-doubt during the creative cycle. Many of us consider a blank canvas alongside a shortage of ideas to be a curse. However, Salem asserts that an artistic lull is a crucial phase of the cycle—a moment of incubation.
"The time you're not creating is still essential for the process. You're still generating ideas in your mind.
Something is still happening, but it isn't yet tangible. Give it time until it's ready."
The desire to write beautiful prose coexists with the fear of failure, and perfectionism can take over. Salem encourages writers to embrace the process as an adventure instead of focusing on the final results. If you're still stuck after a pause, try doing an activity not related to the project. Salem creates collages to turn off their brain and create without expectations.
In “Uncertainty”, Salem invites the reader to inhabit their shadow, weaving together the rawness of shame, insecurity and the ache of self-criticism. It is vulnerable and painfully human, offering comfort in its relatability.
“I want people to know we are all in the same boat. Nobody succeeds, nobody feels completely confident in their work, nobody is certain, but we all do it because it means something to us.” Salem offers a glimmer of hope, writing that maybe one day, we will overcome self-doubt and create a work of art that outlives us.
In “Creativity”, Salem writes about imposter syndrome again, but the pendulum swings from insecurity to security. The fear of failure is still present, but there is also inspiration to clench fingers against a pen and scribble to create something from scratch. One won’t always feel inspired to create, but when it happens, it’s important to let the ideas flow out naturally without pressure.
Throughout the collection, Salem refers to themselves using a lowercase i. They explain, "When I first began writing poetry, I felt small." Imposter syndrome got in the way, even if it was subconscious. After dissecting the reason for their usage of the lowercase pronoun, they have reclaimed confidence in referring to themselves with an uppercase I.
Salem hopes The Third Self will encourage people to connect with their intuitive selves while embracing every phase of the creative cycle. “I'm so proud of this book. It's about more than writing; it's about creative ideology.”
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The Third Self by Salem Paige is available at salempaige.com/books. There will be a book launch on May 19 in Ottawa.
More details to come!
Follow Salem Paige on Instagram: @corpseofapoet
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