For Simona Filiposka, Publishing Blood-Soaked Words Is Like A Dream Come True

Photos courtesy of Simona Filiposka

Five years ago, Simona Filiposka turned to poetry as a way to navigate her emotions—now, that passion has led to her debut collection, Blood-Soaked Words. I caught up with the rising poet to discuss her journey, creative process, and what it’s like to see her words in print at such a young age.

“Did you always know you wanted to be a poet?” I asked her.

Surprisingly, poetry wasn’t Simona’s first dream. Before she discovered her love for verse, she aspired to be a singer. She began writing song lyrics at around 11 or 12, but over time, those words started to take on a different shape. “I found that poetry felt more natural to me,” she shares.

She is currently studying Computer Science, which is a completely different field from poetry. When she told me this, I was amazed, but Simona doesn’t believe her academic background has influenced her writing journey. “We never really studied poetry writing in school—just analysis of poems from different authors,” she explains. “I like that too because I love literature, but poetry was something I explored on my own.”

In high school, Simona found encouragement through extracurricular activities that helped her find and develop her voice. She joined poetry contests, workshops, and open mic events, which pushed her to share her work and gain confidence in her writing. “At the beginning, I wasn’t that confident. But these experiences helped me explore my ideas more,” she admits.

Her passion didn’t stop there. Outside of school, she also contributes to the literary community by volunteering for online magazines. At just 16, Simona became a part of small publications such as Inertia Teens and Meadow Mouse Zine, both of which gave her a platform to refine her writing. “It was a volunteer experience, but it shaped the way I write,” she says. She later took this engagement offline, organizing poetry events in her hometown, including a gathering centered on women’s rights. For Simona, poetry is not just about self-expression—it’s about connection, about creating spaces where voices can be heard.

When it comes to themes, Simona’s poetry often explores emotions that many can relate to. “A lot of my poetry explores anxiety, overthinking, and mental health,” she shares. “I also write about love, how things could be, or how I wish they were. And nature is a big presence in my writing as well.”

Her creative process is as fluid and spontaneous as the themes she explores. “When you write, where do you usually start?” I asked her. “Inspiration can strike at 3 AM or when I’m walking down the street,” she says. She makes sure to jot down ideas whenever they come to her, sometimes turning to music as a source of inspiration. She focuses on the feelings that arise from song lyrics and tries to describe them through metaphors. At other times, she starts with a single image in her mind, letting the poem develop naturally. “My process can be chaotic, but I go with the flow,” she says with a smile.

Writing poetry can be deeply personal, and deciding what to share and what to keep private is a delicate balance. But Simona relies on gut instinct to guide her with which poems remain private and which ones she’s comfortable releasing. “Some pieces are too vulnerable to share, like journaling—you don’t share your whole journal with the world,” she explains.

However, there are still moments when she takes a leap of faith. “I’ve posted things on my poetry page that I wasn’t sure about, but I felt like maybe someone else needed to read them. It takes courage [to do that],” she says.

Despite common perceptions that poetry is difficult or exclusive to certain audiences, Simona wants to challenge that notion. “A lot of people feel that poetry is complex, like only certain people understand it,” she reflects. She believes this misconception stems from the way poetry is often presented in education, where analysis can feel daunting and inaccessible.

But to her, poetry is for everyone. “There are so many different kinds of poets and poetry out there. If you explore, you might find something that truly speaks to you,” she says. She hopes that readers won’t shy away from poetry due to preconceived notions but will instead allow themselves the chance to connect with it in their own way.

When it comes to style, Simona naturally gravitates toward free verse, as it feels the most natural to her. But she also enjoys experimenting. “I’ve written haikus, played with rhyme, even tried a Shakespearean sonnet. I’m not sure how well I did. My English teacher would be the judge of that,” she shares, laughing.

“How does it feel to have Blood-Soaked Words out in the world?” I asked her.

“Honestly, it feels like a dream come true,” she admits. Blood-Soaked Words is a collection of years of writing—some poems penned recently, while others date back to earlier years of her writing journey. She describes the process of putting the collection together as both exhilarating and surreal, but nothing compares to the moment she held her author copies for the first time.

The title, Blood-Soaked Words, emerged gradually as she refined the vision for her book. Structured into two parts, the collection explores both darkness and light—one section delving into themes of anxiety, overthinking, and emotional turmoil, while the other embraces love, nature, and renewal. “I had a hard time figuring out a title that would encompass all of it,” she explains.

The phrase “blood-soaked” symbolizes the rawness and vulnerability of her words, the deep emotional imprints left on the page. “It’s like a cut from my heart or my soul,” she says.

Simona had long dreamed of releasing a poetry collection, but for a while, the idea felt daunting. As a university student in a STEM field, she felt an undeniable pull to nurture her poetic side—to give it space and permanence. “I didn’t want to let my dreams go,” she shares. That realization pushed her forward, leading her to self-publish through Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing.

While self-publishing gave her full creative control—from designing the cover to handling the formatting—it also came with challenges, particularly in navigating the technical aspects of book production. Still, she embraced the process, learning as she went, and ultimately bringing her vision to life.

If there’s one message Simona hopes readers take away from her book, it’s the understanding that vulnerability is not a weakness but a natural part of being human. “Every emotion and life experience shapes who we are,” she shares. Through her collection, she aims to highlight the coexistence of both light and dark, love and pain, and how these elements intertwine to form the full spectrum of the human experience. “You can’t have one without the other.”

Looking ahead, Simona is focused on promoting her book and exploring new opportunities. She’s considering translating Blood-Soaked Words into Slovene and hopes to organize workshops, open mics, or virtual events to connect with a wider audience. “My readers are spread across different parts of the world, so online events might be the best way to reach them,” she says.

For those interested in reading her work, Blood-Soaked Words is available in paperback on Amazon worldwide. While it remains a physical-only release for now, Simona is excited for the journey ahead—one that will continue to bring her poetry to readers who find solace and meaning in her words.