#BlogTour A Man of Understanding by Diana Janney

It's a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour A Man of Understanding by Diana Janney. A stand out piece of literary fiction.

About the Author

Diana Janney is the author of the novels The Choice and The Infinite Wisdom of Harriet Rose, which has been translated into German, Spanish, Dutch and Portuguese. It was produced by the BBC as an audiobook and the film rights were sold.

Formerly she practised as a barrister in London after having qualified as a solicitor at a leading City of London international law firm. She read Philosophy at University College, London, where she received a First for her Masters thesis on Kant and Hume, and three Scholarships. She has received international acclaim for her writing, which combines her philosophical knowledge with her wit, poetry and keen observation of human nature. Diana lives on the Kent/Sussex borders. She has spent most of her adult life living in London.

About the book

It takes a man of understanding to rebuild a shattered soul: a man with a deep and learned grasp of philosophy and poetry, a man who can nurture and inspire an enquiring mind, a man with the wit and humour to bring the world alive. That enigmatic man is Horatio Hennessey.

His grandson Blue is that shattered soul. Following the death of twelve-year-old Blue's parents, he arrives in the mountains of Mallorca, to live with the grandfather he has never met. But is Horatio, 'Granga' to Blue, upto the challenge? Or is he merely trying, through his own grandson, to make good his past? Gradually a bond evolves between them through a shared love of poetry. But when secrets are uncovered, will understanding turn to misunderstand? Will two souls be shattered this time?

Review

One could say it's pretentious and ambitious  - it certainly speaks of a belief in a certain level of academic prowess and talent, when literary work is described in the confines, boundaries and expectations of poetry, philosophy and literature. And here we are. This book manages to work within those expectations, cross the boundaries and expand upon the expectations, and it is also so much more at the same time.

I tell no lie when I say that I shed a tear at the end. Not for the story or the characters per se, but rather for the beauty this work entails and encompasses, and brings together so seamlessly. A melding of word art, emotional turmoil and entwining it with such a firm grasp on existential thoughts and fears.

No thought or word to be uttered without deeper introspection. No interaction noted or action taken without an exploration of depth of connection, of creativity, and acknowledgement of simply being - of existence.

I adored it. I love the art of poetry, and questions of philosophy that burn to be dissected. This is such a wonderful combination of the two, which is only enhanced by the presence of the Blue and Horatio. The stripping of persona and relationships to the core of inner essence - soul, if one can identify something so elusive and tangible. Then using core emotions of grief, abandonment, the need to belong and be loved to drive this powerful story to a conclusion, which is in itself once more a beginning or end, a door to be closed or opened. Beautiful work.

Buy A Man of Understanding at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Cogito Publishing, pub date 7th April 2022 - paperback - £8.99. Buy via Cogito Publishing.

World Poetry Day - inVerse - Poetry reimagined!

 I am incredibly excited about this blog post because it's all about celebrating World Poetry Day!

Launching on World Poetry Day on 21st March 2021, inVERSE is a collection of five of the world’s oldest surviving poems re-imagined for the 21st century through the medium of film, by the award-winning film maker Jack Jewers. 

Each film takes an ancient poem as a prism through which to explore the world today. With historical poems ranging from the 1st Century Italy to 1500 BCE Mesopotamia, these five short films explore time and the human condition using the language of the ancients and the modern film making techniques of the 21st century. In celebration of humanity’s long relationship with poetry on World Poetry Day, these five films are a reminder that in these troubled modern times, poetry still has the ability to sooth and inspire.  

Far from being dry, remote echoes of a long-gone age, each poem chosen for the collection feels like it could have been written yesterday. And why shouldn’t they? People are people. Our dreams are nothing new. Our ancestors had the same hopes and fears that we do. And if we can understand this, perhaps it helps to put some of the problems of our modern world into perspective. 

The five films being released to mark World Poetry Day on Sunday 21st March are:

·       Love Song -  An Egyptian love poem written in 1400 BCE reveals a meditation on the meaning of relationship and gender in 2021.  

·       Long Wall - A poem about loss and suffering from the Han Dynasty in China, opens up a conversation about Europe’s refugee crisis.

·       My Heart - Originating from ancient Mesopotamia, “My Heart Flutters Hastily” is a delightful reminder that those giddy, dizzy feelings you can get when you really like somebody are nothing new.

·       The Look - A first century poem taken from Ovid’s Ars Amarosa is reimagined as a celebration of inclusivity and tolerance.

·       The Dawn - The ancient Indian poet Kālidāsa’s Salutation to the Dawn transforms into a rallying cry for a better tomorrow led by young street protestors.

All five of the films are available free to watch via the inverse website inversefilm.uk.

Jack Jewers is a filmmaker and writer. Passionate about telling stories in all media, his body of work crosses film, TV, and digital. His short films and web series have been shown in and out of competition at dozens of film and web festivals, including Cannes, New York, Washington D.C., Marseille, Dublin, and London’s FrightFest.

In 2014 he developed and directed Night School, a web series based on the popular young adult novels of the same name. It quickly grew from a couple of low-budget short films to become one of the highest-profile British web series to date. Jack’s numerous short films as director include the critically-acclaimed Shalom Kabul, a dark comedy based on the true story of the last two Jews of Afghanistan. 

Jack has won several accolades for his film work, including an award from the Royal Television Society and a nomination for Best Short Film by BAFTA Wales. He has been invited to speak about his work at several major film and TV industry events, including Series Mania in Paris. Jack has also worked in advertising.

Through his production company, Queen Anne’s Revenge, Jack is currently in development on the fantasy TV series Whatever After, featuring Jessica Brown Findlay. He is also working on a small slate of feature film projects, including a thriller set in the international protest movement, entitled Generation Revolution. 

Away from the cinema in all its forms, Jack has a deep interest in literature and history. He writes historical fiction, and is the co-founder of the publishing company Moonflower Books. 

He lives near London with his wife, the author Christi Daugherty, a small menagerie of pets, and a friendly ghost. But that’s another story. 

Love Song - Based on the poem The Flower Song Anon. Egypt, c.1400 BCE. (Abridged).

Watch here: https://inversefilm.uk/watch/love-song 

A timeless declaration of love and desire, this poem feels as fresh today as it did when it was written – a long, long time ago. The imagery is strikingly sensual; how the narrator describes the sound of their true love’s voice as being like the taste of sweet wine; or wishing they were her very her clothes, so that they could forever be close to her body. It’s passionate, erotic, and quite beautiful

inVERSE: Love Song from Jack Jewers on Vimeo.

Long Wall - Based on the poem He Waters His Horse By A Breach in the Long Wall Anon. China, c.120 BCE

Watch here: https://inversefilm.uk/watch/long-wall 

Jack Jewers says: The first time I read this anonymous poem – dating from the Han Dynasty in China, sometime around 120BCE – I was blown away by its age. How can a poem this rich and vivid be so old? The idea for this whole series of films grew from there. The poem conveys such poignant feelings of separation and loss that it seemed to be perfectly suited to a tale of refugees, far from home.

inVERSE: Long Wall from Jack Jewers on Vimeo.

My Heart - Based on the poem My Heart Flutters Hastily Anon. Mesopotamia, c.1500 BCE

Watch here: https://inversefilm.uk/watch/my-heart 

Originating from ancient Mesopotamia, “My Heart Flutters Hastily” is a delightful reminder that those giddy, dizzy feelings you can get when you really like somebody are nothing new. Whether it’s in a world of dating apps and socially-distanced love, or from a time that feels unimaginably distant, people have been falling in love the same way forever.

inVERSE: My Heart from Jack Jewers on Vimeo.

The Look  - Based on the poem Take Care With How You Look from Ars Amarosa by Ovid. Italy, 1st Century CE.  (Abridged).

Watch here: https://inversefilm.uk/watch/the-look 

The Romans knew how to have a good time. The Look is an abridged version of ‘Take Care With How You Look,’ a chapter from Ars Amarosa (“The Art of Love”), by the poet Ovid. Its themes of rejecting false nostalgia about the past, and embracing the richness of the modern age, sounded to me like a celebration of inclusivity and tolerance. Of course, Ovid was writing about a very different age to our own, but the message holds as true today as it always has been. And what more fabulous harbingers this message than Drag Queens United?

inVERSE: The Look from Jack Jewers on Vimeo.

The Dawn - Based on the poem Salutation to the Dawn by Kālidāsa (attributed) - India, c.400 CE

Watch here: https://inversefilm.uk/watch/the-dawn 

Considered the greatest poet of ancient India, Kālidāsa is a founding figure of world literature. And yet, a lot of mystery surrounds Kālidāsa. Some scholars even question whether he was a real person, suggesting instead that his work a kind of collected greatest hits of the ancient Sanskrit world. And perhaps it's appropriate that such an inspiring poem was written by a semi-mythical figure. It sounds to me like a rallying cry for a better tomorrow. And who better to get that across than young street protestors? 

inVERSE: The Dawn from Jack Jewers on Vimeo.

You can read all five poems on the inverse website here: https://inversefilm.uk/the-poems

Follow inVerse on Twitter: @inversefilm, Instagram: @inversefilms, Website: https://inversefilm.uk/

Watch Dawn here:

#BlogTour The Girl and The Goddess by Nikita Gill

Today it's my turn on the BlogTour The Girl and the Goddess by Nikita Gill. 

'A mesmerising poetic tale following one girl’s wild journey of strength, beauty and self-discovery, told with lyrical wonder and spiritual revelation by one of the UK's most popular poets.'

About the Author

Nikita Gill is a British-Indian writer and artist living in the south of England. With a huge online following, her words have captivated hearts and minds all over the world. Nikita is an ambassador for National Poetry Day and is a regular speaker at literary events. Her previous works include Fierce Fairytales and Great Goddesses. The Girl and The Goddess is her first novel.

Follow @nktgill on Twitter, on Goodreads, on Amazon, @nikita_gill  on Instagram,  meanwhilepoetry.tumblr.com/, facebook.com/nikitagillwrites/, Buy The Girl and the Goddess

About the book

Meet Paro. A girl with a strong will, a full heart and much to learn. Born into a family reeling from the ruptures of Partition, follow her as she crosses the precarious lines between childhood, teenage discovery and realising her adult self all while navigating different cultures, religions and identities.

Returning to her core themes of feminism, healing and mythology in her most powerful and personal work yet, Nikita's masterful poetry, along with her beautiful hand-drawn illustrations, taps into the rich well of Hindu mythology, conjuring up jasmine scented voices and ancestral smiles as Paro confronts fear, desire and the very darkest parts of herself in the search for meaning and empowerment.

Review

It's the story of Paro, a girl who struggles with living her truth and the fear of being rejected because of it. The difficulty of having to live life by the rules of one culture, whilst simultaneously adhering to another. Torn between two worlds, which automatically creates a sort of split identity.

It's no wonder there is confusion, despair, pain, hurt and anger in the words. There is also fear of treading into the unknown, of guaranteed responses that will turn the world she knows into an unbalanced surface full of eggshells.

Gill's work wanders from poetry and intermittent short flash fiction like moments, and is enhanced by beautiful illustrations. She uses mythology to connect to the humanity and reality of her life, and the world in general. Drawing comparisons between the religious deities and mythology she grew up with to find a loophole of comprehension and acceptance.

The question is whether it should be from those people she seeks it from so desperately or is it just a matter of accepting her own self. Her emotions, the attractions she feels, and the search for some semblance of inner peace.

It's a fascinating combination of written and drawn art. Words often delivered in short bursts and then at times in moments of nostalgia they are longer, which is countered by the stories of mythology.

Buy The Girl and the Goddess and Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher Ebury Press: pub date 1st October 2020 | Hardback | £12.99. Buy at Amazon com. Buy via Hive. Buy via Bookshop.org

#BlogTour The Death of the Sentence by Richard Doyle

 
Today it's my turn and the last day of the BlogTour The Death of the Sentence by Richard Doyle.

About the Author

Richard Doyle is an old-school SF fan who began writing seriously in 2001. He has a Diploma in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia and collaborated on a book in 2006. He has had poems published in the UK poetry magazines Orbis and Sarasvati and is a regular member of the Bristol Stanza Poetry Group. 

Follow Richard on Goodreads, on Amazon, Buy The Death of the Sentence

About the book

The death of the sentence is the debut role of the writer; the plight of the poetry pamphlet; an inventive homage; science in the novel; science fiction in the real world; prose spaceship and singular music; both fun-

Simple in style yet steeped in emotion, I recommend The death of the sentence for poetry newbs and aficionados alike - Dystopic.co.uk

Review

Let's begin with the fact the title is an oxymoron. The Death of the Sentence, whereby the use of words and sentences are the tool of communication. The conduit for emotions, frustrations, thoughts and speculative leaps. 

Indeed the comparisons between the pieces are often an intentional contradictory reading experience.

It's a book of speculative poetry. Exposing inner ambitions, expectations and letting the reader glimpse more than they expected perhaps. Is Doyle at times questioning what is inside or what wants to be out there amongst us. Is it a conversation written in prose and experimental poetry?

I think it would be interesting to see what the author does next and how much depth he can ring to the table, and indeed is there a door beyond the world of this short and yet intimately poignant short experience of words.

Buy The Death of a Sentence by Richard Doyle at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher : Independently published 10 July 2020. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour How to Carry Fire by Christina Thatcher

Today it's a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour How to Carry Fire by Christina Thatcher.

About the Author
Shortlisted for the Bare Fiction Debut Poetry  Collection Competition in 2015 and a winner in the Terry Hetherington Award for Young Writers in 2016, Christina Thatcher’s poetry and short stories have featured in over 40 publications including The London Magazine, Planet Magazine, And Other Poems, Acumen and The Interpreter’s House. Her first collection, More than you were, was published by Parthian Books in 2017.

Follow @writetoempower @parthianbooks on Twitter, on Goodreads, Visit christinathatcher.com, Buy How to Carry Fire

About the book
How to Carry Fire was born from the ashes of family addiction. Beginning with the burning down of her childhood home, Thatcher explores how fire can both destroy and cleanse. Her work recognises embers everywhere: in farmhouses, heroin needles, poisonous salamanders.

Thatcher reveals how fire is internalised and disclosed through anxiety, addiction, passion and love. Underneath and among the flames runs the American and Welsh landscapes – locations which, like fire itself, offer up experiences which mesmerise, burn and purify. This poignant second collection reminds us of how the most dangerous and volatile fires can forge us – even long after the flames have died down.

Review
Poetry is very much a form of art - written art. It is also, when you leave aside structure, an absolutely subjective experience, regardless of whether it is performed for you or read by oneself. The base reaction to words, phrases and even sound is an experience each person owns, which is why I am highly sceptical of third parties evaluating an interpretation of a poem. I mean this more in an academic sense.

You can evaluate if I have recognised stanza, line length or other technical things - what you can't do is decide what I should be experiencing or how I interpret a poem. Although the author owns their own emotions, truth and their words, even they don't know how your own frame of references will experience their words.

This book contains over sixty poems. Word-art that speaks to the pain, the trauma, the fear and disappointment felt over decades. Words thrust upon paper in an attempt to understand, confront and eventually heal.

Arson - what does happen when life infuses you with fire? The kind you can't control as it controls every part of you. You feel, breathe and live it. An anonymous silent partner feeding your internal turmoil.

Most Days - almost an ode to a specific type of body dysmorphia linked to flashbacks. Severe trauma causing an out of body experience. Injuries heal, but scars are constant travelling companions in our lives.

Thatcher takes a sharp knife, draws it slowly down her arm and opens her vein to show her readers her fire, her pain that lives just below the surface and the demons she has tried to silence during her lifetime. Her poetry is a release, a reminder and hopefully also a rescue.

Buy How to Carry Fire at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Parthian Books; pub date 1 April 2020 Paperback / Poetry - £9.00. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour Tales of the What the F*ck by D.A. Watson

It's my turn on the BlogTour Tale of the What the F*ck by D.A. Watson.

About the Author
D.A. Watson was halfway through a music and media degree at the University of Glasgow and planning on being a teacher when he discovered he was actually a better writer than musician. He unleashed his debut novel In the Devil's Name on an unsuspecting public in the summer of 2012, and plans of a stable career in education left firmly in the dust, later gained his masters in Creative Writing from the University of Stirling.

He has since published two more novels; The Wolves of Langabhat and Cuttin' Heads, a collection of short fiction and poetry, Tales of the What the F*ck, and several acclaimed articles, poems and stories, including Durty Diana, which was nominated for a Pushcart Prize in the US in 2016, and the Burns parody Tam O' Shatner, prizewinner at the Falkirk Storytelling Festival and Dunedin Burns Poetry Competition, and nominated for the People's Book Prize in 2018.

Watson's writing has appeared in several anthologies and collections including 404 Ink, Dark Eclipse, Speculative Books, Haunted Voices and The Flexible Persona, and he is also a regular spoken word performer, with past gigs at Bloody Scotland, Tamfest, Sonnet Youth, Express Yourself, Clusterf*ck Circus, and the Burnsfest festival in 2018, where he appeared on the main stage as the warm up act for the one and only Chesney Hawkes, a personal milestone and career highlight.

His fourth novel Adonias Low will be released by Stirling Pubishing in 2021. He lives with his family in a witch infested village on the west coast of Scotland, and continues to write some seriously weird sh*t.

Follow @davewatsonbooks on Twitter, on Facebook, on Amazon, on Goodreads, Buy Tales of the What the F*ck

About the book
Billionaire terminal cancer patient John Longmire's going to die today, and he's going out in style in the classiest euthanasia clinic in the world. But the strange nurse with the clipboard and the look of a goddess is spoiling the mood, with all her irksome questions about how he's lived his life.

Recent retiree Gerald loves his wife Barbara and he loves his garden, but Barbara hates the garden. Because the garden's taking Gerald over, and Barbara says he has to stop before he has another 'incident'.

Bullied, ridiculed and unloved, moustachioed schoolgirl "Hairy" Mhairi Barry has never had any friends but the ones she finds on the shelves of the library where she's spent most of her lonely childhood. But tonight, she's going to a party with all the cool kids, to show them what she's learned in all those books.

A suspicious smelling smorgasbord of lovelorn psychopaths, vengeful mugging victims, pawn shop philosophers and rhyming Glaswegian alien abduction, Tales of the What the Fuck is a dark, touching, horrific and hilarious collection of short stories, flash fiction and epic poetry from People's Book Prize nominated author D.A. Watson. Things are about to get weird.

Review
This is a collection of short stories, flash fiction and poetry. What they all have in common is murder, mayhem, revenge and fear - not necessarily in that order of course.

Included in the book: Durty Diana, Coming Home, Mhairi, Wasted, Succubus, Catharsis, The Wee man, John, Coasters Music, Tales of a Scorched earth: Afterburn, The Cravin, Sex Tape, Lisa and Me, The Night Afore Xmas, Deep red, Tech Support, The Ones You Love, John Longmire's Last Day, Tam O'Shatner, Rusalka, Love and Cabbage and AaaHHH! Zombies.
I'm just going to pick out two to talk about in my review:

The Wee Man - I enjoyed this one in particular, perhaps because the roots are buried in fairytales and childhood. The essence of original fairytales wasn't to calm or make the reader happy. Instead the tales were grounded in myth and folklore, known as harbingers of threats and death. The adult in this story becomes the child again, as his own childhood fears rise up and threaten to swallow him whole.

Tales of a Scorched Earth: Afterburn - The general assumption, especially when it comes to those who believe in divine intervention and that sinners will eventually get their just desserts, is that true evil will be punished by an eternity in hell. What if that eternity were merely a continuation of their pleasure?

It's a collection of murder, vengeance and hidden desires in the form of short stories, flash fiction and poetry. Watson spins a good tale no matter in which form.

Expect no comfortable tale to embrace you or cotton candy, unicorns and happy endings. Well, then again they might be considered happy endings if you enjoy your stories gory, scary and slightly horrific or score highly on the psychopathic traits test.

Buy Tales of the What the F*ck at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Wild Wolf Publishing; pub date 7 Oct. 2019. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour Love Like Blood by Sascha Aurora Akhtar

Today it's a pleasure to take part on the Blogtour Love Like Blood by Sascha Aurora Akhtar.

About the Author
Sascha Aurora Akhtar feels deeply connected to her ancestral roots in Lancashire, South Yorkshire and Pakistan.

Her first poetry collection was The Grimoire of Grimalkin (Salt, 2007), followed by 199 Japanese Names for Japanese Trees (Shearsman, 2016) & the first of its kind a deck of Poetry cards with fine art Only Dying Sparkles (ZimZalla 2018). In 2019, she has published The Whimsy Of Dank Ju-Ju (Emma Press 2019) & #LoveLikeBlood (Knives, Forks & Spoons Press 2019).

Her fiction has appeared in BlazeVox, Tears In The Fence, The Learned Pig, Anti-Heroin Chic, and Storgy. Sascha has performed internationally at festivals such as the Poetry International Festival in Rotterdam, Avantgarde Festival in Hamburg, and Southbank Centre’s Meltdown festival in London, curated by Yoko Ono.

Follow @AkhtarSascha on Twitter, on Goodreads, Meet Sascha Aurora Akhtar on poetryinternational.org, Buy Love Like Blood

About the book
With #LoveLikeBlood, which is the title of a very famous song Love Like Blood by 80's stalwarts Killing Joke, Sascha Akhtar takes her poetic journey back to her origins. The first poem in the book is called GirlChild of the 80's to send the tone straight from the beginning. She IS in fact an 80's child & wants others to know this, with the names of the Barbie dolls specifically from the 80's mentioned in the poem.

This collection of poems is meant to contain the poet's life - a legacy of mental imbalance, undiagnosed aspergers for most of her life - through language. 'I believe all of my life- from my father leaving when I was 4, to a legacy of abuse ( physical & emotional), a history of mental illness but striking out anyway on my own- leaving Pakistan, leaving America all of it alone - has been rupture and that is what this poetry collection contains: rupture, deep emotions & process but also alchemy & 'becoming' ( the poet is also a meditation guide & healer which was prompted through her own healing). The dedication reads: This book is dedicated to You, for there is no ‘I’ except in You
& the same love runs through our veins. Like blood

Review
A child or teen of the eighties will hear the rebel yell of the title of this book. The song speaks to and awakens the soul of the searcher, the seeker and the fighter. The poems are indicative of a poet with a soul searching for answers and connection.

The book contains the following poems: Girl Child of the Eighties, Love Like Blood, Nekyia of the Cataphiles, Ejaculate As a Noun, Ida Hexe, Sometimes the sun, Intimacy, Camino de Cadaveres, Machine-o-mancy: Found Poem, Spring Aspie Remix, Post-Colonial Theory, Anatomy of a Car - Crash, L'aeroport, In Utero, Heartwood, Nocturnal Emissions, Freak Beach, The Others,Mevlevi in a Gas Mask, Texted Plein-Air Poem on Bond Street Spliced W/Communist Manifesto, The Rape of Nanking by Men, Comforted by Rape, Harringay Train Station, Synaesthesia, poetry, Thangka Number 1 Bardo, 3:15, Retractable Patio Awning Systems, Line, Autobiographia, Poems for Eliot and A Year in Clouds.

Whilst the contents or listing the contents of the book may seem arbitrary they also, when viewed as a whole give the reader a certain idea of what to expect or not to expect. Just the titles speak of an almost inspirational Blitzschlag and experience. Akhtar feels in the moment - writes in the moment. Grabbing those thoughts in mid inspiration and grasping them tightly in case something visceral eludes her. The constant grasp and throwing down of words is mirrored in the way her poetry is portrayed.

There is no collusion with the norm. No rhyme or notion of order. Imagine her, the artist, with a paintbrush or even a hand dipped in paint throwing her words on the blank canvas. Sometimes she screams them, throws with a volatile motion and other times they are laid carefully onto the page.

It's experimental poetry - I would even go as far as to call it speculative poetry, because it doesn't adhere to norms or boundaries either spatially, emotionally or from a literary point of view.

Her poetry is an experience. No, let me rephrase that thought. Each poem is an experience in itself. The titles are doors asking, demanding, inviting and challenging the reader to come on inside and partake in her words as they themselves become the interior of her design.

Step inside and let the poet show you where her rooms and words collide with yours and mine.

Buy Love Like Blood at Amazon Uk. Publisher: Knives, Forks and Spoons Press - Paperback. Release date November 2019 - £12.00. Buy at Amazon com. Buy at Knives, Forks and Spoons Press.

#BlogTour Anatomy of a Dress by Juliette van der Molen

It's an absolute pleasure to take part in the BlogTour Anatomy of a Dress by Juliette van der Molen.

About the Author
Juliette van der Molen is a poet currently living in the United States. She is a poetry editor for Mookychick Magazine. Her books include:  Death Library: The Exquisite Corpse Collection (Moonchild Magazine), Mother, May I? (Animal Heart Press) and the forthcoming Anatomy of A Dress (The Hedgehog Poetry Press).

Follow @j_vandermolen on Twitter, on Goodreads, Visit JulietteWrites.com, Buy Anatomy of a Dress

About the book
Anatomy of A Dress explores messages sent and interpreted regarding how women have historically been encouraged to dress, mainly for the pleasure and subjugation of the patriarchy. Folded into these pieces are my own experiences and internal conflicts with these issues. Sometimes encouragements or rules are handed down by those of our own gender (i.e. grandmothers, mothers) and reinforced by a male-led society that has a vested interest in the disenfranchisement of women. This poetry is speaks of the struggles women go through when making a decision most men would consider simple– What should I wear today?

Review
When I read the premise for this book of poetry it spoke to me, but I also wondered how the poet would vocalise said premise. When I read the first poem I knew. Zip Me - holds so much power and tension in the words, how one action can simultaneously mean so many things. The ability to conjure up a sensual image and yet also one of weakness. The prey waiting for the hunter to pounce. Fear sitting in the back of your neck. Vulnerability and exposure.

My Hem - what a strong impassioned statement about consent. A loud scream about physical appearance not being an invitation to invade, touch, harass or hurt. Appearance isn't open for debate. My Hem is followed by Buttoned Up , Dart, Won't You Call Me Sweetheart, Silhouette Shame, Schooled Pleats, Dupioni Darkling, Girls on Parade, S(mocked), Eye Let, Prêt-à-Porter, Painted legs, Pretty Thing, Unmentionables and Anatomy of a Dress. All of them hard-hitting punches straight into the very structure of our outdated society.

I would love to see the author/poet perform her words as performance art. Hear the strength and conviction that flows from the words she pierces onto the page. They are screams of outrage delivered in a calm, firm and determined manner.

It's bold, pulsing and passive aggressive poetry. Truth spoken through the iron barred windows of a patriarchal society. Van der Molen invites the readers to shine a spotlight on a seemingly innocent daily routine, which has so many conscious and subconscious implications for each individual. As a woman have you ever thought about how much time and energy you give to choice of clothes, as opposed to the lack of the same that men put into it.

How will I be perceived, if I wear this will someone think that? Have you ever told your daughter not to wear something because xyz could think of them a certain way? Just think of how much power that suggests. The male-centric and driven rules in regard to uniforms that impose skirts and dresses on girls because it suggests femininity, sexuality and cements the lack of equality and power in relationship between men and women.

Van der Molen is certainly a poet and author to watch.

Buy Anatomy of a Dress at Amazon Uk . Publisher: The Hedgehog Poetry Press; pub date 16 Dec. 2019. Buy at Amazon com. Buy at Hive.co.uk. Buy at JulietteWrites.

#BlogTour Second Life by Karl Tearney

Today it's my turn on the BlogTour Second Life by Karl Tearney. It's a book full of emotionally fraught and hauntingly beautiful poems.

About the Author
As a newcomer to poetry and writing Karl has made quite an impact with his succinct and thought-provoking style. Encouraged by Emma Willis MBE after he’d sent her a thank you poem, Karl’s work has been coveted by many. His work has included appearances at festivals and readings around the country. He is hugely passionate about encouraging other sufferers of mental issues to look toward the Arts as a means of therapy.

Follow @ KarlTearney on Twitter,  Visit willowtreesociety.co.uk

Buy Second Life

About the book
Karl Tearney enlisted into the British Army at 16 and dedicated 35 years of his life as a pilot in the Army Air Corps. He was medically retired in early 2016 and found great solace in writing and especially a new-found passion for poetry. he demand for his style of writing has led to National and local Television as well as Radio. In 2018, he was a panelist at the Hay literature festival, helped with a Poetry workshop at RADA and also exhibited some of his work at the ‘Art in the Aftermath’ Exhibition in Pall Mall.

Review
If there is one thing I would say to people after reading this it would be - Tearney wears his soul on his sleeve and he wants you to know it. He wants you to envisage the pain. Feel the words as they pound into your consciousness.

Bam goes the sledgehammer - look what I've seen. Whack goes the whip - feel it with me. Shaking you to awaken you to his inner torment. Then between the lines you can hear the call, the tiniest voice crying out to be heard among the loud memories bouncing from the pages. Hear me - help me - save me.

There are quite a few poems I really heard, felt and connected with. I loved Learn from Me. It's so raw and honest. Banshee is breathtakingly sad. Yesterday today is a poignant message about society. There are just so many beautiful moments in this book, albeit painful and dark ones at times.

I commend the strength it takes to confront inner fears, nightmares, demons and guilt. Even more so when the confrontation is shared with the world, especially in the hope that someone out there will take away a moment of peace. Tearney shows his most vulnerable side in an attempt to convey a message to those open to listening, healing and a way forward.

In the end what remains is not a man, a person defined by PTSD or mental health issues. The old Tearney has left the building and the new one is ready to embrace the world as he absorbs it in this very moment. I can imagine that the difficulty is with getting loved ones, friends and others to understand exactly that, but this book goes a long way to doing it. May many follow the path and hear his sounds and read his truth.

It's a book full of emotionally fraught and hauntingly beautiful poems.

Buy/Pre-order Second Life at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Fly on the wall poetry; pub date 26 July 2019. Buy/Pre-order at Amazon com. Pre-order/Buy at Fly on the Wall Press.

#BlogTour The Sea Refuses No River by Bethany Rivers

Today it's my turn on the BlogTour The Sea Refuses No River by Bethany Rivers. It's a conversation in poetry with the author. Moments, words, thoughts and emotions all wrapped up in small packages.

About the Author
Bethany Rivers (M.A. in Creative Writing from Cardiff University) is a poet and author based in Shrewsbury, who has taught creative writing for over eleven years and mentored and coached many writers from the start of their writing project through to publication.

Follow @bethanyrivers77 on Twitter, on Facebook, Visit writingyourvoice.org.uk
Buy The Sea Refuses No River at Amazon Uk

About the book
The journey of grief is a strange one
and one not often talked about in our everyday reality of this society,
but I know what it's like to dive deep,
down to the bottom of the wreck,
feel the ribs of the wreck,
after losing a parent so young in life

In this collection, the sea refuses no river, there is an acceptance of the pain and an acceptance of the healing moments; the healing journeys. To quote Adrienne Rich: I came to explore the wreck', and in this collection, Bethany discovers how, 'The words are purposes. The words are maps.'

Review
Poetry is art, and in a way it isn't very different from the world of paintings or sculptures. Each of us relates to the images or words in a completely individual way and that includes any response we may or may not have.

With poetry, as with reading in general, the response can be quite visceral. The conjuring up of images, situations and emotions. All through our own frame of reference.

The two poems I connected with the most were Deep Fire and Seeker. I think it will be interesting to see, hear or read which poems or parts of the poems people connect with, perhaps because there is such a breadth of range.

There may be an overall theme to the poems or words, but each one is so different and appears to relate to separate and distinct moments or things. Almost as if it's spontaneous and random, which of course poetry can be. Thoughts appearing like a flash, memories flowing in moments of nostalgia and questions that can no longer be answered.

I actually think Rivers could perform these as performance art. Some of the pieces have that staccato feel, without method or conscious decision. Let us hear the turmoil, the anger, confusion, sadness and grief in words gripped out of the air and hurtled towards us in an attempt to solidify emotions and ultimately to comprehend.

It's a conversation in poetry with the author. Moments, words, thoughts and emotions all wrapped up in small packages.

Buy The Sea Refuses No River at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Fly on the wall poetry; pub date 21 Jun. 2019. Buy at Amazon com. Buy at Fly on the wall poetry.

#BlogTour Take Me to the Edge by Katya Boirand

Today it is my turn on the BlogTour Take Me to the Edge by Katya Boirand. Photographs by Eli Sverlander. It's poetry with a visual element with the added variable of chaos. I love the idea of someone else being inspired by the words of another person. A limited number of words - five words to be exact.

'If you would like a poem of your own written, please don't hesitate in submitting your five words via Instagram to @poetrybymeinspiredbyyou and you may be featured in the next book.' - Katya Boirand 2018

About the Author
Katya Boirand is an actress, dancer, writer and poet. She has travelled the world but now has roots in London. Take Me to the Edge is her first poetry collection.

About the book
That is what Katya Boirand discovered the first time she asked a friend for five words and then turned them into a poem, using the words and the subject as her inspiration. This spark started a movement, and soon Katya was asking friends and strangers alike for their five words of choice. Take Me to the Edge is a selection of these poems, sitting alongside a portrait of each subject, in this stunning and joyous celebration of language, connection and art.

Review
I love the idea of someone else being inspired by the words of another person. A limited number of words - five words to be exact. Then those five words are absorbed into the creativity of the poet to become something more.

I wonder if Boirand tries to channel what those words mean to the person who said them in the first place. Does the inspiration take on concrete form as she interacts with them, looks straight into their eyes and hears them. Or is the inspiration taken purely from the power of the words.

It made me wonder which words I would pick. Would I choose random ones that fall from mind to tongue or would I dig deep for words that have meaning to myself. I am genuinely interested in the creative process and end result.

I highly recommend buying a physical hardback copy of this book. It is incredibly beautiful, a work of art. The combination of words by Boirand and pictures by Sverlander equals oral, written and visual art working hand in hand to create singular pieces of stimulating artistry.

As I was reading this book and taking in the entirety of it, I wished the author had added the five words each person had chosen. What did she start with and how the author went from five to more. Luckily Boirand has done exactly that. The subjects, their words and a little bit about themselves is included in the last few pages. It's a really lovely way to bring the book full circle.

I loved this expressive, bold and unpredictable expression of art. It's poetry with a visual element and the added variable of chaos.

Buy Take Me to the Edge at Amazon Uk. Publisher: Unbound; pub date 16 May 2019. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour Bad Mommy Stay Mommy by Elisabeth Horan

Today it's my turn on the BlogTour Bad Mommy Stay Mommy by Elisabeth Horan. It's poetry, a book filled with brutally honest words describing inner torment.

About the Author
Elisabeth Horan is an imperfect creature advocating for animals, children and those suffering alone and in pain - especially those ostracized by disability and mental illness. Elisabeth is honored to serve as Poetry Editor at Anti-Heroin Chic Magazine, and is Co-Owner of Animal Heart Press. She recently earned her MFA from Lindenwood University and received a 2018 Best of the Net Nomination from Midnight Lane Boutique, and a 2018 Pushcart Prize Nomination from Cease Cows.

Elisabeth lives in rural Vermont with her husband and two young sons. When not being poet, she works as a secretary and loves riding horses & dancing the salsa---

Follow @ehoranpoet on Twitter,Visit ehoranpoet.com
Buy Bad Mommy Stay Mommy

About the book
Elisabeth Horan was in the grip of postpartum depression after the birth of her second son, 'red and writhing a salamander underfoot'. In this collection, Elisabeth finds the courage to survive. Uplifting, guttural: Horan leaves her reader roaring for more.

Review
There is an ongoing attempt to bring the scary misunderstood and taboo topic of mental health into the sunlight. There is a stigma surrounding the topic and it's time for there to be a better understanding of what comes under the description of mental health illness, how it is treated and how it affects the lives of those living and dealing with it.

It isn't a solitary diagnosis. Family members, loved ones and sometimes even society become part of the circle surrounding that one person.

It's graphic, in a sense that she describes emotions and situations that usually stay hidden inside our heads. Not being able to cope is deemed a weakness, as is being overwhelmed and frustrated. I would say this is particularly the case when it comes to women and postpartum depression. There is any extra layer of judgement  reserved for women who appear to society to be unable to fulfil the role of motherhood in the way that is expected of them.

There is this automatic expectation of a maternal bond between mother and child. A switch that is flipped for every woman, but the truth is that it doesn't happen that way for all women. Our own thought processes, emotions and hormones betray us in the most unexpected way. In a way that makes the woman a social pariah, because not embracing your child and not exhibiting emotions that are expected of us, it's incomprehensible to many people.

The poetry has a staccato feel to it, almost as if the author is thrusting her words towards us. Towards anyone, in an attempt to make someone pay attention. Hear me, hear my pain and confusion.

It's poetry, a book filled with brutally honest words describing the inner torment she feels.
I'll leave you with words by Horan, which describe my reading experience of this book quite well: 'You have been unnerved by me'.

Buy Bad Mommy Stay Mommy at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Fly on the wall poetry; pub date 10 May 2019. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour The Point of Poetry by Joe Nutt

Today it really is a pleasure to take part in the BlogTour The Point of Poetry by Joe Nutt. Nutt has created a work of beauty in his own right. Full of love and passion for poetry.

About the Author 
Joe Nutt is a former teacher with twenty years of English teaching experience. He has written books on Shakespeare, John Donne and most recently a guidebook to Paradise Lost for one of the world's foremost academic publishers. he is now one of the leading educationalists in the UK and writes a fortnightly column for the Times Educational Supplement.

Follow @joenutt_author @unbounders on Twitter,
Buy The Point of Poetry

About the book
What's the point of poetry? It's a question asked in classrooms all over the world, but it rarely receives a satisfactory answer. Which is why so many people, who read all kinds of books, never read poetry after school.

Exploring twenty-two works from poets as varied as William Blake, Seamus Heaney, Rita Dove and Hollie McNish, this book makes the case for what poetry has to offer us, what it can tell us about the things that matter in life. Each poem is discussed with humour and refreshing clarity, using a mixture of anecdote and literary criticism that has been honed love a lifetime of teaching.

Poetry can enrich lives, if we'll let it. The Point of Poetry is the perfect companion for anyone looking to discover how.

Review
This is the kind of book I would buy to help non-poetry lovers understand the attraction and potency of it. As a poetry lover myself I embrace anything, which could possibly encourage others to delve into it and find a little bit of beauty too.

There are some things in life that have an innate beauty, even when they are born from the pen, paintbrush or voice of a human being. Times when colours, words or sounds create a moment in time that calls to the soul and tugs at the passion inside of us. One can experience the same thing when the elements create a similar kind of beauty in nature or beauty that inspires the same visceral reaction.. Breathtaking scenery for instance.

Let's focus on the man- or woman-made moments of beauty. Psychologists have studied what makes people cry when they hear music for instance, and have recognised certain personality attributes in them. Those who cried because they feel sadness scored high on the neuroticism scale and those who scored high in the openness to experience scale cried because they felt a profound sense of awe.

Awe at the capacity of a person to create such beauty that it elicits an extreme emotional response. I have those moments with poetry, music (especially classical and operatic music), art and very beautifully written books.

The author is keen to have poetry stand aside from the other contenders and have its own pedestal. This book is all about 'lighting the touchpaper.' I could have happily quoted from this book over and over again by the way. Nutt is a passionate educationalist, the kind of teacher who seeks out those who are inspired by and comprehend the beauty of poetry, and simultaneously those who fear and reject it.

Luckily the author also has a way with words. A book about the point of poetry could be dry, boring and terribly academic. Could be, but it isn't. Nutt has created a work of beauty in his own right. Full of love and passion for poetry.

I love this book.

Buy The Point of Poetry at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher: Unbound pub date 21 Mar. 2019. Buy Ecopy here. Buy at Amazon com.

#BlogTour Dis_ability by Munir Zamir

Today it is my turn on the BlogTour for Dis_ability by Munir Zamir, and it is my pleasure I to introduce you a writer who wields his words like a double-edged sword. His pain and his personal journey are reflected in his poignant and often unforgiving words.

About the Author
Munir Zamir is a creative writer, Poet and Spoken Word Artist based in London. He has spent the past decade and more tackling issues related to countering ideological extremism and prejudice, having personal experience of both issues. Munir spends his working hours contributing to the ongoing struggle to challenge and overcome those narratives that seek to exploit vulnerable groups in society through arguments built on intentional concepts and ideas of hate and prejudice. A pioneer in the counter-extremism space, Munir has often ploughed a lone furrow, at times locking horns and at other times trying to assist Governments around the world, policy makers, practitioners and alike, with the sole aim of trying to safeguard vulnerable young people and those at risk of being radicalised.
Follow @_MunirZamir
Visit munirzamir.com
Buy Dis_ability

About the book
An exploration of disability, its social perception and lived experience, from a poetic and personal perspective

I was born different.
I wouldn't want it any other way.

Dis_ability is an influential and forceful collection of poems highlighting the need for genuine social and ethical change in order for differences to be understood as something to be championed and not feared.

Review

Poetry isn't everyone's cup of tea, but I find it is a little bit like a non or reluctant reader finding the right book. If the Bard doesn't appeal to you then perhaps a more modern approach to the genre will. I can imagine this being being part of performance art.

Social and political commentary in the form of poetry, sounds like an interesting event, especially when you take the power of these particular words and the topics into consideration.

The author is a Spoken Word Artist, I would love to see some of these poems being spoken with the anger, disappointment, pain and realism you can feel whilst reading them.

The following are included in Dis_ability:
The Body Perfect, Infinitely Better Body, Child Disability, The Axis, Made Wrong But Don't Mind, River of Tears, What Body?, Time is an Album, Life by Design, Give Me Space, Symmetry, Average Disability, When I Think, A Beautiful Contradiction, Scattered Soul, Eyes, Not for the Fainthearted, You are not my Maker, Whose Cause?, The Loneliness, Sleep Better, Mutant Gene and It's Your Definition.

I would love to be able to quote one of the pieces to be able to relay how uncompromisingly direct and honest these words are. I would find it difficult to single out just one piece that stood out, but if I had to it would be Child Disability, which speaks to the children and young people still learning to accept themselves and the way society perceives them. Sentences like 'Accept the mediocre and Tolerate the unjust' speak volumes about the invisibility and powerlessness of those who are deemed different.

As the author mentions at the end of this book, the message is indeed universal. Although someone in the same situation may have more insight into the context, I think the whole point is airing pain that needs to be felt and heard by those who understand it the least, because it isn't something they have to deal with. I hope to read more by this author in the future.

Buy Dis_ability at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer.

Take a look at what my fellow bloggers have to say about Dis_ability.
Monday 2^nd July Between the Pages
Tuesday 3^rd July Luna’s Little Library
Wednesday 4^th July Donna’s Book Blog
Thursday 5^th July Bee Reader Books
Friday 6^th July Poetic Insights
Saturday 7^th July Writing Follies
Sunday 8^th July Cheryl M-M’s Book Blog Reviewing Shelf