Today, I am delighted to welcome David from The Skeptic’s Kaddish blog and mastermind of the W3 poetry prompts as my September Treasuring Poetry guest.
What is your favourite style of poetry to read?
This is a tough question because I enjoy reading a wide range of poetry. However, I find myself most often moved by elegantly crafted free verse. When free verse is written in a way that feels truly poetic and draws me in, I’m deeply impressed. This isn’t always the case with free verse; anyone can break a series of words into lines, but not everyone can do so in a way that captivates.
What is your favourite poem in your favourite style to read?
These are fantastic questions, Robbie! Do most people actually have an answer for this one? It’s difficult to choose!
If I may, I’d like to share a poem I deeply enjoy, although I wouldn’t call it my absolute favorite. Honestly, I’m not sure I have a single favorite poem.
‘The Performers’
by Robert Hayden
Easily, almost matter-of-factly they step,
two minor Wallendas, with pail and squeegee along
the wintery ledge, hook their harness to the wall
and leaning back into a seven-story angle of space
begin washing the office windows. I
am up there too until straps break
and iron paper apple of iron I fall
through plate glass wind onto stalagmites below.
***
But I am safely at my desk again by the time
the hairline walkers, high-edge
balancers end their center-ring routine
and crawl inside. A rough day, I remark,
for such a risky business. Many thanks.
Thank you, sir, one of the men replies.
***
What I love most about this poem is how Hayden imagines himself as one of the window washers and then returns from his reverie in the second stanza. I find it incredibly relatable—both the relationship between the office worker and the cleaners, and the act of daydreaming. I also admire how Hayden captures the interaction between himself and the workers, imbuing them with both respect and dignity.
What is your favourite style of poetry to write? Why?
I’ve experimented with many different forms of poetry, but over the past few years, I’ve gravitated towards the sijo. Two reasons stand out:
First, I prefer writing shorter verses. I’m wary of longer poems because each additional word risks derailing my intent. Second, while the Korean sijo is technically a syllabic form, it also offers flexibility since the syllable count is ranged, not fixed.
What is your favourite of your own poems?
Oy vey!
My nine-year-old daughter often asks me what my favorite food or book is, and she gets frustrated when I tell her I like different things in different ways. That’s exactly how I feel about my own poems!
Given today’s political climate, I’ll share one that resonates with how I’ve been feeling recently. It’s a garland shadorma, a form created by Sylvia Cognac on WordPress. It consists of seven shadorma stanzas, with each of the first six stanzas borrowing one line from the final verse. Here it is:
Ancient homeland, or: Each hoary stone
it’s the flag, I know. that’s okay. I prefer to remain true to my identity despite the haters.
I know them. they’d prefer that I surrender my people’s claim to our ancient homeland to assuage their guilt.
our roots here predate all others… reject it if you will, but the truth speaks for itself through each hoary stone.
some fancy us colonizers, wish we’d leave… ‘see?’ they’d gloat, ‘their connection to this land was not authentic.’
our prayers for home never ceased. so, no. no- I won’t be another Jew who forsakes his forebears’ story.
our foes have convinced themselves that we can be scared away, but we’ve had just One Land in Jewish history.
it’s the flag- they’d prefer that I reject it; ‘see?’ they’d gloat, ‘another Jew who forsakes Jewish history.’
Tell us a bit about the posts you wrote after your father’s death. What inspired you to write them? What do they mean to you?
Looking back, as much as I dislike clichés, I realize I had no choice but to write those posts.
From the outset, I knew I would recite the Kaddish daily for my father after his unexpected death. No one else in my family was able or willing to take on that responsibility. Yet, after a few weeks, I began to feel that I was simply going through the motions. It felt empty, especially considering that I was performing a ritual in honor of a man who had no respect for rote religious practice.
It’s been over five years since I wrote the final post in that series, where I grappled with this very question. Everything I wrote back then remains true, but now I see that the act of writing those posts was also the beginning of my coming to terms with the truth about my faith. It marked the start of my acceptance that I don’t believe in a traditional concept of God, nor in the inherently enduring relevance of religious doctrine and ritual.
Although I finished the Kaddish series that year, I’ve never stopped contemplating its philosophical implications. They continue to challenge me daily. I once thought that returning to synagogue to recite the Kaddish would bring me closer to my religious community. Instead, it distanced me further because I didn’t simply perform the ritual—I transformed it into a journey of deep self-reflection.
This process ultimately led me to start writing poetry. Revisiting my love of creative writing—something I hadn’t engaged in since high school—reconnected me to my own critically thinking inner voice, a voice I hadn’t fully acknowledged before… And that’s the voice that now flows through my poetry.
My Kaddish Year
David has written a fascinating memoir in the form of 51 blog posts about his year of mourning following the passing of his father. This year is called Kaddish or The Mourner’s Kaddish in Judaism and involves saying a hymn of praises about God for your deceased parent. I know a bit about the Jewish faith because one of my good friends is Jewish. I have attended hair cutting ceremonies and bar mitsvahs as well as some other celebrations. I have not experienced anything to do with the passing of a family member so the Kaddish was new to me.
I am still busy reading David’s thought provoking posts about this period of his life but what I have read to date is very interesting. It has opened my eyes and understanding to a lot of Jewish traditions and religious rituals that I had no idea about and which I think are very worthwhile. The concept of worshipping for a whole year after the passing of a parent in the company of other community members who are experiencing exactly the same grief and anguish seems like a very helpful and supportive idea to me. My experience of death has been a lot of support for the griever up until the funeral and then very little. The griever is left along to manage as best he/she can at the worst time which is after the funeral is over and the permanency of the new circumstances sink in.
David’s post are not limited to the Kaddish, they expand into a lot of thought about life, death, religion, individuality in worship and believes and many other topics. It is worth reading and considering. Follow the link below to read the 51 post comprising David’s My Kaddish Year.
Picture caption: Author photograph of David Bogomolny
David Bogomolny was born in Jerusalem to parents who made Aliyah from the USSR in the mid-70’s. He grew up in America and returned to Israel as an adult. He works as a grant writer for the Jewish Agency for Israel. He and his wife and daughter live in Jerusalem.
He began writing the ‘Skeptic’s Kaddish for the Atheist’ in Jerusalem, Israel, 30 days after burying his father in South Brunswick, New Jersey, USA. His series was originally published on the Times of Israel blogs.
South African author and illustrator, Robbie Cheadle, has written and illustrated sixteen children’s books, illustrated a further three children’s books, and written and illustrated three poetry books. Her work has also appeared in poetry and short story anthologies.
Robbie also has two novels and a collection of short stories published under the name of Roberta Eaton Cheadle and has horror, paranormal, and fantasy short stories featured in several anthologies under this name.
You can find Robbie Cheadle’s artwork, fondant and cake artwork, and all her books on her website here: https://www.robbiecheadle.co.za/
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Want to be sure not to miss any of Robbie’s “Treasuring Poetry” segments? Subscribe to Writing to be Read for e-mail notifications whenever new content is posted or follow WtbR on WordPress. If you found it interesting or entertaining, please share.
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This segment of “Treasuring Poetry” is sponsored by WordCrafter Press and the Poetry Treasures series.
Today, I am delighted to welcome talented poet and author, Elizabeth Gauffreau, as my Treasuring Poetry guest.
What is your favourite style of poetry to read i.e. haiku, ballad, epic, freestyle, etc?
My favorite style of poetry to read is free verse, although recently I’ve become quite taken with the duplex and the pantoum. I also enjoy reading persona poems, such as T.S. Eliot’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock,” which has been a long-time favorite of mine. In addition, I enjoy narrative poems such as George Franklin’s Angel of Sorrow poems. (Travels of the Angel of Sorrow and What the Angel Saw, What the Saint Refused)
What is your favourite poem in your favourite style to read?
Because I’ve been reading more poetry collections in the past several years than I ever have before, it’s hard to pick just one favorite poem. I’m going to go with Patricia Smith’s “Now He’s an Etching.”
The poem is written in iambic pentameter, which is definitely not my favorite poetry form. However, Smith uses it so skillfully, I didn’t even notice the meter until someone pointed it out to me.
I strongly encourage readers to listen to Smith read the poem herself to get the full experience of it. https://poets.org/poem/now-hes-etching (Click on the blue speaker icon on the right side of the screen.)
Now He’s an Etching
of the sluggish, coolly vengeful way
a southern body falters. Muscles whine
with toiling, browning teeth go tilt and splay,
then tremulous and gone. The serpentine
and slapdash landscape of his mouth is maze
for blue until the heart—so sparsely blessed,
lethargic in its fatty cloak—OKs
that surge of Tallahatchie through his chest,
and Lordy, hear that awful moan unlatch?
Behind the mic, he’s drowning in that great
migration uniform of sharkskin patched
with prayer and dust. His cramped feet palpitate
in alligator kickers, needle-toed,
so tight he feels the thudding blood, so tight
they make it way too easy to unload
his woe. The drunken drummer misses right
on time, the speakers sputter static, but
our bluesman gravels anyhow—The moon
won’t even rise for me tonight / now what’s
a brokedown man gon’ do? That wretched croon
delights the urban wanderers, intent
on loving on this perfect underwhelm
of Negro, jinxed and catastrophic, bent
into his hurting halves. Inside the realm
of pain as pageant, woozy revelers raise
their plastic cups of fizz and watered rye
to toast the warbler of decay, whose dazed
and dwindling lyric craves its moonlit sky.
“Now He’s an Etching” made such an impression on me that I actually sent a “fan girl” message to Patricia Smith (to which she responded graciously with “thank you”). Then I wrote a puente in response to her poem. (I’ve sent it out to literary magazines in hopes of getting it published.)
I would be remiss if I didn’t include Smith’s commentary on her poem:
About this Poem
“I mourn the elders. I mourn the black bluesmen and women who could only move sanely through their hours with the help of heartbreak. I miss their stout southern stature, bodies resolute with a recollected woe. I ache for the gut gravel of lyric, the knowledge that my crooner is truly suffering, and that she or he has decided to allow us to suffer too. But many of the elders still with us have become millennial playthings, one of the many ‘woke’ things to sample and add to the cultural resume. Hopefully, this poem springs from that space.”
—Patricia Smith
Your new poetry book, Simple Pleasures, comprises of haiku. Is that your favourite form of poetry? Why?
No, it isn’t. My go-to is free verse. In this instance, though, haiku was the best form to convey the experiences I wanted to share with readers.
What is your favourite of your poems in Simple Pleasures?
I’m going to go with this one because it was inspired by the Green Mountains of Vermont, which is where my heart is.
back in the valley
peeling fence to lean on
Green Mountains steadfast
Tell us a bit about Simple Pleasures. What inspired the book? How did you choose the title and cover?
My husband and I were on a scenic drive to escape the awful mess the world is in, and a haiku just popped into my head. So I wrote it down (fiddled with it, of course) and took a picture of the scene which inspired it. My husband and I had fun going on the hunt for the wild haiku together, so we kept at it for a year, until I had enough poems and photographs for a collection and had covered all four seasons. Now that the book is finished, I miss those hunts!
The title Simple Pleasures refers to the simple pleasures of life, which never fail to restore my equilibrium in difficult times. The subtitle, Haiku from the Place Just Right, refers to the Shaker hymn “Simple Gifts,” which was part of my childhood, probably from church camp. Simple pleasures and simple gifts are synonymous to me, so the title and the subtitle seemed just right!
As far as the cover went, I wanted something that would show up clearly in an online thumbnail, which is why I went with a saturated color for the background. The branch of flowering crabapple spoke to me as having a haiku feel to it in its simplicity.
My review of Simple Pleasures: Haiku from the Place Just Right
Picture caption: Cover of Simple Pleasures featuring a spray of pink blossoms against a dark blue background
Simple Pleasures is a collection of delightful haiku written about a variety of different places that have moved the poet to write due to their beauty, family connection, or historical meaning. Each poem is accompanied by a gorgeous colour photograph (I read the ebook). As a South African, I found this book to be a wonderful visual and literary tour of Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine.
One of my favourite poems in the collection is as follows: “grey heavens, grey sea goldenrod out of context lighthouse bears witness”
This short collection of 53 poems will fill your heart with joy.
Picture caption: Elizabeth Gauffreau author photograph
Elizabeth Gauffreau writes fiction and poetry with a strong connection to family and place. Her work has been widely published in literary magazines, as well as several themed anthologies. Her short story “Henrietta’s Saving Grace” was awarded the 2022 Ben Nyberg prize for fiction by Choeofpleirn Press.
Liz has published a novel, TELLING SONNY: THE STORY OF A GIRL WHO LOVED THE VAUDEVILLE SHOW, and a collection of photopoetry, GRIEF SONGS: POEMS OF LOVE & REMEMBRANCE. Her latest release is also photopoetry: SIMPLE PLEASURES:HAIKU FROM THE PLACE JUST RIGHT. She is currently working on a novel, THE WEIGHT OF SNOW AND REGRET, based on the closing of the last poor farm in Vermont in 1968.
Liz’s professional background is in nontraditional higher education, including academic advising, classroom and online teaching, curriculum development, and program administration. She received the Granite State College Distinguished Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2018.
Liz lives in Nottingham, New Hampshire with her husband.
About Robbie Cheadle
South African author and illustrator, Robbie Cheadle, has written and illustrated sixteen children’s books, illustrated a further three children’s books, and written and illustrated three poetry books. Her work has also appeared in poetry and short story anthologies.
Robbie also has two novels and a collection of short stories published under the name of Roberta Eaton Cheadle and has horror, paranormal, and fantasy short stories featured in several anthologies under this name.
You can find Robbie Cheadle’s artwork, fondant and cake artwork, and all her books on her website here: https://www.robbiecheadle.co.za/
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Want to be sure not to miss any of Robbie’s “Treasuring Poetry” segments? Subscribe to Writing to be Read for e-mail notifications whenever new content is posted or follow WtbR on WordPress. If you found it interesting or entertaining, please share.
_______________________________________________
This segment of “Treasuring Poetry” is sponsored by WordCrafter Press and the Poetry Treasures series.
This month, I am delighted to introduced talented author and poet, Gwen M. Plano, as my Treasuring Poetry guest.
What is your favourite style of poetry to read, i.e. haiku, ballad, epic, freestyle, etc?
I enjoy all forms of poetry. If a poem gives me pause by how it transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary, or if it illuminates a mystery, then I’m captivated. Pablo Neruda and Maya Angelou are two of my favorites, and they both write freestyle. But I also love syllabic poetry. Matsuo Basho’s The Old Pond is breathtaking:
An old silent pond
A frog jumps into the pond
Splash! Silence again.
What is your favourite poem in your favourite style to read?
In the 1980s, I discovered T.S. Eliot and his Four Quartets. Written in freestyle, the lengthy poems address the deep questions of life. I’ve probably read the poems a dozen times. The last quartet, Little Gidding, is my favorite. It’s too long to include in this post, but Section IV offers a glimpse of Eliot’s spiritual depth:
The dove descending breaks the air
With flame of incandescent terror
Of which the tongues declare
The one discharge from sin and error.
The only hope, or else despair
Lies in the choice of pyre or pyre—
To be redeemed from fire by fire.
Who then devised the torment? Love.
Love is the unfamiliar Name
Behind the hands that wove
The intolerable shirt of flame
Which human power cannot remove.
We only live, only suspire
Consumed by either fire or fire.
What is your favourite style of poetry to write? Why?
When I write spontaneously and from my heart, the poetry is freestyle. I don’t think about the structure of the poem; rather, I’m focused on the story it tells. If I were to choose a favorite style, it would be freestyle.
Every week, though, I participate in poet Colleen Chesebro’s syllabic poetry prompts. I’ve learned tremendously through her example and instruction. Importantly, I’ve come to love syllabic poetry.
What is your favourite of your own poems in your favourite style?
I’ve two poems that I particularly like, and I can’t decide which one is my favorite. One reflects on grief, and the other focuses on writers. Both are written in freestyle, and the first includes rhyme.
The Old Pier
Picture caption: The Old Pier by Gwen M. Plano
The Old Pier
Remember when we danced in the moonlight? I was your princess, and you were my knight. Remember the star you said was mine alone? Brilliant and pulsing, it was our secret cosmic stone.
Now I hold your ashes and not your embrace, and I weep with every memory trace. I walk the old pier and hope I will see you standing there, waiting for me.
But ashes to ashes is as day is to night a harsh, inevitable part of life’s hike. My tears are lost in the water below. Maybe they’ll find you if I can just let go.
The Author
Picture caption: The author by Gwen M. Plano
The Author
I search for you,
writer unknown,
each page a port of departure.
Through hurdles, fears, and
the dreams you disclose,
I wander.
A word laid bare,
a phrase that lingers,
a plot that captures or awakens,
your footsteps stealth on paper trails,
the scent of you,
I savor.
The web you spin,
entraps and cradles,
while entangled characters wrestle.
Through the give and take of life and love,
the glimpses of you,
I follow.
At last, I see,
my muse, my tease,
behind the hes and shes you’ve crafted,
a warrior or tender lover – the storyteller,
YOU, now revealed, I honor.
Tell us a bit about your fiction writing and your latest book, The Soul Whisperers Decision. What is the book about? What inspired the book?
Picture caption: the cover of The Soul Whisperer’s Decision by Gwen M. Plano
Much like my poetry, writing fiction is a journey. I write when something gnaws at my soul. It often begins with scenes and questions, and just as often, I don’t know where the story will take me. I am both the writer and the reader.
The Soul Whisperer’s Decision begins with a tragedy. A father loses his little children in a car accident that almost kills his wife as well. The young man is a veteran, and he is pulled back into his struggle with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. The story follows this veteran through the pain of loss to the eventual rediscovery of hope.
What inspired this story? For a decade, I worked with Marines and soldiers from all service branches, returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. I was an administrator at a college located near military bases. I soon discovered that most of those who were boots-on-the-ground suffered from PTSD in addition to physical injuries. By choice, my work shifted to serving those who had served all of us.
Over the years, I’ve heard people scoff at PTSD as though it is a sign of weakness. These individuals never served and have no idea what these brave men and women experienced. In my novel and my WIP, I attempt to illuminate that experience.
The Soul Whisperer’s Decision also includes a nurse who has a Near Death Experience. Her choice of remaining in the heavenly realm or returning to her life shapes the story’s direction. Since the 1980s, I’ve studied NDEs and have spoken with some who have medically died. It is an experience that is personal and close to my heart.
My review of The Soul Whisperer’s Decision
This beautifully written and emotional book is ultimately about making choices when life presents us with devastating obstacles on our path. For various reasons, this topic is close to my heart and I related heavily to the main character, Sarah, who, following a devastating car accident, needed to make the ultimate decision about whether to fight for life or let go. To make this decision harder, Sarah lost both her small children in the accident. I have watched loved ones making this choice and the decision to live is a hard one when months of rehabilitation and pain lie ahead.
While Sarah is fighting for her life in hospital, her husband, Jack, a Vietnam veteran, faces mental collapse when his post traumatic stress disorder rears its ugly head. Jack is devastated by the loss of his little ones and flawed by the uncertainty as to his wife’s recovery. Jack must also make a choice about whether to face the pain and try to rebuild his life or whether to end his suffering.
The sensitive and yet realistic manner in which the author deals with the trauma and the emotional and mental reactions of her two central characters demonstrates a deep understanding of people and the human condition. This relatively short novel will have you examining your own life and considering how you would react in the same circumstances. There is a lot of subtle guidance woven throughout this book and it is essentially, a very uplifting read. I strongly recommend this excellent book.
Gwen M. Plano, aka Gwendolyn M. Plano, grew up in Southern California and spent most of her professional life in higher education. She taught and served as an administrator in colleges in Japan, New York, Connecticut, and California. Gwen’s academic background is in theology and counseling. Recently retired, she now lives in the high desert of Arizona, where she writes, gardens, and travels with her husband.
Gwen’s first book is an acclaimed memoir, Letting Go into Perfect Love. Her second book, The Contract between heaven and earth, is a thriller fiction novel, co-authored by John W. Howell. It has received multiple awards and is an Amazon Best Seller. The Choice, the unexpected heroes is the sequel to The Contract. It is also a thriller, involving the attempt of an unfriendly nation to take over the world. The third book in the series, The Culmination, a new beginning is an action-packed military thriller that spans the globe and involves multiple Heads of State and the threat of World War III. Only love can change the fate of humanity.
When Gwen is not writing, she’s often in the beautiful Red Rocks of Sedona, where she finds inspiration.
About Robbie Cheadle
South African author and illustrator, Robbie Cheadle, has written and illustrated sixteen children’s books, illustrated a further three children’s books, and written and illustrated three poetry books. Her work has also appeared in poetry and short story anthologies.
Robbie also has two novels and a collection of short stories published under the name of Roberta Eaton Cheadle and has horror, paranormal, and fantasy short stories featured in several anthologies under this name.
You can find Robbie Cheadle’s artwork, fondant and cake artwork, and all her books on her website here: https://www.robbiecheadle.co.za/
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Want to be sure not to miss any of Robbie’s “Treasuring Poetry” segments? Subscribe to Writing to be Read for e-mail notifications whenever new content is posted or follow WtbR on WordPress. If you found it interesting or entertaining, please share.
_______________________________________________
This segment of “Treasuring Poetry” is sponsored by WordCrafter Press and the Poetry Treasures series.
Today, I am delighted to welcome talented poet and author, Michelle Ayon Navajas, as my June Treasuring Poetry guest. Michelle is also the editor of Hotel by Masticadores. Welcome Michelle!
What is your favourite style of poetry to read i.e. haiku, ballad, epic, freestyle, etc?
I love to read freestyle and ballad.
What is your favourite poem in your favourite style to read?
I love to repeatedly read Annabel Lee. Though technically, it’s not a ballad, but I trust that Edgar Allan Poe referred to it as one, because like a ballad, the poem uses repetition of words and phrases purposely to create its mournful effect.
Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe
It was many and many a year ago,
In a kingdom by the sea,
That a maiden there lived whom you may know
By the name of Annabel Lee;
And this maiden she lived with no other thought
Than to love and be loved by me.
I was a child and she was a child,
In this kingdom by the sea,
But we loved with a love that was more than love—
I and my Annabel Lee—
With a love that the wingèd seraphs of Heaven
Coveted her and me.
And this was the reason that, long ago,
In this kingdom by the sea,
A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling
My beautiful Annabel Lee;
So that her highborn kinsmen came
And bore her away from me,
To shut her up in a sepulchre
In this kingdom by the sea.
The angels, not half so happy in Heaven,
Went envying her and me—
Yes!—that was the reason (as all men know,
In this kingdom by the sea)
That the wind came out of the cloud by night,
Chilling and killing my Annabel Lee.
But our love it was stronger by far than the love
Of those who were older than we—
Of many far wiser than we—
And neither the angels in Heaven above
Nor the demons down under the sea
Can ever dissever my soul from the soul
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
For the moon never beams, without bringing me dreams
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And the stars never rise, but I feel the bright eyes
Of the beautiful Annabel Lee;
And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side
Of my darling—my darling—my life and my bride,
In her sepulchre there by the sea—
In her tomb by the sounding sea.
What is your favourite style of poetry to write? Why?
I love freestyle and ballad poetry because they offer a unique freedom of expression and emotion. Freestyle allows for spontaneous creativity, while ballads provide a structured yet melodious form to convey deep feelings and stories. Both forms can be deeply personal and evocative, resonating with the human experience in different ways.
What is your favourite of your own poems in your favourite style?
“What If Snowflakes Don’t Fall In Winter?”
What if snowflakes don’t fall in winter? and fresh buds don’t bloom in spring? or summer doesn’t need sunshine?
nor leaves don’t fall in autumn?
Will you remember how we used to be?
the love we shared gently like snowflakes falling smoothly in winter out of thin air unannounced, unnoticed unspoken yet blissful
the dreams we dream, hopes we hope like spring awakening the earth bringing heaps of sunshine after the cold, gloomy winter
the laughter we gave out like sunshine on a summer day rhyming along as the birds singing passionately hot, vibrant, and crisp
the memories we created like leaves falling flawlessly in the autumn breeze, with cooling temperatures and darkening nights
What if snowflakes don’t fall in winter? and fresh buds don’t bloom in spring? or summer doesn’t need sunshine? nor leaves don’t fall in autumn?
Will you still love me tenderly?
How do you promote your poetry and your poetry books?
Promoting my poetry books involved a mix of traditional and modern strategies:
Social Media: I utilized platforms like Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook to share snippets, and behind-the-scenes insights, and engage with my audience.
Book Readings/Events: I join readings at local bookstores, libraries, or cafes. I also join virtual events which can also reach a wider audience.
Collaborations: I partner with other poets, artists, or influencers for cross-promotion.
Press Releases: I send out press releases to local newspapers, literary magazines, and online platforms.
Book Reviews: I solicit reviews from book bloggers, literary magazines, and online reviewers.
Online Presence: I maintain a blog where readers can learn more about me and my work.
Book Signings: I join book signings at bookstores, festivals, or community events.
Book Trailers: I create short videos or trailers featuring excerpts from my book.
Email Marketing: I build an email list and send newsletters with updates, exclusive content, and offers.
But remember, consistency and engagement are key to building a loyal readership.
Hotel by Masticadores
Michelle is the editor of Hotel by Masticadores “Hotel of Broken Hearts”.
Hotel was born from a conversation within the masticadores Editors. Barbara Leonhard (USA), Miriam Costa (Brazil) and j re crivello (Barcelona-Spain), understand that all of us, at some point in life, would like to write a letter to: an ex-love, or a deceased relative, or remember that landscape or house that sheltered us in a stage of our life.
For this reason, we have created Hotel, an ephemeral tool that we put at the service of readers and writers. The only rule is a maximum of 600 words (in Word) and that the texts and images be accepted by the Editorial Board. That being said, Hotel will appear in Spanish and English.
You can send your collaborations to fleminglabwork@gmail.com
Hotel also publishes poetry and book reviews.
My review of Locker by Michelle
Picture caption: Book cover of Locker by Michelle Ayon Navajas featuring a red school locker against a red background.
What Amazon says
We can close our eyes to reality and pretend things didn’t happen the way they happened. Fiction is the closest to escaping what’s true and painful. This collection of over fifty poetic flash fiction stories will push the boundaries of our reality. It will make us discern things for ourselves and will lead us to understand our true nature better.
Each is a stand-alone story you can read anytime, anywhere, without the need to finish the entire book. But, as soon as you flip to the last page, you will realize there is more to these poetic flash fiction stories than simply a collection of poetic tales.
My review of Locker
Locker is a deeply emotional and heartfelt collection of flash fiction. Each piece revolves around the central themes of love and secrecy. The title, Locker, refers to a school locker where students store their personal items. These comprise of a mixture of practical, everyday items and also their personal secrets. Love notes, drawings, and books are all articles that are stored in lockers.
Each piece of flash fiction draws on this concept of opening our own ‘mental’ lockers and looking through the memories stored there. Some are wonderful, bright flashes of happy joy in our lives, and others are sad or traumatic. All mould us into the people we are and are vital components of our life paths.
As with our own memories, some of these stories are wonderfully uplifting: the moment when we fall in love and everything in our world is perfect. Others cover losses of love interests, miscarriages, and even situations where love changes to abuse.
The author is a talented and well known poet and the writing style of her short stories is lyrical and poetic. The language is a treat for lovers of the written word and evokes intense feelings.
I highly recommend this beautiful and intense book to all lovers of character driven stories.
Picture caption: Poet and author photograph of Michelle Ayon Navajas
Michelle Ayon Navajas (born June 23, 1976) is a Filipino poet, writer, and educator. She is a Best-Selling international Poet known for her books reaching the #1 spot within days of their release. Her 8th poetry book, “I Am In Itself Poetry In The Dark,” went straight to the top of both the best-sellers list and new releases on Amazon on short notice. Her 7th poetry book, “It Ain’t Winning If Without You,” went straight to the best-sellers list on Amazon in less than 24 hours of release by pre-orders alone and eventually became the number Poetry Book on Amazon India on its actual release day, soon after the book rose to the best- sellers list as well in all other Amazon Markets worldwide.
Currently, Michelle holds the title of having 4 books published in a row to have made it to Amazon’s Best-Sellers List (“I Will Love You Forever, Too,” “After Rain Skies, 2nd Edition,” “It Ain’t Winning If Without You,” and “I Am In Itself Poetry In The Dark”) and 3 books on Amazon’s #1Hot New Releases/New Releases (“I Will Love You Forever, Too,” “It Ain’t Winning If Without You,” and “I Am In Itself Poetry In The Dark”.)
Her poetry appeared in several international literary magazines and anthologies such as Spillwords NYC, MasticadoresUsa, and MasticadoresIndia. Her poems “Holding Hands” was voted as Spillwords Publication of the Month for November 2021 and “Love Happens” was voted as Spillwords Publication of the Month for December 2022.
She is also part of the award-winning ensemble of authors in two Poetry Anthologies, that are both Amazon Best-Sellers: Hidden In Childhood and Wounds I Healed.
Graduated with a Master of Education majoring in English in the Philippines (University of San Agustin, Iloilo City). Michelle was a former college professor, teaching literature, speech & oral communication, creative writing, drama, and theatre arts. She is also a graduate of Mass Communications major in Journalism (Centro Escolar University, Manila).
Michelle is active in her writing profession and works as a freelance creative writer.
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I like freestyle. This is the style of most of the poems I have learned about at school and it is my favourite style to write. I like the freedom and lack of specific structure of freestyle poetry. It must have rhythm, but other than that, there are few restrictions with freestyle poetry.
What is your favourite poem in your favourite style to read?
Eating Poetry by Mark Strand was introduced to me this year by my English teacher. At first, I didn’t really understand the poem but after reading it a few times, it captured my imagination. I like the surreal and unusual style of this poem.
Eating Poetry by Mark Strand
Ink runs from the corners of my mouth.
There is no happiness like mine.
I have been eating poetry.
***
The librarian does not believe what she sees.
Her eyes are sad
and she walks with her hands in her dress.
***
The poems are gone.
The light is dim.
The dogs are on the basement stairs and coming up.
***
Their eyeballs roll,
their blond legs burn like brush.
The poor librarian begins to stamp her feet and weep.
***
She does not understand.
When I get on my knees and lick her hand,
she screams.
***
I am a new man.
I snarl at her and bark.
I romp with joy in the bookish dark.
Do you like listening to poetry?
I don’t listen to poetry outside of school. I do love music and I think that songs are a form of poetry. The poems are just set to music. I love music and I’m learning to play the electric guitar.
This is my favourite song:
What is your favourite of your own poems in your favourite style?
I have nine poems published in Square Peg in a Round Hole, poetry, art & creativity by Robbie Cheadle. I have written a few poems subsequently, but not that many as I am studying art at school. It takes up a lot of my time. I like my poem, Devil’s Thoughts in the collection because the setting is one of my photographs. I enjoy photographing roads and cloud formations.
Picture caption: Devil’s Thoughts extract from Square Peg in a Round Hole
Devil’s Thoughts by Michael Cheadle
Panic and pain
Consume everything
I attempt to speak up
Trying again and again
To call for help
The only response
Is the devil’s reply
Shouting loudly
“Come to me, I can stop it all.
I can make you smile.”
The temptation
I endeavour to resist
The world may be crumbling
It is an endless pit
But it is a road I must traverse
About Square Peg in a Round Hole, poetry, art & creativity by Robbie Cheadle
Picture caption: front cover of Square Peg in a Round Hole featuring various forms of artworks by Robbie Cheadle
How to stay positive in a negative world!
Square Peg in a Round Hole is a collection of poetry, art, and photography. The section, Life, demonstrates the author’s perceptions of life in a fast-moving world filled with work, ill-health, and other demands. The other sections illustrate how the poet makes use of writing poetry, creating art, and photography to keep smiling.
A 5-star Amazon review for Square Peg in a Round Hole
Gwendolyn Plano says:
This collection of poetry, photography, paintings, and reflections grabbed my attention immediately. So much so that I devoured it in one sitting. The questions raised, the sorrows expressed, the hopes shared — all resonated with my own. For example, the tanka ‘Voice of Reason’ addresses current situations:
Leaders have the power To direct others’ footsteps Don’t blindly follow Like a lemming to the sea Let the voice of reason speak
This is a book worth savoring. The author’s brilliance is everywhere present. As an added dimension, Michael Cheadle’s heartbreaking poems bring the collection to a close. Bravo to both Robbie and Michael!
About Michael Cheadle
Picture caption: gravatar for Michael Cheadle. A boy asleep in bed with his headphones and cell phone. Cake art by Robbie Cheadle
Michael Cheadle is a student in Johannesburg, South Africa. Together with Robbie Cheadle, Michael has co-authored eleven books in the Sir Chocolate books series, the first book in the Southern African Safari Adventures series, and Haunted Halloween Holiday.
Michael also has nine poems and a charcoal artwork in a poetry collection, Square Peg in a Round Hole.
Award-winning, bestselling author, Robbie Cheadle, has published fourteen children’s books and three poetry books. Her work also features in several poetry and short story anthologies.
Robbie also has two novels published under the name of Roberta Eaton Cheadle and has horror, paranormal, and fantasy short stories featured in several anthologies under this name.
The eleven Sir Chocolate children’s picture books, co-authored by Robbie and Michael Cheadle, are written in sweet, short rhymes which are easy for young children to follow and are illustrated with pictures of delicious cakes and cake decorations. Each book also includes simple recipes or biscuit art directions which children can make under adult supervision.
Robbie and Michael Cheadle have recently launched a new series of children’s books called Southern African Safari Adventures. The first book, Neema the Misfit Giraffe is now available from Amazon.
Want to be sure not to miss any of Robbie’s “Treasuring Poetry” segments? Subscribe to Writing to be Read for e-mail notifications whenever new content is posted or follow WtbR on WordPress. If you found it interesting or entertaining, please share.
My April Treasuring Poetry guest is talented and prolific poet, Ivor Steven. Please enjoy his thoughts about poetry and some of his favourite poems.
What is your favourite style of poetry to read?
Oh, there are so many styles of poetry that I like. In my personal library I have poetry books by Leonard Cohen, William B Yeats, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, John Keats, Henry Lawson, Banjo Paterson, and Rupi Kaur, and of course numerous other local poets. My selections are of a range of styles and very eclectic, however, my favourite poetry style is rhythmical freestyle poems.
What is your favourite poem in your favourite style to read?
Since I was a teenager, I have been an avid follower of Leonard Cohen’s writings, and he has had a huge influence on the way I draft my poems. One of my favourite poems of his is “Avalanche”.
“Avalanche“ Well, I stepped into an avalanche, it covered up my soul; when I am not this hunchback that you see, I sleep beneath the golden hill. You who wish to conquer pain, you must learn, learn to serve me well. You strike my side by accident as you go down for your gold. The cripple here that you clothe, and feed is neither starved nor cold; he does not ask for your company, not at the centre, the centre of the world.
When I am on a pedestal, you did not raise me there. Your laws do not compel me to kneel grotesque and bare. I myself am the pedestal for this ugly hump at which you stare.
You who wish to conquer pain, you must learn what makes me kind; the crumbs of love that you offer me, they’re the crumbs I’ve left behind. Your pain is no credential here, it’s just the shadow, shadow of my wound.
I have begun to long for you, I who have no greed; I have begun to ask for you, I who have no need. You say you’ve gone away from me, but I can feel you when you breathe.
Do not dress in those rags for me, I know you are not poor; you don’t love me quite so fiercely now when you know that you are not sure, it is your turn, beloved, it is your flesh that I wear.
What is your favourite style of poetry to write? Why?
I must say I like writing Haiku, Tanka, musettes, and other forms of short poems. However, I only started writing poetry after I had suffered a semiserious stroke in 2000. During my rehab, the speech therapist encouraged me to write rhyming words to help regain my cognitive abilities. I developed a knack for rhyming words and from there my writing knowledge gradually expanded. With my restricted thought process, the rhythmical Freestyle Poems were an uncomplicated style for me to follow and I kept improving on my newfound journey into the world of poetry.
What is your favourite of your own poems in your favourite style?
Oh gosh, I have written nearly two thousand poems over the past twenty years, my favourite one is from my first book “Tullawalla”, I wrote the poem in Philadelphia while visiting my cousins in 2019. The trip to America was only two months after my 2nd and 3rd strokes, and the journey was truly a “dream come true”.
Dreams of The Heart
I cannot walk the continents Like the intrepid Marco Polo But my feet have felt the sands of time Pass between my toes
I have not sailed the high seas Like the courageous Christopher Columbus But my body has bathed In an ocean full of kind hearts I am yet to fly in space Like the brave Neil Armstrong But I have reached for the stars And touched my soul’s dreams
How do you promote your poetry and poetry books?
I promote my poetry and books via my WordPress website, and social media sites: Instagram. Facebook. Thread, and a new website Medium. Also, I am an appointed writer for the online Coffee House Writers magazine (America), and they allow me to promote my Books on their members chat-site. I am a member the Geelong Writers Inc, who have Monthly social gatherings where I can sell my books. I frequent several local cafes, at which I am allowed to display and sell my books. I regularly attend local Arts Markets and I have had Book Stalls at nearby book festivals, the most recent being the prestigious Clunes Booktown Festival. >> Clunes Booktown Festival – For the love of story
Until Eyes Hear Sound is a wonderful collection full of impactful poems about numerous important issues humanity faces as a collective, as well as the beauty of our natural world.
The book is divided up into ten chapters as follows: Little Creatures and Birds; Planet Earth, Nature and Existence; The New World? The Same Universe; Observations – “Until Eyes Hear Sound”; War! Without Peace?; Memories and Rhymes; Poetry in Slow Motion; Humour, Fantasy, Faeries, and Weird; and Short Poems, Haiku, Senryu, Tanka, and Others. Each section shares a smaller collection of poems that highlight the best and worst of that category. The poems are written in a mixture of freestyle and rhyming verse and are easy to read and vivid in their description.
The following are a few lines from some of the poems I related to the most in the collection:
“Raw rain is tumbling across town Mother Nature’s roaring sound Amplifies her tears slapping the ground As her dark clouds wrinkle into a frown” from She Knows
“Behind every mask there is a weathered face Behind every face old lines survive in place Behind every place memories live with grace” from My World, My Thoughts
“arriving via the cemetery gate holding her flowers hands quivering heart quickens …
“leaving via the cemetery path renewing goodbyes crying silently breathing slowly” from Arriving and Leaving, Visiting Her. This was my favourite poem in the collection.
A beautiful collection.
About Robbie Cheadle
Award-winning, bestselling author, Robbie Cheadle, has published fourteen children’s books and three poetry books. Her work also features in several poetry and short story anthologies.
Robbie also has two novels published under the name of Roberta Eaton Cheadle and has horror, paranormal, and fantasy short stories featured in several anthologies under this name.
The eleven Sir Chocolate children’s picture books, co-authored by Robbie and Michael Cheadle, are written in sweet, short rhymes which are easy for young children to follow and are illustrated with pictures of delicious cakes and cake decorations. Each book also includes simple recipes or biscuit art directions which children can make under adult supervision.
Robbie and Michael Cheadle have recently launched a new series of children’s books called Southern African Safari Adventures. The first book, Neema the Misfit Giraffe is now available from Amazon.
It’s day 1 of the WordCrafter Poetry Treasures 4 Book Blog Tour, and today we have contributing poet D.L. Finn with a reading of her poem, “The Island”. Stick with the tour for the rest of the week for readings and guest posts from contributing authors Andrew McDowell, Patricia Furstenberg, Merril D. Smith, Selma Martin and Robbie Cheadle, an interview with contributing author Emily Gmitter, and a review on Carla Loves to Read. If you leave a comment at each stop, you’ll be entered in our great giveaway.
Giveaway
Leave a comment for a chance to win one of three free copies of
Poetry Treasures 4: In Touch with Nature.
Leave a comment at each stop for additional chances.
Winners chosen by random drawing.
You can keep up with the tour through the links in the schedule below, but they won’t work until each stop goes live.
Mon. April 8 – Writing to be Read – Reading by D.L. Finn
Sat. April 13 – Carla Reads– Review/ Reading by Robbie Cheadle
Book Trailer
Book Trailer for Poetry Treasures 4: In Touch with Nature – created by Robbie Cheadle
About the Anthology
This volume of the Poetry Treasures series is a special one for me because it is the first volume to feature my works. I am proud to be featured along side such talented poets as Colleen Chesebro, D.L. Finn, Frank Prem, and Robbie Cheadle who I have gotten to know and I am familiar with their works. In addition, I got to work woth many creative poets who were new to me, introduced through Robbie’s “Treasuring Poetry” series right along with the series readers. These include Andrew McDowell, Patricia Furstenberg, Emily Gmitter, Marcia Meara, Selma Martin, Luanne Castle, and Merril D. Smith. Without their contributions and willingness to pitch in with the promotions, there would be no anthology. I have so enjoyed working with this group of poets, who have stuggled to meet tight deadlines and put up with my confusions as I shuffled through emails to & from hosts and contributors, and contributors who were also acting as hosts as I put this blog tour together. A big thanks goes out to them for all their efforts and hard work.
The quality of poetry in this volume makes it a poetry treasure to be sure, and I’ve had several contributors thank me for all my hard work. It has been a labor of love. But although I co-edited and did the final formatting, this is really Robbie’s baby, and without all of her hard work, this project wouldn’t be. The anthology was born from Robbie’s “Treasuring Poetry” blog series, and it is Robbie who invited the guests to submit their work, compiled and organized them all into a coherent manuscript, and did the first round of editing. Somehow, she fit all that into her very busy life, and it is she who should be commended, not I.
This is my blog post, my addition to the tour as a contributing author, as well as editor of the project. I will not burden you with my photo and bio, which you, my readers, see with every post I make. Instead I will get right to the main attraction for this stop and move on to a reading by contributing author D.L. Finn.
Introduction of D.L. Finn
Author of children’s books, adult fiction and poetry, D.L. Finn is a multi-talented Califirnia author. Her Haibun and syllabic poetry draw vivid pictures in the mind and I am pleased to feature her works within this volume of Poetry Treasures. She shares with us today a reading of her poem, “The Island”.
Reading of “The Island”, by D.L. Finn
About D.L. Finn
D. L. Finn is an independent California local who encourages everyone to embrace their inner child. She was born and raised in the foggy Bay Area, but in 1990 she relocated with her husband, kids, dogs, and cats to Nevada City, in the Sierra foothills. She immersed herself in reading all types of books but especially loved romance, horror, and fantasy. She always treasured creating her own reality on paper. Finally, surrounded by towering pines, oaks, and cedars, her creativity was nurtured until it bloomed. Her creations include children’s books, adult fiction, and poetry. She continues on her adventure with an open invitation to all readers to join her.
That wraps up today’s stop. Don’t forget to leave a comment and enter the giveaway for a free copy of this lovely poetry collection. Tomorrow will find us over at Colleen Chesebro, Author & Poet with a guest post by contributing poet, Merril D. Smith. Join us and don’t forget to leave a comment for another chance to win a free digital copy of Poetry Treasures 4: In Touch with Nature.
A huge welcome to Barbara Harris Leonard, editor of MasticardoresUSA, and talented poet, to Treasuring Poetry.
What is your favourite style of poetry to read i.e. haiku, ballad, epic, freestyle, etc?
I’ve studied different poetic forms but generally read freestyle poetry, especially Anne Sexton, Sylvia Plath, Elizabeth Bishop, and so many more. I also enjoy the more formal classic poetry and other modern poets like Frost, Sandburg, and others. A favorite poet of mine is Emily Dickinson. I’ve written poems in the manner of Dickinson. Overall, however, the majority of poems I have read and written have been free verse.
What is your favourite poem in your favourite style to read?
The first poem that comes to mind is Elizabeth Bishop’s poem “The Fish”. Here it is from poets.org. The description is exquisite, and the story is powerful. She catches a prize fish, admires him, and finds that the fish has been caught five prior times. After examining his wounds—the old hooks and broken fish-lines scabbed over in his mouth—she releases the fish. The imagery throughout the poem is stunning. The old fish is embattled and exhausted, not even resisting the catch. He represents something ancient and universal. He is more than a fish; he is history (“beard of wisdom”) and war as she describes his “weaponlike” lower lip and cutting gills. “The Fish” is a poem written with the skill I strive to have as a poet.
I caught a tremendous fish and held him beside the boat half out of water, with my hook fast in a corner of his mouth. He didn’t fight. He hadn’t fought at all. He hung a grunting weight, battered and venerable and homely. Here and there his brown skin hung in strips like ancient wallpaper, and its pattern of darker brown was like wallpaper: shapes like full-blown roses stained and lost through age. He was speckled with barnacles, fine rosettes of lime, and infested with tiny white sea-lice, and underneath two or three rags of green weed hung down. While his gills were breathing in the terrible oxygen —the frightening gills, fresh and crisp with blood, that can cut so badly— I thought of the coarse white flesh packed in like feathers, the big bones and the little bones, the dramatic reds and blacks of his shiny entrails, and the pink swim-bladder like a big peony. I looked into his eyes which were far larger than mine but shallower, and yellowed, the irises backed and packed with tarnished tinfoil seen through the lenses of old scratched isinglass. They shifted a little, but not to return my stare. —It was more like the tipping of an object toward the light. I admired his sullen face, the mechanism of his jaw, and then I saw that from his lower lip —if you could call it a lip— grim, wet, and weaponlike, hung five old pieces of fish-line, or four and a wire leader with the swivel still attached, with all their five big hooks grown firmly in his mouth. A green line, frayed at the end where he broke it, two heavier lines, and a fine black thread still crimped from the strain and snap when it broke and he got away. Like medals with their ribbons frayed and wavering, a five-haired beard of wisdom trailing from his aching jaw. I stared and stared and victory filled up the little rented boat, from the pool of bilge where oil had spread a rainbow around the rusted engine to the bailer rusted orange, the sun-cracked thwarts, the oarlocks on their strings, the gunnels—until everything was rainbow, rainbow, rainbow! And I let the fish go.
What is your favourite style of poetry to write? Why?
I like free style poetry, mainly narrative and persona poems. Sometimes poetic forms feel restrictive because mastering the form becomes more important than the message of the poem. However, I feel practicing with forms enables a poet to mature in many ways. As I’m writing free style, I use many poetic devices, such as alliteration, slant rhyme, assonance, meter, and others. With free style, for me, some challenges include where to place the line breaks and group the imagery into stanzas. How the poem is organized can affect the meaning. I like the potential for ambiguity in free verse poems.
In “The Fish”, the last three lines are ambiguous. What does “rainbow” refer to? Epiphany? Was the fish a Rainbow trout? Maybe both interpretations apply. But the em dash is important. It interrupts the description of the fish to state an insight “—until everything”. The line break allows the reader to recall everything that was just said and speculate on more things. The repetition of “rainbow” three times insists there is insight. Pay attention. Rainbows are multi-colored, much like the fish. Rainbows presents diversity, inclusivity, and friendship. It’s no wonder she freed the fish.
the gunnels—until everything was rainbow, rainbow, rainbow! And I let the fish go.
Formal poetry can also have ambiguity and surprise. It’s just that I feel I have more freedom to play with the lines and stanzas in free verse poems.
What is your favourite of your own poems in your favourite style?
In my book Three-Penny Memories: A Poetic Memoir, my poems are free style. I have several favorites, but “Marie Kondo Cleans My Purse at Starbucks” received recognition from Spillwords Press. It won Publication of the Month in Jan/Feb 2022. In this poem, I am carrying the grief from Mom’s decline due to Alzheimer’s and her death. I am burdened by the memories. Marie Kondo, who is famous for her books on how to declutter your house, offers to help clean my purse (let go of that which no longer serves me). As this poem is about healing from loss, it is in the last section of my book, “Echo”.
Marie Kondo Cleans My Purse at Starbucks
Konmari sees me at Starbucks,
my purse spilling over at the counter.
“May I help?”
She gathers me up
like I’m antique lace
washed too many times.
Before she begins, she whispers,
“Hello, the House,
I am safe. May I enter?”
She pokes through my purse,
pulling out the deck of cards
Mom once carried in her own purse.
A heavy bag of Mom’s pennies
to redeem for cash.
Her checkbook.
The messy old calendar
that listed her appointments
alongside my own.
The quilt she made me,
now falling apart. A cookbook
compiled in her own hand.
Konmari extracts other artifacts,
laying them gently on lined up tables.
People gather. My eyes bleed.
The extra-large pair of panties
Mom made me wear to Sunday school.
The wash, still not done.
A half-used bottle of Diethylstilbestrol,
she was prescribed to prevent spotting
when I was in vitro.
The tricycle she rode
around town at age three
because her mother never watched her.
My cancer scares, scattered
on the bottom of the purse
like cookie crumbs.
The scabs inflicted
by her compression stockings
I failed to wash one last time.
The clump of tissue
I miscarried, swaddled
in an inner pocket.
Her hysterectomy scar.
My hysterectomy scar.
Entwined on a spool.
My t-shaped uterus,
clenching a half-used packet
of Puffs Plus.
A dogeared photo of Mom.
A mirror reflecting
who I want to be.
Konmari has me
hold each item
one last time, saying,
“Thank you, tiny soul,
for sharing your life. I am
grateful.”
She teaches me
how to fold joy
three times.
How to throw out
what I can
no longer carry.
One strategy I appreciate about poetry, whether is is formal or free style, is the use of metaphor. In Bishops’s poem “The Fish”, the fish represents our history and ancient wisdom. Like the fish, we have all fought off death physically or spiritually. We are warriors who build muscle and bear wounds from our life battles. The fish holds our stories, and Bishop is masterful as she extends the metaphor to a universal level.
In my poem, I used the purse as a metaphor of my soul. In the book, Mom’s purse appears in several poems because her purse held her memories: her driver’s license (identity), her checkbook (finances), her comb (beauty), photos (family) and so on. Because I had to become Mom’s brain and hold her business along with mine, the purse took on significance as a brain, or a place to hold her life alongside my own. Grief work, for me, was a process of emptying the purse of all the attachments that no longer served me. And who could help declutter better than Marie Kondo? And revealing your wounds can be embarrassing, so why not do that at Starbucks? This choice gives a dream-like quality to the poem. It is surreal to carry your mother’s tricycle in your purse! Imagine all the nightmares of suddenly appearing naked on the first day of school or other important places. All my baggage is laid out on tables for everyone to see as though viewing a dead body. It’s no wonder “my eyes bleed”.
How do you promote your poetry and poetry books?
Connections sell books, so I’ve increased my online presence (Twitter/X, Mastodon, Linked-in, Instagram, Facebook, Threads, etc). I advertise my publications on social media. My position as Editor for MasticadoresUSA enables me to promote writers and get exposure. I also do interviews and readings online as well as readings, author showcases, and open mics in my hometown, Columbia, Missouri, and now other places in Missouri. I’ve gifted books to libraries. This past summer, 2023, Three-Penny Memories: A Poetic Memoir was chosen among other books for the summer reading program at our local library. My book sells on Amazon and is distributed everywhere, but I have also put it in independent bookstores in my hometown and in St. Louis, Missouri. I continue to publish poems mainly. I’ve started an account on Medium and am republishing poems there when the copyrights revert back to me. I sponsor Zoom poetry meetups and Zoom poetry critique sessions for the Columbia Writers Guild, a Chapter of the Missouri Writers Guild (https://ccmwg.org/ ) and The Garden of Neuro Institute (https://gardenofneuro.com/). I’ve developed relationships with other poets and have reviewed their books. I publish the reviews on MasticadoresUSA, my blog extraordinarysunshineweaver.blog, and Medium.
Thank you, Barbara, for being a wonderful guest.
My review of Three-Penny Memories: A Poetic Memoir by Barbara Harris Leonhard
This collection of poems is a deep dive into the love between a mother and daughter. The collection takes the reader on a journey of the poet’s life and the development of the relationship with her mother. She covers her own life threatening illness and the subsequent incapacity and recovery process, as well as her later discovery of the poet’s inability to carry a child to term due to her mother’s ingestion of Diethylstilbestrol (DES) during her own pregnancy. How ironic that the poet’s mother took this drug to ensure the health of her own pregnancy and it resulted in childlessness for her own daughter. Life is full of bitter irony.
Throughout all the trials and tribulations of her life, the poet’s love for her mother burns like a flame, as does her mother’s love for her. And then came Alzheimer’s, the destroyer. The part of the book and the poet’s internal conflict and wrestle with her own feelings was close to my heart. Dementia and Alzheimer’s change people, turns them into someone you don’t know. Someone who doesn’t know you, someone who endlessly demands, complains, and makes bitter comments. In between, there are moments of normalcy and during those times, love returns in a rush, along with accompanying guilt for the conflicting emotions of the bad times.
This book captures the ebb and flow of human love and emotion exactly. It does not examine it, rather it describes and defines it.
A few stanzas from poems that stood out for me:
“One day says – out of nowhere – shattering words out of her scattered mind “You’re still childless? Don’t know why! I dropped seven!” From Mom’s DES Baby: The Hardest Pill to Swallow
“Mom, flat and detached My fear. That she’s gone. Now for good.” From Fool’s Gold
“How will she manage the mysterious passage? This woman with no memories,
no way to find the path, recall a friend, her mother, recognise the welcoming
Angel of Death?” From Departing from Gate 3
The collection is incredibly revealing and emotional, and exceptional read.
I’m a retired Instructor of English as a Second Language. Although I have been writing since I was age 8, after retiring in 2017, I have had more time to devote to writing. My WordPress site is extraordinarysunshineweaver.blog. My work appears in online and print literary magazines, journals, and anthologies, and my poetry has won awards and recognition. My debut poetry collection, Three-Penny Memories: A Poetic Memoir (EIF (Experiments in Fiction, 2022), which is about my relationship with my mother, who suffered from Alzheimer’s, achieved best-seller status on Amazon. Also, on Spillwords, I was voted Author of the Month of October 2021, nominated Author of the Year for 2021, and recognized as a Spillwords Socialite of the Year in 2021. I enjoy bringing writers together and have been sponsoring open mics on Zoom. I live in the Midwest of the United States with my husband, Dierik, and our cat, Jasper. Dierik and I enjoy long drives to the wetlands to count the deer.
Award-winning, bestselling author, Robbie Cheadle, has published fourteen children’s books and two poetry books. Her work also features in several poetry and short story anthologies.
Robbie also has two novels published under the name of Roberta Eaton Cheadle and has horror, paranormal, and fantasy short stories featured in several anthologies under this name.
The eleven Sir Chocolate children’s picture books, co-authored by Robbie and Michael Cheadle, are written in sweet, short rhymes which are easy for young children to follow and are illustrated with pictures of delicious cakes and cake decorations. Each book also includes simple recipes or biscuit art directions which children can make under adult supervision.
Robbie and Michael Cheadle have recently launched a new series of children’s books called Southern African Safari Adventures. The first book, Neema the Misfit Giraffe is now available from Amazon.
Today, I am delighted to welcome talented poet, Merril D Smith as my October Treasuring Poetry guest. Merril has recently launched River Ghosts, a beautiful book of poetry which I have reviewed below.
Tell me a bit about your poetry collection, River Ghosts. What inspired the poetry in this book? Does it have a particular theme?
I had submitted a chapbook to Nightingale & Sparrow Press, which was longlisted, but ultimately not chosen for publication. The editor gave me some positive feedback, and I decided I would submit a full-length manuscript the following year. Of course, I did not expect a pandemic, nor that my mom would die from it in April 2020 during the first wave and lockdown. By that time, she was in a nursing home, and we were not allowed to be with her. I compiled River Ghosts in the months after her death with some already written poems—some published—and some new poems.
I walk by the Delaware River nearly every morning. Sometimes I go to a nearby park, which is also a historic battle site. The battle took place during the American Revolution, and there is an eighteenth-century house there. Recently, they’ve found more remains of soldiers—Hessians who fought for the British. If ghosts exist, I think they are at rivers, which carry so much history, and because of the battle and soldiers killed, I imagine them here.
So, the collection’s title comes from my musings about rivers and ghosts, including the ghosts of memory. However, I don’t think River Ghosts is all about sadness and grief by any means! I also want to mention that my older child, Jay Smith, designed the cover art, and the book is dedicated to my mother’s memory.
Do you do a lot of editing of your poetry or does the poem manifest itself fully formed?
That really depends. I nearly always do some editing, even for poems written for prompts. Sometimes, I go back to poems though, and I revise them. Then again, I’ve had some poems published that I pretty much wrote and sent off.
What do you find to be the most effective way of sharing your poetry with fellow poetry lovers?
I don’t know about effective. I suppose more people read my poetry on my blog, especially in response to a prompt, than anywhere else. I’ve also shared poems on Twitter /X for Top Tweet Tuesday (run by Black Bough Poetry), and I’ve read at some online open mics.
Do you think poetry is still a relevant form of expressing ideas in our modern world? If yes, why?
I think it’s relevant. I think I’ve read there’s been an upsurge in poetry, both reading and writing. Perhaps that’s because of social media and Covid lockdowns. I think most people enjoy poetry, especially if it’s read. For example, so many people were energized by Amanda Gorman’s reading of her poem, “The Hill We Climb,” at the inauguration of President Joe Biden in 2021. She is the youngest poet to have read a poem at a US presidential inauguration, and she is also an activist.
Which of your own poems is your favorite and why?
I don’t have a favorite anything—book, movie, song, or poem– it depends on my mood. But I will share one of my favorites from River Ghosts. “Moon Landing” was originally published by Black Bough Poetry.
Moon Landing
On that warm July night,
my father watched moonstruck
as Neil Armstrong took his giant leap.
I remained firmly earthbound,
watching our new puppies in the TV screen light,
their small black and white bodies tumbling,
stepping hesitantly into their futures.
Now—ensorcelled by moon-glow—
I plummet back, landing my time-rocket
on the rocky surface of memory.
Which poem by any other poet that you’ve read, do you relate to the most and why?
Again, I can’t say there is any poem that I relate to the most. I like many different types of poetry.
I think this is the poem I wish I had written. You will see in a way it’s connected to the poem of mine that I shared. “My God, It’s Full of Stars” is by Tracy K. Smith, who was US Poet Laureate, and who won a Pulitzer Prize for her collection Life on Mars.
My God, It’s Full of Stars by Tracy K. Smith
We like to think of it as parallel to what we know,
Only bigger. One man against the authorities.
Or one man against a city of zombies. One man
Who is not, in fact, a man, sent to understand
The caravan of men now chasing him like red ants
Let loose down the pants of America. Man on the run.
Man with a ship to catch, a payload to drop,
This message going out to all of space. . . . Though
Maybe it’s more like life below the sea: silent,
Buoyant, bizarrely benign. Relics
Of an outmoded design. Some like to imagine
A cosmic mother watching through a spray of stars,
Mouthing yes, yes as we toddle toward the light,
Biting her lip if we teeter at some ledge. Longing
To sweep us to her breast, she hopes for the best
While the father storms through adjacent rooms
Ranting with the force of Kingdom Come,
Not caring anymore what might snap us in its jaw.
Sometimes, what I see is a library in a rural community.
All the tall shelves in the big open room. And the pencils
In a cup at Circulation, gnawed on by the entire population.
The books have lived here all along, belonging
For weeks at a time to one or another in the brief sequence
Of family names, speaking (at night mostly) to a face,
A pair of eyes. The most remarkable lies.
2.
Charlton Heston is waiting to be let in. He asked once politely.
A second time with force from the diaphragm. The third time,
He did it like Moses: arms raised high, face an apocryphal white.
Shirt crisp, suit trim, he stoops a little coming in,
Then grows tall. He scans the room. He stands until I gesture,
Then he sits. Birds commence their evening chatter. Someone fires
Charcoals out below. He’ll take a whiskey if I have it. Water if I don’t.
I ask him to start from the beginning, but he goes only halfway back.
That was the future once, he says. Before the world went upside down.
Hero, survivor, God’s right hand man, I know he sees the blank
Surface of the moon where I see a language built from brick and bone.
He sits straight in his seat, takes a long, slow high-thespian breath,
Then lets it go. For all I know, I was the last true man on this earth. And:
May I smoke? The voices outside soften. Planes jet past heading off or back.
Someone cries that she does not want to go to bed. Footsteps overhead.
A fountain in the neighbor’s yard babbles to itself, and the night air
Lifts the sound indoors. It was another time, he says, picking up again.
We were pioneers. Will you fight to stay alive here, riding the earth
Toward God-knows-where? I think of Atlantis buried under ice, gone
One day from sight, the shore from which it rose now glacial and stark.
River Ghosts is the perfect name for this beautiful collection, which gives the reader glimpses into the poet’s life in the present, shadowed by memories, and coloured by traditions and behaviours passed down by her parents, and the ancestors that came before them. It is, in essence, an insight into the factors that make the poet who she is, and that have shaped her thoughts, ideas, and actions.
I found the ideas of loss contained in this book, interwoven with the concepts of long-lasting memories and loved ones living on through us, their offspring, compelling and delightful. For me, it made the overwhelming thought of the losses that must come, more bearable. Love, and the family traditions and behaviours we continue to honour, and pass down to our own children and grandchildren, bind us strongly to those who came before and to those who will come after. I love that idea.
A few examples of beautiful stanzas and/or lines:
“a tiny glove in the street, the small hand grows colder
now unclasped from a larger one.” From Observe, And Again
Above and about, dreams soar – I pluck one from a thousand – of red petals crushed beneath rocks after a storm, like blood drops growing, glowing” From Almost, and Never
“Once some brilliant star breathed time in the after-wake of explosion and danced across a universe exploring eternity” From And If Always Lives
This poetry collection is a wonderful investment of time and mental energy.
Merril D. Smith is a poet living in southern New Jersey. Her work has been published in poetry journals and anthologies, including Black Bough Poetry, Acropolis, Anti-Heroin Chic, The Storms, Fevers of the Mind, Humana Obscura, and Nightingale and Sparrow. She holds a Ph.D. in American history from Temple University in Philadelphia and is the author/editor of numerous books on gender, sexuality, and history. Her full-length poetry collection, River Ghosts (Nightingale & Sparrow Press) was Black Bough Poetry’s December 2022 Book of the Month.
Today I am delighted to introduce poet, Selma Martin, who has just published a beautiful book of poetry entitled In The Shadow of Rainbows.
Selma has started her interview with a quote and a truly lovely commentary about my book, Lion Scream. I have included it because it is so kind of Selma to have written it, and I appreciate her comments and review a great deal, but please remember that this post is about Selma and her poetry and gorgeous book.
Poems are made by fools like me
But without support, I’ve nowise to be
Robbie, you’ve no idea how much my enthusiasm level has risen just at the thought of being here with you for this interview. I’m truly honored. And I wish to begin by telling you that I respect you all the more after completing your lovely poetry collection, Lion Scream which I read from start to finish several times. What a lovely book you blessed the world with, Robbie. May we all continue to find grace and compassion in books that enlighten our optimistic approach to everything our world is experiencing at the moment. As someone once wrote, the solutions are there when the problems are recognized. I think that collectively we’ve come to recognize that we have a big problem. So it’s my sincere hope that in this lifetime we figure out where we should put our collective efforts. Your book provides a venue to initiate constructive markers of where we need to start. And together work to narrow the gap between our two realities. Yes, there are two realities:
Objective reality – “the world out there.” The world of your senses
Subjective reality – “the world in here.” The world of our minds; the world of emotions and feelings–composed of thoughts, opinions and judgments, and emotions.
I stand by what I wrote on Amazon: Your book is a must-read!
Now onto the questions that I’m ever so happy to respond to:
You have recently released your first poetry collection, In the Shadow of Rainbows. What inspired the poetry in this book? Does it have a particular theme?
SELMA: Inspiration waits for us at every corner, and one is always hoping that it will pat us on the shoulder and remain with us for the duration of the journey. For me, it got a nudge after I completed my 60th trip around the sun. Nothing is more inspiring than realizing that I have lived more life than I have left to live. This is the truth. And the only gauge I went by with my collection was to amass sixty poems. Well, I wrote more than sixty, thinking that a few wouldn’t make the cut but my editor, Ingrid Wilson of Experiments in Fiction allowed me a little more than sixty; sixty-four resulted. I am grateful. As I mentioned in the book, I set sail without a strict theme but kept the faith that one would appear. That of shadows was so strong that at one point I fancied naming the collection Shadows, Whispers, and Echoes. But then, as I mention in the book, an old memory of finding rainbows on my eyelashes acted as my rudder and so there you have it: In The Shadow of Rainbows. I think the title fits the theme so well. Deep bow to my editor. Deep bow to my cover photographer.
Picture caption: The cover of Selma’s book, In the Shadow of Rainbows. I agree that it is very beautiful.
Do you do a lot of editing of your poetry or does the poem manifest itself fully formed?
SELMA: Oh my, let me quote from a haiku from Tachibana Genjiro(1665-1718): I write, erase write, erase again, and then a poppy blooms. It’s a lot of writing, deleting, and rewriting indeed. And even after my poppy blooms I still find incidents where I wish to start over. So, yes, I do lots of editing; and no, so far no poem has ever manifested itself fully formed for me.
What do you find to be the most effective way of sharing your poetry with fellow poetry lovers?
SELMA: Writing and sharing my work here on WordPress is the only way I know and feel comfortable sharing my work with other poetry lovers. I’m fully aware that there are other online magazines where I can share my work, but for some reason, I hold back from going the distance because sometimes I don’t feel deserving enough. Or perhaps it is that I need to feel a connection to my readers like I’ve begun to feel with my readers here on WordPress? Also, there is the issue of time and timing. I never want to overdo it; I think we need variety, and so I refrain from posting even on my website at times. At the moment, I’ve created a beautiful respectful relationship with the Editor of Masticadores USA, Barbara Leonhard, and so I sometimes submit my work there. I’m so grateful that Barbara helps me to reach other audiences and I’m working hard to jump on the bandwagon the next time someone calls for submissions to an anthology that fits my writing.
Do you think poetry is still a relevant form of expressing ideas in our modern world? If yes, why?
Poetry is not new–we know this. It’s the oldest, or at least one of the oldest forms of intimate expressions we humans have had. In today’s fast-paced society, the extraordinary value of the word hasn’t diminished. (Take that, emojis) and we humans will never be irreverent to this art form. Poetry will always rank high in relevance as long as there exist people like you and me. Me think so.
Which of your own poems is your favorite and why?
Oh, no no no. I don’t have a favorite; I like them all, really I do! But I will share one and honestly hope you find it to your taste.
Slice of Life
Flanked between two wanings, I live you,
planting the light hours with loving acts,
for you, for us, for our ménage,
and when I meet the dusk, filled,
ready for our mingling at the table,
where we swap slices of lived moments
of the same day, hearts swell replete.
I chose one of the shortest poems in the collection to share with you. It’s strategically placed as the penultimate poem in the book, and I’m happy to elucidate on this poetry form that touched me. In its true form, it’s a Kwansaba poem, an African-American verse form of praise: a praise poem that celebrates family. The Kwansaba (Swahili kwan -first fruit/saba -principle) was created in 1995 by Eugene B. Redmond, East St. Louis Poet Laureate and professor of English at Southern Illinois University-East St. Louis. The form was developed in honor of the celebration of Kwanzaa. The poetic form adopts the number 7 from Kwanzaa’s Nguzo Saba (7 principles) as well as embraces its roots in the South African tradition of the Praise Poem. The 7 principles of Kwanzaa are unity, self-determination, collective work and responsibility, cooperative economics, purpose, creativity, and faith. Each day of the celebration focuses on one of the principles. Isn’t this just such a beautiful principle? I think it is, as all the principles take off at unity which starts at the family level.
I wrote it originally for a dVerse prompt in December 2021–then, I abbreviated some words to meet the exact count of sevens but changed it a bit for clarity to include in the book. It’s about family, and I hope you like it.
Which poem by any other poet that you’ve read, do you relate to the most and why?
SELMA: Oh, you got me on this question again, Robbie. There are so many poems to choose from. And I relate to them when I read them. Indeed it’s like asking which is your favorite color today or your favorite sunset… but I will share one of the poems I like. As to why this poem, I dare say it’s because I love it when we enter this season. Also, I adore the poet’s style and the vernacular he uses in this gorgeous poem. I found it on Poetry Foundation to share here with you. Take a look:
When the Frost is on the Punkin
BY JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY (1849–1916) When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder’s in the shock, And you hear the kyouck and gobble of the struttin’ turkey-cock, And the clackin’ of the guineys, and the cluckin’ of the hens, And the rooster’s hallylooyer as he tiptoes on the fence; O, it’s then’s the times a feller is a-feelin’ at his best, With the risin’ sun to greet him from a night of peaceful rest, As he leaves the house, bareheaded, and goes out to feed the stock, When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder’s in the shock.
They’s something kindo’ harty-like about the atmusfere When the heat of summer’s over and the coolin’ fall is here— Of course we miss the flowers, and the blossums on the trees, And the mumble of the hummin’-birds and buzzin’ of the bees; But the air’s so appetizin’; and the landscape through the haze Of a crisp and sunny morning of the airly autumn days Is a pictur’ that no painter has the colorin’ to mock— When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder’s in the shock.
The husky, rusty russel of the tossels of the corn, And the raspin’ of the tangled leaves, as golden as the morn; The stubble in the furries—kindo’ lonesome-like, but still A-preachin’ sermuns to us of the barns they growed to fill; The strawstack in the medder, and the reaper in the shed; The hosses in theyr stalls below—the clover over-head!— O, it sets my hart a-clickin’ like the tickin’ of a clock, When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder’s in the shock!
Then your apples all is gethered, and the ones a feller keeps Is poured around the celler-floor in red and yeller heaps; And your cider-makin’ ’s over, and your wimmern-folks is through With their mince and apple-butter, and theyr souse and saussage, too! … I don’t know how to tell it—but ef sich a thing could be As the Angels wantin’ boardin’, and they’d call around on me— I’d want to ’commodate ’em—all the whole-indurin’ flock— When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder’s in the shock! *** I love love love this poem. Golly, Robbie, I hope you liked it too.
A most enjoyable collection of poems that seeks to find the upliftment, or silver lining, in the ordinary and everyday experiences of people, including the poet herself. The poems acknowledge human failings and short comings but attempt (successfully I thought) to put them into perspective and find the happiness and joy in life despite the imperfections humans, as a species, tend to exhibit when faced with challenges and dealing with experiences, both good and bad.
A few short quotations from some of my favourite poems in the collection are as follows:
“perfect specimens of imperfection you and I” from Give Back
“When death comes I want to be led into eternity curious, full of joy” from When Death Comes
“One fine day, I recognized the smell of summer, the languid air of the somnolent noon, so I rose and walked away from the wheelchair hands outstretched, to the hollycocks there.” from Angel August
All of us experience ups and downs in life. Anything that can help us find perspective thereby gaining understanding and solace, is worth embracing. This book does that and is an inspired and inspiring read.
About Selma Martin
Selma Martin is a retired English teacher with 20 years of teaching children ESL. She believes in people’s goodness and in finding balance in simple living. She lives in Japan with her husband of thirty-three years. In 2018, Selma participated in a networking course whose final lesson was to publish a story on Amazon. After many failed attempts, she completed the course and self-published her short story, Wanted: Husband/Handyman, in 2019. Later, collaborating with peers from that course, she published Wanted: Husband/Handyman in an anthology, Once Upon A Story: A Short Fiction Anthology. Selma has published stories on Medium for many years, in MasticadoresUSA, The Poetorium At Starlight, Short Fiction Break, and Spillwords. After her first NaPoWriMo 2021, Selma writes poetry on her website, selmamartin.com, and in July 2023, published a debut poetry collection on Amazon. You can find Selma, selmawrites, on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. But if you wish to engage and create a meaningful interaction with Selma: add value, nurture trust, and share engaging content from the ordinary perspective of someone navigating life in today’s fast-paced culture, you may join her once-a-month pen pal newsletter.
Other ways of contacting Selma
EMAIL: selma@selmamartin . com OR selmagogowrites@gmail .
Award-winning, bestselling author, Robbie Cheadle, has published thirteen children’s book and three poetry books. Her work has also appeared in poetry and short story anthologies.
Robbie also has two novels published under the name of Roberta Eaton Cheadle and has horror, paranormal, and fantasy short stories featured in several anthologies under this name.
The ten Sir Chocolate children’s picture books, co-authored by Robbie and Michael Cheadle, are written in sweet, short rhymes which are easy for young children to follow and are illustrated with pictures of delicious cakes and cake decorations. Each book also includes simple recipes or biscuit art directions which children can make under adult supervision.
