Handcrafted Sessions - Blue Rose Code - Whitechapel

Something acoustic, and very special this is too! Only just introduced to this chap's music by Karine Polwart ... enjoy

http://youtu.be/qO3bYRE8QIA

The Next Big Thing ...

Collage of Culprits (Image by Anu)

Within the past few days, a friend asked me to participate in an micro-interview.  He proceeded to nominate me on his blog 'A Thing for Words', which is normally a haven of story telling poetry.  Before I go on, let me say a few things about him.

His name is Joe Hesch. He is an Albany man, living in upstate New York.  He has been a writer in various guises, all his life, but four or so years ago, a life threatening experience gave him new insights and prompted one of his friends to suggest he write some poetry, to express his deepest feelings about this experience and a whole load of other stuff.  To cut the story short, he started and never stopped writing the most extraordinarily good poetry, which is in the process of taking him to bigger things.

So my feelings lay somewhere between delight and surprise, when he asked me to be his 'Next Big Thing' in this blog hop, which I gladly accepted because it is very timely for me to talk about something that is brewing ...

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So, without further ado, here is our conversation:


What is the working title of your book?

"Petrichor Rising".


Where did the idea come from for the book?

That'll take a little longer to explain.  It came out of a deeply engaging and fairly long process between eleven people, who met on Twitter two years ago.  It was one, but I think an important one, of several sparks that welded us together as a group and spawned this project.  Suffice to say it represents the essence of what we are.  If you look up the derivation of the word 'Petrichor', it tells us that it means 'the scent of rain on dry earth' and is comprised of the Greek word 'Petra' - a stone - and 'ichor' - the fluid that flows in the veins of the Greek mythological Gods.  What a word!  But it also has a lot to do with grass roots, both literal and literary.  In this respect, it also has a great deal to do with one of those eleven people, Craig Morris, Grassland Scientist, who also happens to have written poetry.  Primarily, he proved to be the one, whose left field humour was always (and continues to be) the catalyst either for some fun or, as is often the case, remarkable creative interaction.  It also, undoubtedly, came from a shared, common sense of humour and a passion for poetry.


What genre does the book fall under?

An anthology of poetry, which presents the work of nine of us.


Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?

Each poet would, of course, be played by a different actor.  Given that the 'plot' is rather more difficult to define than it would be for a novel, I asked each of them who they would like to be played by and here is the result:

Matt Damon, Colin Firth, Carey Mulligan, Christina Hendricks, Audrey Hepburn, Clint Eastwood, Juliette Binoche, Emily Browning, Jane Horrocks and Sophia Loren ... if that doesn't give you a hint of the diversity of characters in this group, I suppose nothing will!

I will leave it to you to decide who has chosen to be played by which actor ...

In no particular order, the contributing Poets (characters) are: Abigail Baker, Peter Wilkin, Louise Hastings, Shan Ellis-Williams, Quirina Roode-Gutzmer, Joseph Hesch, Jacqueline Dick, Marsha Berry and myself. The Catalyst, Grassland Scientist, alternating Poet, is Craig Morris, who also wrote the introduction.  The eleventh member, who designed the "Collage of Culprits", is Mystery Man himself. Known simply as 'Anu', he has offered to design the book cover as well, should that be needed, and has contributed in all sorts of ways to other design aspects.  So, there you have it.  P.S. Note there are four men and six women, but three actors and seven actresses ... hmmm!


What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?

It is a product of the work of ten poets (one of whom declined to submit any poetry), who may not have won any significant awards yet, all of whom are already published, and all of whom have proved they are capable of writing remarkably moving and thought provoking material.


What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?

Although it contains the work of only nine poets, it is not all the same kind of poetry.  It is redolent and sometimes reeks with character from a diverse range of personalities, who are from different parts of the world, that you wouldn't normally expect to find in a small group of friends.  For many reasons, quite frankly, I sometimes have to pinch myself to believe that we actually got here; but here is where we are, with a final draft ready to submit!


Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?

We have options.  Self publishing has become an increasingly valid choice for writers these days, but there are three possible publishers, one of whom already expressed an interest in the book.  So we shall be pursuing this first.


How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?

For ever!  Hah, you know, the rigours of producing books of the written word should never be underestimated.  Developing a theme, a title, the content and layout and, of course, the editing, has taken time and 'other life stuff' has from time to time intervened to delay the project, but, in answer to the question, from inception to where we are now, it has taken eighteen months.


Who or what inspired you to write this book?

This question takes me back to where we began.  It all started in May or June of 2011, with some harmless, always well meaning but often amusing banter.  The conversations seemed to centre on food, art, music, poetry (of course) and random silliness!  We shared a common sense of humour and a passion for poetry.  Every now and then our resident Grassland Scientist, Ecologist and, though he would deny it, poet, Craig Morris, would move the conversation in another direction and inject some form of poetic inspiration, or introduce us to the mysterious underworld of the rhizosphere.  By August, it occurred to me to ask them all if they fancied making a book! It seemed such a natural thing to do.  I was a little surprised when they all responded with an unqualified "yes"!

It has been a great adventure, supported by great friends.

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Watch this space for announcement of the writer, who will be publishing an interview on their 'Next Big Thing' ...

One for Valentine's Day... Inspiration from a Love Letter

I was clearing out some clart from around, above, below, behind and on my desk, when I found this note, well, it was a letter actually. Dated August 1978, it was from the one and only true love of my life. It had an extraordinary, but perhaps not unexpected effect on me.

You know what it's like when you turn out old memorabilia, whether they are letters, books, pictures or artifacts, something happens in the brain that brings back images, memories, feelings and emotions that you'd forgotten in the heat of present life. And so it was with this letter, but, whilst it induced immediate feelings inside me, as I re-read it, it wasn't until I lay in bed that night that I realised, being the eve of St Valentine's Day, I hadn't prepared anything for the day. And then it struck me, but, unlike many of my poems, the inspiration did not arrive from a line or two of verse that so often provides the spark, the trigger to the rest of the poem. This time it presented itself to me as a story, an almost revelatory story, which just unfolded in front of, or rather behind my eyes, as I lay in bed, ready for sleep.

I fell asleep before I'd got very far, but, somewhat earlier than I'd normally prefer, it woke me up again, and the rest of the poem came forth.

The moral of this tale is that letters, particularly old ones, are probably a powerful source of inspiration for poetry and story telling

I hope you enjoy reading "And I Love Her Still" as much as I enjoyed writing it.

The Secrets of Life... of Family, Friends, Community and More

"Ha-ha!" I might hear you say, on seeing this headline, "I must read this... the secrets of life" or, more likely, "not another promise of everlasting joy, health and happiness... I don't believe it!"

Well, maybe you should, but don't get too excited, at least until I've told you what it's about!

So, if I were to tell you that it takes some lessons from classical Greek mythology, a legendary Italian Poet, Dante Alighieri, who is, some say, the father of the Italian language; a knock on the door of our own Poet and Playwright, Mr William Shakespeare, by reference to that famous soliloquy in 'Hamlet', as well as from a little known South African, Eugene N Marais, who did some fascinating and revealing research on the social life of ants; and that it is a poem called... "The Secrets of Life" then will you have a different reaction? Or will you think it's a bit overly preachy?

I hope not and trust you will give it a read and tell me what you think about it and, perhaps, give me your alternative views.

What it does come down to for me is the need for some contentment, a reduction in the stress induced in all of us by, on the one hand a fundamental, genetic and unconscious driving force and, on the other, a conscious material greed; one which can help us survive, the other can cause us to fail to find happiness. There is a balance, somewhere.

I'd like to invite you to read the poem here, and tell me where you think that balance is, for you.

Thank you for reading.

Guns and Roses...

Picture courtesy Dipity.com (via Google Images)

I may be wrong, but the Connecticut massacre, on Friday, 14th December 2012, seems to have had even more publicity than many previous mass killings. Perhaps it is because of the fact that this has involved kindergarten infants and their bravely protective teachers, and that it has painfully and poignantly made us all feel the grief to a much greater degree. I felt myself choking up in my own grief, thinking all the while of my own grandchildren, whilst I watched some documentary background on the whole thing the other night.

Equally, but perhaps more uncomfortably, it is not difficult to understand the utterly heart-wrenching position of some parents, who, in life's random deck of cards, are dealt the hand of a child with a mental illness and all the side effects of this condition, both on the child and on their family and wider community. The USA's crisis with mental illness is also easy to understand, and is clearly illustrated in this article, but it is not just confined to the USA. It is everywhere in the world.

The response to the Connecticut killings has, as ever, polarised commentators, politicians arguments and discussion. The anti- versus the pro-gun lobbies are lost in their own arguments about whether or not tighter regulation of firearms is a relevant solution. It does not surprise me, however, that not enough has been made of the discussion about mental illness, quite possibly because it is so often a taboo subject, particularly amongst the better educated and more affluent middle class. 

Let me explain that statement. 

When I point a finger at the 'middle classes' I do so with reservation, but not to be 'accusing', and not just as a reference to the natural process of denial, in a social class for which mental issues could be deemed an 'inconvenience'. There are of course those who have had to endure any number of experiences with children suffering from some form of mental illness, whether this be a less severe form of depression or the most serious mental illness such as that - and this is an assumption, prior to the official conclusion - which it would seem very likely affected the ill-fated young man responsible for the killings in Connecticut. I would, in fact, argue that mental illness knows no class boundaries. It is just as likely, if not more so, to affect the less well educated, the less privileged in society. However, I defer to the educated, affluent middle class, because they are more likely to have the ability to lobby, to articulate and to influence the powers that be, to help create a seed change in attitudes toward mental illness. It is only our denial, our inability to cope with mental illness, that causes this block to genuine progress. Yes, it is very hard to come to terms with mental illness, when it is so close to home.

If I were to summarise my feelings about this disaster, it would be in this way... 

Unlike the central theme of media coverage, which seems to have been focussed solely on the gun laws, I maintain that there is no one single cause that needs to be looked at; no one single course of action, on its own, that needs to be taken in response to Connecticut and all the other killings; there are, in fact, several things that need to happen in parallel. Let me propose at least two of those things.

The first is not only that more resource and education is needed to create a wider and more thorough public awareness, understanding and, perhaps the most important objective of all, acceptance that mental illness is a fact of life. Whilst improving how everyone in society can learn to cope with mental illness is very important, to improve it's treatment by the medical professions is equally so. I have personally witnessed the best signs of the use of CPN (Community Psychiatric Nurse) lead crisis teams to support the individual as well as their family, which is a logical extension of an holistic approach to treatment that enables, empowers the service user as well as the people close to them to assist in the healing process and thereby reduce dependence on the pharmacy as well as the paid professionals. It would appear, on the face of it, that there is a gradual change in the establishment's attitude to the treatment of mental illness, although, from some perspectives, there is still a long way to go! The following article, written and presented in his previous life by friend and Poet, Peter Wilkin, is a revelation to me: "A Feminine Economy of Caring: Gifts and Wrapping". There is also a follow-up article, by Peter Wilkin, that appeals to the poetic as well as to the logical spirit: ‘Vale of tears or Vale of Soulmaking? Keats’ gnostic vision as an alternative to mainstream mental healthcare’. 

There is another trend emerging. Organisations that promote understanding of mental illness are gaining an increasing presence, particularly with the aid of social media. There are a number of front running organisations like Rethink as well as personalities like Alastair Campbell (search for articles in his blog on the subject of 'mental health' and you'll find plenty), successfully raising public awareness in this way. 

Meanwhile, back in Newtown, Connecticut...

The second thing that must happen, whether or not you are a supporter of the Second Amendment (that part of the United States' Bill of Rights, which protects the rights of people to keep and bear arms), is an old favourite logical argument of mine. Given my scientific training, if you have any understanding at all of the statistical concepts of chance, probability and risk, it cannot be denied, that, whilst tighter firearm regulations will not necessarily remove the risk of these incidents altogether, the irrefutable logic for me is that reducing the ability for everyone to get hold of guns and ammunition, restricting access to firearms, simply must result in a reduction of the probability, the risk of such incidents recurring in the future. The number of firearms in circulation and available to be used, must be proportional to the number of victims of gun crime. If this is not obvious, then please explain to me why? It is a matter of proportion: getting things in proportion to their potential effect on an outcome.

It is unlikely to be coincidence that, following a massacre, at the Scottish Primary School in Dunblane, of sixteen infants and one adult in March, 1996, and the banning in the UK, one year later of handguns, particularly those used in this incident, which were magazine loading semi-automatic weapons, no subsequent such incidents, at least at a school, have recurred. The only subsequent incident, the Cumbria shootings in 2010, was marked by a different set of circumstances, albeit still using guns, but not handguns.

I therefore do not believe that tighter restriction in the availability and ownership of firearms cannot enable a reduction in the risk of such incidents recurring in the United States. Nor can I believe that a sizeable number of United States citizens, particularly parents of small children, don't feel the same way. It may only be those, perhaps with a vested interest in the firearms industry (understandable), as well as those absorbed by the dogma and 'tradition' and almost sacramental belief in the Second Amendment, who oppose such restrictions, and who, I believe, are blinded by that conviction. The Second Amendment, like any law or regulation, anywhere in the world, was written and constituted by people; it can by altered, like any law in any land, by people.

It is people, their mental health, safety and security of their families and communities, which are the most important features of civilised life on earth. So come on, Mr President Obama, have courage to bring about significant change; sow the seeds of such change as could have far reaching consequences, for the benefit of mankind. Let us put down the guns and pick up the red rose that represents the love of humanity. 

(The poem, "Rose Petal", which I wrote eighteen months ago, in response to another, but different signal, seems more than particularly poignant in light of these circumstances).