Category Archives: short stories

We Are All In The Gutter, But Some Of Us Are Looking At The Stars

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I will be taking a break from blogging over the UK bank holiday weekend. I will be preparing my new collection of poetry for publication. The title is “We Are All In The Gutter, But Some Of Us Are Looking At The Stars”, which is a quote from the great Oscar Wilde. As the title suggests, the collection will be a compilation of some of my darker poetry.

On first reading, the quote is bleak. The gutter suggests the lowest point in the life of man or what some might label “a low mode of living”! However the fact “some of us are looking at the stars” suggests hope or the possibility of change for the better.

The new collection will join my existing book, “Dalliance; A Collection Of Poetry And Prose” which can be found here, (http://www.amazon.com/Dalliance-collection-poetry-prose-Morris-ebook/dp/B00QQVJC7E/ref=cm_cr_pr_bdcrb_top?ie=UTF8).

 

Kevin

The Overwhelming Majority Of Self-Published Work is “Bad” – I Beg To Differ

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I recently came across the following comment regarding the difficulties experienced by authors in getting published, (http://www.derekhaines.ch/justpublishing/i-need-a-publisher-no-you-dont/comment-page-1/#comment-1607). The commenter’s argument is neatly encapsulated by the following quote,

“Here’s the truth: 99.99% self publish because a traditional publisher rejected their manuscripts.

Why? Because they’re BAD!”

 

The above is a  sweeping assertion. How can the commenter possibly know why so many authors find it difficult to get published via established (traditional) publishing companies? Where is the evidence to bolster his case? The plain truth is that he produces no facts in support of this highly contentious statement.

Established big name publishers will, on the whole publish what they believe will sell. What sells does not always correlate with what constitutes good writing. Of  course there are many excellent works published by traditional publishers. However alongside the excellent exists what to my mind at least constitutes pap. The same applies to self-published authors – there is much good work out there which co-exists alongside the pap. I don’t believe that anyone can say, hand on heart that all that eminates from the traditional publishing stable is sweet scented hay while that coming from self-published authors is coated in horse dung. The sweet smelling hay and the manure are present in both stables and its nonsense to contend otherwise.

As  a  self-published author I do, of course have an axt to grind in that I believe my own work is far from being “bad”. I have also read many other self-published authors and poets who’s writing is far from being “bad”. I chose to self-publish due to wanting control over my own work. However I have a  close friend in the off-line (real) world who expended countless hours in firing off letters to literary agents and publishers. He  got nowhere. Hence he decided to self-publish using Createspace. It  may be said that friendship clouds my judgement, however, having read a  considerable portion of his manuscript I can assure my readers that it is far from being “bad”. It  is, in my opinion extremely well written.

I have nothing whatsoever against traditional publishing. What I object to is lazy arguments not supported by evidence to the effect that the vast majority of material emanating from the self-publishing sector is bad, while traditional publishing overwhelmingly produces works of outstanding merit.

 

(Please Note; this post is in response to the comment linked to above. I agree with the post on which the commenter is commenting, it is the comment (not the post) with which I take issue).

Home

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The closing of my door.

Me Sitting alone in the twilight, on my sofa, the furry blue throw soft against my hands, listening to the companionable rain.

The friendly bookcase in the corner, packed full of books, the ting tang clock standing atop it, keeping the elephant bookends and Austrian stein company.

The ebony elephant on the cabinet, one ear slightly mauled, watches me quizzickally, far from his home in China.

 

—

 

 

The bookcase in my bedroom, still smelling faintly of the pine forest, fuses with the scent of books.

The luxury of freshly laundered sheets against my skin.

Home. Bliss!

Lust

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Unadulterated lust.

Needs must.

No scent of musk,

Just dust

And my nose savouring the scent of books!

 

(The above was inspired by reading the following post by Jennifer Calvert, https://jennifercalvertwriter.wordpress.com/2015/06/17/lustful-sin/. If you haven’t already please do check out Jennifer’s blog).

 

Kevin

The Great Experiment!

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BookCrossing is the practice of leaving books for others to find. Usually a message will be included allowing the person who finds the book to inform the individual who has left it that it has been found. There exist Book Crossing websites to facilitate this process.

I decided to release my baby, “Dalliance; A Collection Of Poetry And Prose” into the great beyond. It is already available in the Amazon Kindle store, in my local book store (The Bookseller Crow) and direct from me. However I thought it would be fun to put a note in 4 copies of “Dalliance”, saying that I would love to know what people think of my book, and release it into the wild. It may be that I receive no feedback but nothing ventured, nothing gained!

Later today I will leave 2 copies of “Dalliance” in public places while a friend will drop off a further 2.

(for “Dalliance; A Collection Of Poetry And Prose” please visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dalliance-collection-poetry-prose-Morris-ebook/dp/B00QQVJC7E.

For a recent review of “Dalliance” please go to https://bibliomad.wordpress.com/2015/08/19/dalliance-a-collection-of-poetry-and-prose-by-k-morris-book-review/.

You can find information on BookCrossing by visiting this link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BookCrossing.

The Bookseller Crow can be found by clicking here http://booksellercrow.co.uk/.

If you are interested in obtaining a print edition of “Dalliance” direct from me please email newauthoronline (at) gmail dot com).

A 5 Star Review Of My Book “Dalliance; A Collection Of Poetry And Prose”

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Many thanks to Olivia Emily for taking the time to read and review my book, “Dalliance; A Collection Of Poetry And Prose”. For Olivia’s 5 star review of “Dalliance” please visit the following link, (https://bibliomad.wordpress.com/2015/08/19/dalliance-a-collection-of-poetry-and-prose-by-k-morris-book-review/).

 

Kevin

Reading Aloud: An Almost Magical Entry Point for Kids in the World of Books

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Books are one delight that all children should be introduced to as early as possible in their lives. For a parent there is no feeling quite like the first time you read to your son or daughter. You are opening the door onto the huge world of literature. There is a book available for every type of reader, whether factual or fiction. Reading to your child will open their eyes to the world around them and the possibilities available to them; providing they are willing to let their imaginations run wild.

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Reading aloud to kids – a memorable gift

Reading aloud to a child is possibly one of the most amazing gifts that can be given to anyone. It is actually the gift of time and of sharing this time together. Reading aloud to your child will create a lasting memory and a bond between you that will be incredibly difficult to break. In fact, many adults describe being read to as a child as one of their most cherished memories. This gift allows your child to explore strange new worlds while wrapped in the security and safety of a parent’s arms.

The impact of today’s technology on reading

It is far more difficult in today’s modern age of electronics to obtain and sustain the attention of your child. Televisions are commonplace with a multitude of channels available to tempt anyone away from productive activities. Computers and the internet call out, desperate to tell you about the latest, incredibly important video release. Quite possibly this is concerning sleeping cats or hapless children. Society is gradually moving towards the completely electronic age and books will potentially become a forgotten form of media. This makes it even more important to read to your children for as long as you can hold their attention. If you do not make this attempt many children will never experience the joy of reading or the pleasure of time spent with a parent.

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Reading aloud creates a visionary perspective

Reading aloud allows you to portray the characters in a far superior way to simply reading the book. You are able to paint a picture and enthrall your children with the story. Their imaginations will know no limit as they immerse themselves into the story and become the hero, or even the villain of the piece.

The storyline does not matter when it comes to your child learning from reading. They will listen to you, your pronunciation of the words and the meaning of them and learn this for themselves. Reading aloud to a child is one of the most effective ways to improve their language skills and broaden their vocabulary. Reading aloud to your child will also educate them in using their imagination and compiling these thoughts into a usable chain of events. Equally it will confirm to them that there is always time for reading.

Making the time to read to your kids

It can seem difficult to find time to read aloud to your child but it is not as difficult as you think. If you were to monitor the amount of times in one day you check your phone for an email, message or social media update you would quickly realize that you easily waster more than the twenty minutes of reading time recommended for children. By simply restructuring your day you may well gain more than twenty minutes. You will certainly gain a better relationship with your child.

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Reading skills

Research shows that children who are read to will grow up with a love of books and will want to learn to read, simply to pursue this love. Reading is an excellent way of learning and a vital skill – even if the majority of what you read is on the web. Taking the time to read to your child will ensure they want to learn this skill and they will be grateful for this as they grow older.

As a parent, it should concern you that kids nowadays prefer tablets and Smartphone over books. Start reading to them from an early age, and you may instill a passion for reading. Do it periodically and make sure you read aloud; this way the story will become much more compelling.

By Paul Trevino and LoveReading.co.uk!

 

Dedication To The Job!

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“You look smart. Are you off somewhere nice?”, said the man operating the luggage gate at London Victoria’s mainline station. (Being blind this gentleman has assisted me onto trains on numerous occasions hence his familiarity in speaking to me in this manner).

“No, just work”, I replied.

“But its Sunday Kevin!”, he said with obvious surprise.

Suddenly everything clicked into place. The 4 coach train at my local station when, during the working week the train consists of 8-10 carriages should have screamed, “It’s the weekend you crazy man!”. Likewise the lack of people at the station together with their relative absence on my walk there should have registered with me as signifying that it was a Sunday.

I have never done anything like this before and can only conclude that my desire to be early for the meeting I was due to chair on Monday morning, coupled with the need to prepare for it so occupied me that I neglected to notice the trifling fact it was Sunday rather than Monday! Oh well at least my guide dog Trigger enjoyed an early morning trot albeit on a Sunday!

 

Kevin

The Personal In Poetry

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Recently I asked an acquaintance whether, in her opinion my poetry “is to personal?” She responded that poetry is, by it’s very nature personal and that my writing does not, in any case fall into the category of overly personal poetry.

The above conversation started me pondering on what a poet’s work says about the writer. The first point which must be made is that the mere fact of writing about a topic does not imply that the poet has any involvement in it. For example he may write about boxing or stamp collecting without ever having participated in either activity. One must be careful therefore not to draw erroneous conclusions that A must be somehow involved in Z merely owing to A expending much ink on Z. Having entered the above caveat, it is undoubtedly true that much poetry is personal and by immersing ourselves in the poet’s work we gain an enhanced understanding of both the poet and his poetry.

In his poem, “Aubade” Philip Larkin describes waking at 4 am, looking around his room and thinking about death, from which none of us can escape, try as we might to hide from the fact of our own mortality. Larkin’s poem is intensely personal, “I work all day and get half-drunk at night …”. Larkin describes religion as a “moth eaten brocade” and his lack of religious conviction adds to his fear of death. Larkin’s fear of the grim reaper is intensely personal and the brilliance of Aubade lies in the manner in which the poet communicates his dread of “unresting death”. (For an interesting article on the poem please see http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/anwilson/3554550/Philip-Larkins-almost-perfect-poem.html).

Ernest Dowson’s Cynara is another profoundly personal poem. In it the poet describes his encounter with a prostitute,

“All night upon mine heart I felt her warm heart beat,

Night-long within mine arms in love and sleep she lay;

Surely the kisses of her bought red mouth were sweet;

But I was desolate and sick of an old passion,

When I awoke and found the dawn was grey:

I have been faithful to thee, Cynara! in my fashion”.

Dowson’s hedonistic lifestyle, “I called for madder music and stronger wine” is an attempt to escape from the memory of Cynara, the poet’s unrequited love interest. Despite Dowson’s attempts to blot out the recollection of Cynara she remains ever present, a kind of Banquo’s ghost at the poet’s parties. Dowson’s life was cut short (he died at the age of only 30). Yet he left behind the wonderfully moving and personal Cynara.

In conclusion it can be seen that poetry can (and frequently) does reveal much about the poet. Indeed it is virtually (perhaps entirely) impossible to write poetry without revealing something of oneself. However, as pointed out earlier in this post we should not conclude that writing about a subject necessarily implies that the writer is somehow a participant in the matter being described.