An interesting post entitled “What Prose Writers Can Learn From Great Poetry”, https://emmalee1.wordpress.com/2021/06/30/what-prose-writers-can-learn-from-great-poetry/”.
Kevin
What Prose Writers Can Learn From Great Poetry
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Tag Archives: literature
2 New Books from Author and Poet Victoria (Tori) Zigler
The past 16 months have been quite something, as many of us have noted, and with everything going on in the world, as well as some personal struggles – including a situation where I ended up moving twice in six months, the second time pretty much from one side of the UK to the other, and the death of a family member I was close to – writing seriously took a backseat.
However, despite everything, and even though if you’d asked me I’d have sworn I was getting no writing done at all, I managed to write some poetry, which I was pleasantly surprised to learn when I added them to the handful of poems I’d written but not yet published pre-pandemic, and sat down to create a book out of what I’d written, actually ended up being enough poems to publish two books rather than just one. Well, I suppose I could have put them all in one, but I wanted to publish the specifically pet-themed poetry separately.
Anyway, it’s amazing how those few moments of scribbling down your thoughts all add up, isn’t it?
So, “Pawfect Pet Poems” and “Born From Stardust And Other Poems” have been made available as eBooks and paperbacks, with audio versions planned for the not-too-distant future.
Details for both titles are below, as well as links to some of the places you can find them. Enjoy!
Pawfect Pet Poems
A short collection of poems of various lengths and styles, all with one thing in common: they were written for – or about – some of the various pets my hubby and I have had.
The poems in this collection are mainly about chinchillas and dogs, though other types of animals – in particular degus – sometimes make an appearance too. All poems are captioned with details of the pets they were written for or about.
Purchase links
Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B095PNZNLP/
Apple iBooks: https://books.apple.com/us/book/x/id1569416410
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/2940164916978
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/pawfect-pet-poems
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1085857
If you’d like to add “Pawfect Pet Poems” to your Goodreads to-read shelf, you can find the book’s Goodreads page at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58130121-pawfect-pet-poems
Born From Stardust And Other Poems
A selection of poems of various lengths and styles, exploring a variety of themes and subjects.
Topics explored in the poems that make up this collection include – but are not limited to – animals and nature, writing and creativity, death and grief, as well as the Covid-19 pandemic.
Purchase links
Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Stardust-Other-Poems-Victoria-Zigler-ebook/dp/B095Z78L8P/
Apple iBooks: https://books.apple.com/us/book/born-from-stardust-and-other-poems/id1569621201
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/born-from-stardust-and-other-poems-victoria-zigler/1139582322
Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/born-from-stardust-and-other-poems
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1086364
If you’d like to add “Born From Stardust And Other Poems” to your Goodreads to-read shelf, you can find the book’s Goodreads page at https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58169072-born-from-stardust-and-other-poems
*~*~*
Victoria Zigler is a blind vegan poet and children’s author. Born and raised in the shadow of the Black Mountains of Wales, UK, she moved away from Wales three times: once to spend six months living in Alberta, Canada, the other times to spend a few years living near Hastings on the South-East coast of England, UK, each time returning to Wales. Now she lives in Wales again, along with a chinchilla named Mollie, a West Highland White Terrier named Lilie, a Cavapoo named Logan, a Hermann’s Tortoise named Artemis, and her Canadian husband, Kelly.
Despite spending far too much time in hospital, and eventually losing her sight to Congenital Glaucoma, Victoria – or Tori, if you prefer – has been writing since she knew how, with no plans to stop any time soon. So far she has published 11 poetry books and 46 children’s books. Tori is also a contributor of the sci-fi and fantasy anthology Wyrd Worlds II, as well as the Poetry Treasures anthology. Additionally, her Hermann’s Tortoise, Artemis, was featured in both the Magnificent Pets Coloring Book For Children and the Magnificent Pets Mandala Coloring Book For Adults.
Vegan due to both a love for animals and dairy allergy, as well as an Eclectic Pagan, Tori describes herself as a combination of Hermione Granger and Luna Lovegood from the Harry Potter books: Hermione’s thirst for knowledge and love of books, combined with Luna’s wandering mind and alternative way of looking at the world. She has a wide variety of interests, designed to exercise both the creative and logical sides of her brain, and dabbles in them at random depending on what she feels like doing at any given time, but is most likely to be found playing with her petkids, curled up somewhere with a cup of tea and a book, or trying to keep one step ahead of those pesky typo fairies while writing her own books.
Links:
Website: http://www.zigler.co.uk
Blog: https://ziglernews.blogspot.co.uk
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/toriz
Facebook author page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Victoria-Zigler/424999294215717
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/victoriazigler
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCakYxH7BNyc2Lxr1g1nbP9w
Find Tori’s books on…
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/toriz
Amazon: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Victoria-Zigler/e/B00BHS9DQ6/
…Along with a variety of other retailers, such as Audible, iTunes, Kobo, and Barnes & Noble.
Volumes Fill My Room
Volumes fill my room.
A girl’s sweet perfume
May make me smile
For a little while.
Poetry survives, our brief lives.
Whilst the linger of fingers
From the present time,
Are caught in rhyme
One of My Poems from the Poetry Treasures Anthology
Lonely Train is one of my poems included in Poetry Treasures anthology. Below is a video of me reading Lonely Train, followed by links to the Poetry Treasures anthology.
Book Links:
Universal book links https://books2read.com/u/3n7BDR
Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0933KSJR9
Never Let me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro – Book Review
Never Let me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
Summary:
In one of the most acclaimed novels of recent years, Kazuo Ishiguro imagines the lives of a group of students growing up in a darkly skewed version of contemporary England.
Narrated by Kathy, now 31, Never Let Me Go dramatizes her attempts to come to terms with her childhood at the seemingly idyllic Hailsham School and with the fate that has always awaited her and her closest friends in the wider world. A story of love, friendship, and memory, Never Let Me Go is charged throughout with a sense of the fragility of life.
My Review:
Hailsham is a seemingly idyllic setting for privileged boys and girls. It is a boarding school with acres of land, in which the welfare of the children and their education is overseen by “the Guardians”.
Cathy and her friends are encouraged to produce art, the best of which is taken away by “Madame”.
As the novel progresses, the reader is left with a growing sense of unease. Why is “Madame” fearful of the children? And why does she take their best work away to “the gallery”?
There is no cruelty at Hailsham, yet Miss Lucy seems troubled and attempts to communicate to Cathy and her friends something of their fate when they leave Hailsham.
As the story unfolds, we learn (following the departure of the students from Hailsham), of “carers” and “donors”. Every student from Hailsham (and the other institutions in England) must take their turn caring for donors, before themselves becoming donors.
The children reared at Hailsham, and other similar institutions are clones whose purpose is to provide organs to non-clones.
Much of the horror of the story lies in the euphemisms employed to describe horrific acts. The word donor implies a willing person who provides a kidney or other organ for reasons of altruism. However, in Never Let Me Go the students/clones have no option other than to furnish their body parts. Again, donors do not die, rather they “complete”.
There is no mention of any secret police in the novel. Therefore it is not clear how the state ensures that the clones fulfil their destiny and donate organs. Donors are not (as in Huxley’s Brave New World) subjected to intensive conditioning, yet there is no indication that any try to avoid their fate. This is, for me an issue with what is, in general a very well written novel. It seems almost incredible that none of the clones would attempt to rebel against the system.
There is talk by Ruth, Cathy, Tommy and other students about the possibility of students who have produced great art being, somehow able to defer their fate as donors, particularly if they can demonstrate that they are in love. To find out whether this is, in fact the case, you will need to read the book.
Photographs of Poet K Morris holding the paperback edition of his book, The Further Selected Poems of K Morris
On Friday I received author copies of my book, The Further Selected Poems of K Morris , which was published on 27th February. The photographs below show me holding the front and back cover of my book, as well as two poems from the collection; ‘Dog Bed’ and ‘To a Departed Dog’. My book is also available as a Kindle download, and can be found here
For the UK please visit here and for the US please visit here
Effect of Producing a Second Edition of a Book on Book Reviews
I am considering revising/extending my “Selected Poems”, as there is new material which I would like to include. Consequently I am thinking of producing a second edition.
I would be grateful for the advice of my readers regarding whether a second edition would mean that the reviews in respect of the current (and only edition) would be lost? Or is it possible to publish a second edition whilst keeping the reviews for the first one?
You can find my “Selected Poems” here, https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07WW8WXPP/
Any advice would be gratefully received.
Kevin
My Guest Post On Esther Chilton’s Blog
My thanks to Esther Chilton for her kindness in featuring me on her blog. To read my guest post please follow this link, https://esthernewtonblog.wordpress.com/2020/07/24/guest-blog-post-featuring-kevin-morris/
Mopping Up
Earlier today, I recorded my poem “The Man with the Mop”:
(“The Man with the Mop” can be found in my “Selected Poems”, which is available on Amazon, and can be found here, https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07WW8WXPP/ (for the UK), and here https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07WW8WXPP/.)
‘Light and Shade; serious (and not so serious) poems’ posts on Instagram
I have just uploaded four posts to Instagram of my book ‘Light and Shade; serious (and not so serious) poems’. The photographs show me holding the print and Braille editions of my book, whilst others show me stroking my dog, Trigger.
Book Description:
Life is full of light and shade. For to be human is to experience joy, beauty, love, pain and laughter. This collection reflects all facets of human experience. hence the title ‘Light and Shade; serious (and not so serious poems)’.
You can purchase ‘Light and Shade; serious (and not so serious) poems’ here for the UK or here for the US.
K Morris - Poet 