Tag Archives: reading

3 Quotes Challenge – Day 3

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Many thanks to masgautsen of The Thoughts and Life of Me for nominating me to participate in the 3 Quotes Challenge, (http://thethoughtsandlifeofme.com/2015/06/14/3-quotes-challenge-1st-day/).

There are three simple rules:

 

  1. Post 3 of your favourite quotes each per day for 3 recurrent days. The quotes can be of any other people or it may come straight from your own heart.

 

  1. Nominate 3 bloggers with each post to challenge them.

 

  1. Don’t forget to utter a thankful word to the person who nominated you.

 

Now for my third quote which comes from John Stuart Mill’s 1859 essay, On Liberty:

 

“  Like other tyrannies, the tyranny of the majority was at first, and is still vulgarly, held in dread, chiefly as operating through the acts of the public

authorities. But reflecting persons perceived that when society is itself the tyrant—society collectively, over the separate individuals who compose it—its

means of tyrannizing are not restricted to the acts which it may do by the hands of its political functionaries. Society can and does execute its own mandates:

and if it issues wrong mandates instead of right, or any mandates at all in things with which it ought not to meddle, it practises a social tyranny more

formidable than many kinds of political oppression, since, though not usually upheld by such extreme penalties, it leaves fewer means of escape, penetrating

much more deeply into the details of life, and enslaving the soul itself. Protection, therefore, against the tyranny of the magistrate is not enough: there

needs protection also against the tyranny of the prevailing opinion and feeling; against the tendency of society to impose, by other means than civil penalties,

its own ideas and practices as rules of conduct on those who dissent from them; to fetter the development, and, if possible, prevent the formation, of

any individuality not in harmony with its ways, and compel all characters to fashion themselves upon the model of its own. There is a limit to the legitimate

interference of collective opinion with individual independence: and to find that limit, and maintain it against encroachment, is as indispensable to a

good condition of human affairs, as protection against political despotism”.

 

My nominees who are, of course under no obligation whatsoever to accept (I won’t be offended if you don’t) are as follows:

 

Victoria Zigler (Tori Zigler) http://ziglernews.blogspot.co.uk/

The Story Reading Ape – http://thestoryreadingapeblog.com/

Kevin Cooper (Kev Cooper) – http://kevs-domain.net/

 

Interview With Author K Morris

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Conversation with Kevin Morris about ‘Dalliance’

 

Thank you to Annis for taking the time to interview me. A version of this article appeared on my employer’s website.

 

—

 

Where did your latest collection of poems and other pieces in ‘Dalliance’ come from? What is your inspiration for writing?

I write poems that I publish on my blog. Then I collect and publish them in book form. I’ve published several collections of self-published short stories. ‘Dalliance’ is a collection of poems, vignettes and short stories about the ‘grittier’ side of life. I get inspiration from internet news reports. The inspiration for the poems comes from imagined conversations in my head which have been going on since I was a child – and from nature.

Poets tend to have better senses than the rest of us but your sense of touch and sound is very sharp. I loved your lines about the ‘eternal’ wind : ‘Eternal force blowing forever on ancient peoples and now on me. You care not for civilisation; your gusts of laughter shake the bending trees. You blew before these buildings came. When all is gone, you will remain’.

I also liked lines about the touch of acorns ‘I have always had an affinity with these great trees. I love the smooth feel of the outer shell of the acorn and how it contrasts with the softer seed within’. What is the background to these lines?

I have always been close to nature. I collected acorns with my grandfather. I loved the natural world from the time that I started stocking the nature table at school. I live overlooking a semi-rural park in south London. Bird song has always been special to me, particularly the song of the thrush. I love Hardy’s poem “The Darkling Thrush” as well as Blake, Ernest Dowson, A E Housman and Charles Causley. In my sitting room I hear the animal noises and calls – and I feel the wind on my face.

How do you feel about the shape of a poem, on the page? Often that matters to those with sight, when they see a poem for the first time.

I think there is no ultimate ‘rule’ for the shape of a poem. I believe it is the feeling and meaning of a poem that really counts.

You surprised me a bit by appreciating beauty, say, in women. Does beauty mean a lot when one has sight impairment?

I meant beauty in the essence of a person. The smell of, say, a flower can be beautiful, also the smell of certain trees.

You work in the environmental field fighting climate change. Is that connected to your love of nature?

I would probably say ‘yes’ – writing is part of my feeling for nature.

You have quite a dark view of the modern world and also write about loneliness. You get inside hard issues, such as someone finding out whether they are HIV positive.

I am quite a serious, introspective person even though I have a lot of friends and thoroughly enjoy the pub and humour. I guess I write poems when I am on my own, meditating. I think the world is quite a dark place judging by reports on the internet. Personally, I am fortunate to have a loving family. I have been well treated in the workplace.

You get good 4 and 5 star reviews for your writing, e.g. on Amazon. What do you plan to do next?

I publish new poems on my blog and I read my own and other poetry on You Tube. I would like to do an ‘open mike session’ at The Poetry Society in Betterton Street. However, these take place during the afternoon on workdays, so it is quite difficult to go.

Further information:

  • Kevin’s poetry blog newauthoronline.com
  • The Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) have published ‘Dalliance: A Collection Of Poetry And Prose’ in braille.
  • ‘Dalliance: A Collection Of Poetry And Prose” by Kevin Morris can be found on Amazon at http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dalliance-collection-poetry-prose-Morris-.
  • ‘Dalliance’ is also available as an e-book, also with text to speech enabled allowing visually impaired people to read it.

Links

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dalliance-collection-poetry-prose-Morris-ebook/dp/B00QQVJC7E

http://poetrysociety.org.uk/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ernest_Dowson

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._E._Housman

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Causley

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67lcMKnJHPI

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3 Quotes Challenge Day 2

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Many thanks to masgautsen of The Thoughts and Life of Me for nominating me to participate in the 3 Quotes Challenge, (http://thethoughtsandlifeofme.com/2015/06/14/3-quotes-challenge-1st-day/).

There are three simple rules:

 

  1. Post 3 of your favourite quotes each per day for 3 recurrent days. The quotes can be of any other people or it may come straight from your own heart.

 

  1. Nominate 3 bloggers with each post to challenge them.

 

  1. Don’t forget to utter a thankful word to the person who nominated you

 

Now for my second quote which was said about one K Morris about himself:

“I am not a clubbable man, though many have wished to club me”.

 

My nominees who are, of course under no obligation whatsoever to accept. We all have busy lives so I won’t be offended if you don’t participate.

 

Anju (https://cupitonians.wordpress.com/).

Tess (https://letscutthecrap.wordpress.com/).

Waternymph88 (https://scarstearsandtrainingbras.wordpress.com/author/waternymph88/).

 

Kevin

 

 

3 Quotes Challenge – Day 1

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Many thanks to masgautsen of The Thoughts and Life of Me for nominating me to participate in the 3 Quotes Challenge, (http://thethoughtsandlifeofme.com/2015/06/14/3-quotes-challenge-1st-day/).

There are three simple rules:

 

  1. Post 3 of your favourite quotes each per day for 3 recurrent days. The quotes can be of any other people or it may come straight from your own heart.

 

  1. Nominate 3 bloggers with each post to challenge them.

 

  1. Don’t forget to utter a thankful word to the person who nominated you

 

Now for my first quote which comes from Lord Acton:

 

“Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority;

still more when you superadd the tendency of the certainty of corruption by authority.”

 

My nominees who are, of course under no obligation whatsoever to accept. We all have busy lives so I won’t be offended if you don’t participate.

 

Lucy of Secret Diary Of Portergirl (https://portergirl.wordpress.com/author/portergirl/).

Victo Dolore of Behind The White Coat (https://doctorly.wordpress.com/author/redscreamer/)

And JC of Writing Post Parkinsons (https://nimbus432.wordpress.com/author/nimbus432/)

“Dalliance; A Collection Of Poetry And Prose” Is Now Available In Braille

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On returning home yesterday evening I was excited to open a package from the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) and find it contained my book, “Dalliance; A Collection Of Poetry And Prose” in Braille. Although “Dalliance” is available as an ebook with text to speech enabled, allowing visually impaired people to read it, I wanted my own copy in Braille and requested that RNIB transcribe “Dalliance”. It is a wonderful feeling to hold a braille edition of “Dalliance” and know that the book will be made available for other Braille readers to borrow.

RNIB advise that “Dalliance” will be added to the library catalogue, (http://www.rnib.org.uk/services-we-offer-reading-services-rnib-national-library-service/library-catalogue). This does not appear to have happened yet. It is however early days and I am sure the book will soon be available for RNIB library members to access.

(”Dalliance; A Collection Of Poetry And Prose” can be found on Amazon by visiting http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dalliance-collection-poetry-prose-Morris-ebook/dp/B00QQVJC7E. A print edition is also available from me. For enquiries regarding the print edition please email newauthoronline (at) gmail dot com).