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