My diary posts are the place for a bit of my news, poetry community news, plus my adventures in creativity
Some thoughts on the present time then poetry news follows… Have had a month rocked by waves I don’t really understand. I’ve come to this conclusion; minds want to meet, the body yearns for touch, the heart wants to love, the soul wants to connect. This is true intimacy I guess. When faced with this potential or just the hint of it, it’s hard not to run for the hills. For me in any case. Genuine intimacy is scary. Easier to avoid, sabotage, resist. We’ll see what part in me wins, the wounded child, the fearless young adult, the wounded adult or perhaps a more mature being that is still finding its feet.
I wonder that the earth itself is rocking us with the tremendous uncertainty we all face at this time. Reports suggest a dire situation with regard to polar ice while the smoke from wildfires in Canada reaches all the way down to Florida. Here in June in the U.K. temperatures bounced from 16 degrees Centigrade to 32 in ten days. This is not normal, I thoroughly resist the phrase “new normal”, by the way. Time to pray for the crops, biodiversity and natural carbon sinks, time to reuse, recycle, repair, reclaim and rebel!
I wonder that the reluctance to fully embrace the reality of the climate emergency, which we all do on some level, I know I do, is also a factor of avoiding our intimate connection with the earth itself, our vulnerability in the face of that fact. As unevolved humans we seek control over the earth, we think somehow we are separate from nature not part of it.
Perhaps it’s the avoidance of the deep contradiction that if we become fully human; connect with what I’ve heard described as our Christ consciousness or Buddha nature, all that we can be, it means recognising our mightiness yet simultaneously our smallness in the sight of everything, surrendering with awe and humility to the wonder of nature. I’ll leave it there as I’ve not fully thought it through yet.
OUT NOW
Having struggled with my mental health most of my adult life and navigated much loss and pain am very much looking forward to reading this Define Hope by Evrah Rose Verve Poetry Press
“Define Hope is an intimate glimpse into the journey and thought process of a poet navigating debilitating chronic ill health, grief, loss and pain. From the darkness of losing faith, the bitterness of grieving her former self to the light she often found during her most trying times. Define Hope is a reflection of the extremes of emotion we each face – the exhausting and unpredictable shifts of anger, hopelessness and sadness and their relationship to our mental health and self belief. Evrah exposes herself and her conflict with the world in an unflinching look into her life since her last release.”
COMING UP
Flaming Poetry!
An eco-poetry workshop among Poets for the Planet on the theme of fire.
Bring a prompt and your fiery imagination: Saturday 8 July 2023 on Zoom at 10am UK time. This is part of a series of workshops exploring the elements, beginning with fire.
More more details tbc soon but in the meantime, keep an eye out for updates on the Facebook page and website and register your interest by email poetsfortheplanet@gmail.com
Coming up online on Sunday 25th June, 6-7pm – Red Door Poets Mary Mulholland, Chris Hardy & Lesley Sharpe will be reading with special guests Clare Shaw, Gareth Writer-Davies & Dave Wakely. Tickets free on eventbrite
This also grabbed my interest; Illusionaries Presents: Memories of a Dead Poet, directed and animated by resident artist Arash Irandoust, June 22nd to September 24th
Tickets are on sale at www.illusionaries.com
“Immerse yourself in the first-of-its-kind, story-based immersive art experience in London, where a mind-bending fusion of art and technology promises to redefine your perception of reality.
Embark on a captivating 40-minute journey through a triptych of multisensory immersion spectacles, meticulously crafted to engage your senses and challenge your intellect.
Arash Irandoust is far from your typical artist. A storyteller who views art through a philosophical lens, he defies societal norms with his creations. His art establishes a deep connection with the inner self, eliciting emotions that go beyond intellectual comprehension.”
#amwriting or rather rewriting and reworking poems addressing the climate emergency and the devastation in vulnerable areas of our home, the earth
#amreading Dear Life: an emerging young writer’s anthology
A blog post by Anne Enith Cooper
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