A few weeks ago I released my first book, The Sky, the Stable, and Spaces in Between.
It is a collection of poetry and haiku that I had written over the years and
was just collecting static on my computer, combined with samplings of my
photography to provide a visual background to some of the pieces.
I had been told more than a few times that at I should put
together a book – either from my blog and /or from other writings, or to put
together a book of my photography. I pretty much shrugged these suggestions
off. A few pieces that I had written over the years had been published, and a
photo had won a contest, but I really didn’t feel that my talent was worth a
book.
I was proud that my poem “No More Trenches” had been published
in the Quaker monthly, “Friends Journal”, and then included in the book Answering Terror – Responses to War and
Peace after 9/11/01. I can still remember where I was when the lines of
that poem came to me – while passing rows of corn growing in a field outside State College, along a dirt road where I used to run, and
in meeting.
I was happy that the photo of my horse Louie had won first
place in the local hospital’s photo contest for the animal category and will
forever be displayed there on a wall. I took that pic thinking nothing of it with
my simple point and shoot. Last I knew the photo was up on the third floor
along a seldom used corridor.
And my blog; well that was and still is an outlet where I
can throw my thoughts out there to whomever wants to take the time to read them
– with the blog I can let out whatever is scratching at my door.
But two years ago, on a cold January afternoon while I was
in the stable cleaning stalls, I asked myself, “why not put together a book of
things I have created?” And that’s when I began putting it together; pieces I
had written and photos I had taken through the years. Sinking deeper into a
creative mood, I gathered up spilled words and envisioned new scenes to join
together, and created new material to include.
The book took me over one year to compile- adding and
deleting, choosing and writing, and at times, setting it aside for a time and then
beginning it all over again. The best part during this time was that it was
never finished- it was always a blank page away from being finished- an idea
that hadn’t lost its wings. The “idea” challenged whatever was inside of me to
come out. It allowed me to let go, and
in some cases, let go of times that weighed on me, such as “When Elvis Died”,
which is a story/poem of discrimination that was an experience that had always
bothered me. Whether the poem was structurally correct really didn’t matter to
me. What mattered to me was that it needed to exist outside of myself. And that
is also the case for most of what else I wrote. Moments I needed to give up
through sharing. I didn’t want to try to show off vocabulary or technique or an
intimidating style – I just wanted to let go.
And that is what I did – I let go of a lot that I had been
hiding, a lot that “wasn’t good enough”, a lot that was too much for me to
carry, and a lot that I had hoped would stir a up a new image and/or cause an
emotion in someone.
The book can be purchased either on Create Space or
Amazon.com, or from me. No matter how it is purchased, one can leave a review
on Amazon.
Create Space - https://www.createspace.com/5650339?ref=1147694&utm_id=6026
I hope you will like it!
No comments:
Post a Comment