No longer updating this blog: go to my dynamic White Wave Press website

Hi,

thanks for dropping by.

I've created a dynamic, professional website, White Wave Press (at www.whitewavepress.com), which will be updated regularly.

With two of my poetry collections now 'out there', I decided it was time to take publishing and promotion of my poetry seriously in hand.

I'm now working on my third collection.

Join me on the other site!

Go to www.whitewavepress.com now!

Jennifer

Almost there...

...I'm just waiting for the audio of my reading the poems to be finished; not long to go now, hopefully.

I have photos which I'll post soon, but photo uploading on Blogger ain't co-operatin' today, for some reason.

And don't forget: visit White Wave Press to register your interest in purchasing a numbered copy of 17 poems: one for every year of innocence. Only 150 of them have been printed, and already 20 are in the arms of loving owners!

One of my poems selected for inclusion in next Max Harris anthology

I entered three poems in the Max Harris Poetry Award 2007 but didn't feature in the winners' circle.

I've just received an email from the Poetry and Poetics Centre Committee, however.

The good people there told me that they had selected my poem, Egg, for inclusion in the Max Harris Poetry Award anthology.

Apparently the anthology will be published soon.

Of course, I'm absolutely delighted; this was quite unexpected.

When I have it, I'll post a link to the anthology.

My second poetry collection is published...

...at last.

I'm thrilled to report that White Wave Press has published my second poetry collection. It's called 17 poems: one for every year of innocence, and it's available now.

Only 150 imprints of the collection have been created. Each one is numbered individually.

What makes this collection particularly special is that each edition is mailed with a bonus audio CD of me reading the poems.

Think of it as having me as a guest in your lounge room, car, or wherever you happen to be listening.

Sounds scary, doesn't it?

But I'm quite nice really.

Honest.

The slack poet is back, and publishing.

A year between posts is rather embarrassing.

Missing in action: 12 months.

Tut tut.

I could've cheated and back-dated a few posts, but I just couldn't be bothered. Not that you're not worth it, of course.

I'm happy to report that production of my book is now under way, albeit a year later.

I got sidetracked with some issues, but all sorted now.

I'm happy with the design, layout and general 'look and feel' of it.

Specialist bookbinder Chasdor Bindery in Allenby Gardens here in Adelaide will hand-bind the 150 copies for me.

Charles Zammit is the sweet man in charge there, and he has been really helpful. He put together a mock-up of the book, and it was great to see the final result.

I'm now wrestling with colour printer ink issues, consistency, quality control, and the general tedium of overseeing the job.

Aaaaah, the joy.

I am excited though.

In the throes of publishing...

I've been a busy little poet.

I am undertaking quite an ambitious project. My plan is to publish a limited run - 150 - of a small collection of my poems each year.

I've decided that it may be worthwhile to publish a few poems more frequently in a beautiful format instead of waiting to publish 50+ poems in one book every few years.

I hope that over time I will build up a group of interested readers who will be keen to reserve their copies of my limited editions ahead of time.

The first of these limited editions is currently in the works, and is being published by White Wave Press.

I've selected the poems, designed the layout, have spent a lot of time assessing stock, binding methods and cover options.

I had a temporary setback when my hard disk crashed recently, but even though the hard drive hasn't recovered, I think I have.

Now it's all systems go.

If you would like to reserve a copy of one of these beautiful books, let me know in the comments section.

As I progress, I will post details of cost, availability, launch plans etc.

I'll be back soon...

...honest.

I'm just watering the arid desert.

Talk amongst yourselves.

Two wonderful truths

"Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate."

--- Carl Jung

"We become what we think about."

--- Earl Nightingale

Playin' with a jumble

thatcriticdetonatedatom-bomb-likewarhead-wordsandemerging-confidence-seekingmissilesonmyself-beliefandnuclear-mushroomedsecretsexposedwiththeabolitionofexclamation-markslaverymywordstreamflowshereunadornedunashameduncluttered.

or it could look like this:

that critic
detonated
atom-bomb-like
warhead-words
and emerging-confidence-seeking missiles
on my self-belief
and nuclear-mushroomed
secrets
exposed

with the abolition
of exclamation-mark
slavery
my wordstream
flows
here
unadorned
unashamed uncluttered.


I'm not sure which one I prefer (if any).

What do you think?

Taking a big red pen to a little piece of work

I wrote this 20 years ago, and it was included in my first poetry collection, Exposure.

I took a big red pen to it recently, however, and I feel it's a bit better now, even though it could probably still do with more editing.

A prayer

By the light of the moon
in this sacred place
no glorious visitation
enthralls me.
No wondrous vision
assails my eyes
and clears this clouded mind.
As I talk to you
(half-expecting an answer),
all is quiet.

Can you hear me whisper in the shadows of night?
Do you see my hopes and dreams take flight?
Can you hear the pleas of my heart?
Do you feel the pain we feel, being apart?

Still,
no sound.
No startling revelation
comforts my soul
and enlightens my mind.
With heavy heart
and limbs growing cold
I turn down the path towards home.

And softly you follow.

Bastille Day...and the words of M. Jacques Prévert

Because of the day that’s in it, here’s a poem from one of my favourite French poets, Jacques Prévert.

It’s called Je suis comme je suis (I am as I am), from a collection of his called Paroles. The book was given to me a long time ago by my dear friend Marie-Laure. Enjoy.

Je suis comme je suis
Je suis faite comme ça
Quand j'ai envie de rire
Oui je ris aux éclats
J'aime celui qui m'aime
Est-ce ma faute à moi
Si ce n'est pas le même
Que j'aime à chaque fois
Je suis comme je suis
Je suis faite comme ça
Que voulez-vous de plus
Que voulez-vous de moi

Je suis faite pour plaire
Et n'y puis rien changer
Mes talons sont trop hauts
Ma taille trop cambrée
Mes seins beaucoup trop durs
Et mes yeux trop cernés
Et puis après
Qu'est-ce que ça peut vous faire

Je suis comme je suis
Je plais à qui je plais
Qu'est-ce que ça peut vous faire
Ce qui m'est arrivé
Oui j'ai aimé quelqu'un
Oui quelqu'un m'a aimée
Comme les enfants qui s'aiment
Simplement savent aimer
Aimer aimer...
Pourquoi me questionner
Je suis là pour vous plaire
Et n'y puis rien changer.

A question of sex. And now that I've got your attention, here's a teaser.

How do we measure
the pleasure
of the population’s
copulation?
Is passion
a fashion?
...

...if you want to read the rest of this poem, you'll just have to buy my second poetry collection when it's published.

"Whatever...

...you can do or dream you can, begin it!

Boldness has genius, power and magic in it."

--- Goethe

Our future origins

Each moment is a
BIG
BANG:

the creation
of an infinite number
of possible futures
that extend
g l o r i o u s l y.

Glorious fruit of the Barossa

Here's a fun one I wrote a couple of years ago about the Barossa Valley wine region here in South Australia. I'll probably include it in my next collection.

Barossa bliss

Graped
scraped
sun-baked
exquisite
landscape.
Thousands of varieties.
Litres of divine bouquets.
Sensational legs.
Extraordinary lengths.
And gentle
velvet-flavoured
forget-me-not
hangovers.

Daddy's girl

The Beautiful One has a beautiful little girl. She's a chip off the old block, that's for sure. I hope this captures the essence of their beautiful relationship.

This poem will probably be included in my second collection.

Daddy's girl

Gold head
blue-eyed replica
of your beautiful father.
You carry
your Daddy’s dreams
in miniature.
Fine blonde strands
delicate threads
of hope.
He swaddles your
honey’d limbs
and winning grins
in carefully woven
cloths of aspiration,
willing you
a glowing future.
He lullabies you
to dreams
so that you may wake
to a perfect world.
Every beat
of your little-girl heart
reverberates
in his big-man halls of music.

Subh Mhilis (and my sweet jam translation)

A beautiful, simple Irish poem by Seamas O'Neill (1910-1981) that I learned at school (taken from Favourite Poems We Learned In School As Gaeilge, compiled by Thomas F. Walsh, Mercier Press 1994):

Bhí subh mhilis
Ar bhoschrann an dorais,
Ach mhúch me an corraí
Ionam a d'éirigh,

Mar smaoinigh mé ar an lá
A bheas an bhoschrann glan,
Agus an lámh bheag
Ar iarraidh.

And here's my doesn't-do-it-justice translation:

There was jam
on the door handle
but I held back the anger
that was beginning to rise

because I thought of the day
when the door handle would be clean
and the little hand
gone away.

A black question

Why is it
so difficult
to break out
of the nightmares
we create
so easily?

Half life

This little one is from the vault, and was also included in my first published collection, Exposure (available from Ginninderra Press and Booktopia).

Half life

A half promise in his eyes,
a half-tone in his voice
and I die
in anticipation:
life seems to be
a series of deaths.

Solstice charm

An appropriate poem for the day that's in it.... this is also in my collection, Exposure (available from Ginninderra Press and Booktopia). Enjoy.

Solstice charm

On a June evening
the day almost ended
magic descended.
In an Adelaide hotel
a mysterious spell
weaved its way
between two struggling souls.
Angels
in mortals' guise
rendered surprise
assistance.
A sensual kiss
mystical recognition
of what was past
and what might be.
Warmth,
fire,
desire
and strange symbols
stir up
a witches' brew
of possibilities.
Between enchanted smiles
and sighs
they tentatively step
on the path to repair.
Bewitched lips
and eyes
beg for guidance
and healing.
Irrepressible grins
belie the sins
beneath.
Both charmed,
both disarmed
by the gentle fragility
and perfect clarity
of those tender moments
one June evening.

Sample (short ad) of my poetry

I wrote this quite some time ago. It was included in my first poetry collection, Exposure (available from Ginninderra Press and Booktopia).

Short ad

Welcome to the theatre of my soul
strictly limited viewing.
Watch the dreams unfold
no two the same,
but some recurrent themes.
(Half-price after 3am, when the flesh is at its weakest...but you still have to be in the know)

Special birthday wishes...

...to Seamasin beag bideach!

Happy Bloomsday

yesindeedhappybloomsdaytoyoubecausethatsthedayitis

I'm turning the atmosphere wild...

You have to love the folks at the Surrealist Compliment Generator.

Today's choice make-ya-feel-something was: You turn the atmosphere wild with currents of vitriol when you smile at the passing insects.

It's been a while...

Me again. Yep it's been a while, the Paul van Dyk gig was brilliant but a long time ago. Life and living seem to get in the way of blogging. I intend to remedy that and post more regularly (honest!).

I haven't been doing much in the line of writing music, but the poetry is spilling out. I'm aiming to publish a second collection towards the end of this year (2006). My first collection, Exposure, was published in May 2003 (do I hear applause?). It's available through Ginninderra Press and Booktopia. It's unlikely that a movie will be made any time soon.

As I said, I've been writing more poetry lately, and I've been paying more attention to editing and reworking what I write. I used to just write the poem and then leave it because of some sort of purist thinking of mine that it was my true state and expression of state at that time. I'm preferring what I'm doing now.

I intend to use this blog to explore creativity in poetry process, and to share poetry I like, as well as snippets of my own work (if I'm feeling brave).

And please feel free to share your thoughts!

More later. ;>)

Penfolds Grange: to invest or imbibe?

It was The Beautiful One’s significant birthday recently. We had a (nautical theme) party and he decided to break into his wine cellar.

He emerged, clutching tenderly a bottle of 1987 Penfolds Grange Hermitage. He decanted it carefully and ceremoniously. We gazed at it in awe.

A few people, including OriginalJennifer, got to sample it. It was sublime.

But was it really worth US$183.75 to $399.99? (Prices from winesearcher.com).

The Beautiful One had the bottle in his cellar for at least 14 years. When he bought it the Penfolds Grange brand didn’t have as much hype or ‘elitism’ associated with it as it does now.

To some, opening a Grange in anything other than certain surroundings and accompanied by particular foods would be a sacrilege.

The Beautiful One was happy to break it out between spring rolls, tandoori chicken and chocolate cake. But then, he doesn’t buy wine as an investment, but to drink (funny that), be it now, or in a few years.

The Beautiful One thought it was a lovely drop, and said that he enjoyed it and enjoyed sharing it.

OriginalJennifer thinks that’s the point: the ceremony of opening and sharing what is regarded as a particularly special bottle of red with close friends and loved ones is probably of much greater value than that special bottle of red gathering dust because market dictates it’s worth a small fortune - unopened.

OriginalJennifer hopes she’s around when he decides to break out the other two he has in that cellar!

Simon Armitage is beautiful. I guess I'm ugly.

Adelaide Writers' Week was on from 5-10 March this year, and it offered a feast of literary greats and their produce!

For me, one of the highlights was listening to UK poet Simon Armitage read his poetry and discuss aspects of poetry writing (in a panel discussion along with local poet Peter Goldsworthy and others).

The first poem he read was The Shout. The one that captured everyone's attention, however, was You're Beautiful.

Several times he was asked to re-read it but he refused, saying that he'd already read it and it was now floating in the atmosphere around us... Rather charming.

Now I'm hooked on his poetry. I managed to get hold of a copy of his Selected Poems (and he signed it).

And what was rather unusual for a poet, his books sold out at the event! There's hope for us poets yet!

I've found You're Beautiful on the web (click here). Simon is reciting it and the lyrics are there too. I hope the link stays active.

Paul van Dyk in Earth and I'm in Heaven

Hi, I'm Original Jennifer.

Welcome to my blog and thanks for visiting!

This is the first of (hopefully) many OriJenal postings about whatever takes my fancy.

I've just bought two tickets for the Paul van Dyk gig in Earth in Adelaide next week (29 March) and yup, I'm really looking forward to dance action from the trance supremo!

And just to get in the mood, I've spent this evening listening to Politics of Dancing. Talk about grooveability!