These poems are written about the Quiet Zone and the surrounding and nearby area. There’s so much to see and do in West Virginia! The Quiet Zone is in Greenbank, West Virginia near the radio telescopes. They keep out any interference such as from a cell phone where the telescopes are so it doesn’t affect their research. It’s fun to walk amongst the telescopes! They sit among the pine trees. The area is beautiful and isolated.
Poet: A Poet’s Guide and Mini Workbook now available in E-book or Paperback.
This book is about what it’s like to live as a poet. It’s not just a profession! If you are a writer, a poet, then it affects your world, your head, your heart and those around you. No matter what you do to make a living, you are a poet through and through all day, all night.
Living your life as a poet is almost like writing a poem: you take words, thoughts and organize them to fit a certain structure. For me, poetry = life!
What are the impact of books? I bet, especially if you’re a reader, you can answer this question in many different ways.
Let’s take “The Wizard of Oz” for example. This past weekend, I visited the revived theme part “The Land of Oz” based on the movie and the book. (The idea came from the man who started nearby Tweetsie Railroad.). The theme park originally (and still does) sit at the top of Beech Mountain and it was the most successful one of the time, with only one actual ride. Even the place with the mouse, came to visit for inspiration. The theme park itself closed in the 80’s and it is now reopened as a sort of revival of the park, with some of the original buildings and shows, but without the one ride, the balloon ride.
I wonder if Frank Baum ever envisioned his book(s) as a movie, much less a theme park! And here we are years and years later and “The Wizard of Oz” is still inspiring so many new generations.
It shows the impact words/books can really have as well as the longevity of stories. I would put “The Chronicles of Narnia,” and “The Canterbury Tales” etc. in the same category.
When you write, your words do have meaning! So be mindful of what you write, be inspired about what you write, and most of all don’t forget to write!
Just for fun here are a few of my pictures from “Autumn at Oz” at the original “Land of Oz” theme park from this weekend (Sept 2022):
My new short story book is out now from Alien Buddha Press. It’s entitled “The Jackalope Committee and Other Tales.”
Order your copy of "The Jackalope Committee and Other Tales"
Have you ever written a graffiti poem? If not, have you seen graffiti somewhere?
I have seen graffiti many places but generally not in the area where I live. The town is small and there are simply not too many places for it.
Yesterday, I saw lots of it in underground street tunnels. These tunnels run underneath a busy road at a big university and they’re used to keep people from crossing the street in all the traffic. There’s another tunnel decorated in graffiti near the university - this one runs under the highway and is part of the local Greenway aka walking paths.
It’s interesting to see what people decide to paint or spray paint. Words, drawings, some things quite unmentionable, quotes, movie lines, etc.
I find graffiti interesting. No, I don’t agree with defacing public property but it is what it is.
I have written poems about graffiti I’ve seen - I wrote a couple about the walkway to the Morris Island Lighthouse off of Folly Beach (in Charleston SC) in my book “Chucktown” with poems all about that particular area. You can’t access the lighthouse except by water, but there is a road that leads to the beach across from it. The entire thing is covered in graffiti.
If you’re a writer mostly likely you like to read and you have a love of words like me. There are some interesting “words” used in graffiti. You can easily write a poem from something you see or even write a found poem from it.
Writing is simply what you make it. Writing a poem can take you to all kinds of different places. How will you write a poem today?
This is some of the graffiti in one of the pedestrian tunnels.
Lately I’ve noticed that some of the authors I follow on social media, are signing their books if they come across them in stores. One of my favorite bands lead singer did that too for their new music release. What a neat idea! I know I enjoy coming across signed books in my favorite bookstores - and when I say coming across I mean finding them in amongst other books for sale and not as a bookstore promotion. I usually find these at used bookstores. I’ve noticed that bookstores selling new books have been offering signed books for sale. There’s even one that let’s you subscribe for a book a month including some signed books. Plus there are constant signed book giveaways online to promote them and the authors.
My local bookstore, Tybrisa books, offers local author books as well as a huge selection of used books and other media. I dropped by there this week to do some book shopping. And because they kindly offer my books for sale (The Glass River, The Mailbox of the Kindred Spirit, Poetry in LA, Swim, A Sunless Sea, The Poet Next Door, The Blue Eyed Side, and more), I (yes) signed my books!
I don’t know what it is about a signed book vs an unsigned one that makes it more attractive (to me). Maybe it’s because I know the author has actually spent time with the book, at lease a few moments, signing it and that makes it special.
A book is a work of art! Works of art are usually signed, so why not books?!?
Do you read the fortunes in your fortune cookies? Do you like to eat with chop sticks?
I like to do both. Though, I don’t actually eat the fortune cookie, I like to read the fortune. Other members of my family like the cookies, so I save mine for them.
Fortunes in fortune cookies are pieces of writing. They are probably auto generated by computer by now. Can a computer really give you your fortune?
And then there are the sleeves for chopsticks which also have some writing of some kind on them. It’s not a fortune, but maybe the manufacturer’s info, etc.
Last night, we got take out from our favorite Japanese restaurant and I decided to eat with chopsticks. Well, I’m not a traditional person so what I always order is probably very different from what others might. I like the soup and salad and a side of mushrooms.
As I fingered my chopsticks, easily using them with the mushrooms, I laughed as I looked at the soup. And, my salad. Turns out eating a salad with chopsticks isn’t all that easy, either. So there I was with chopsticks, a fork and a spoon to eat!
It made me think of the tools I need for my writing. I actually still use pen and paper, but I also use my smart phone, my tablet, my computer, and a Rocketbook (look those up on Amazon or wherever you shop because they are amazing - it’s reusable but document scannable paper). I also carry a pint sized journal - it’s tiny. I also use painting and playing guitar and ukulele to enhance my writing as a well as reading books, magazines and papers. Plus, I like the experience of going a few places here and there to actually see things happening, to observe. Observation is probably the best tool you’ll ever need to be a writer.
I also wondered could there be some kind of chopstick that’s made for eating soup? How about for salads?
What tools do you need to write? What tools can you imagine that you’d like to have for your writing?
I love the water. I love to look at reflections in the water. Everything looks different depending on where you’re looking, your angle.
Angles are important with writing. What perspective do you use when you write a poem or short story? Over the years, I’ve read that it’s a no-no to use “I” in a poem, yet it happens all the time and yes I’ve written some “I” poems myself. Using I in your poem doesn’t necessarily mean you’re writing about yourself. Sometimes, I think readers of stories, poems see or read stuff into them that may not be what the author intended as writing is and should be creative, not necessarily a confessional.
I like to take pictures of the water and sunsets. I will walk around or move around to get different views. It’s really worth it. I think with writing it’s good to read other poets and authors to see their points of views.
It’s always good to consider the scenery and what’s reflected in it - same goes for characters in a story or a narrator in a poem. Like with painting, it’s good to think about the perspective in all angles.
I had that very thing said to me this past week: “What’s wrong is right and what’s right is wrong.” This was regarding a personal situation where we have definitely been treated wrongly just because some people want to create a much darker yet untrue narrative. You can tell I think like a writer! It’s like the people who love villains in movies, and TV shows. I’m currently rewatching Star Wars movies and while I feel empathy for Kylo Ren and the other assorted bad guys - I don’t like any of them. I feel the same way about the hot genre of suspense and thriller novels - I enjoy reading these books but usually I can’t stand any of the characters. It’s an entertaining genre to read, but I cannot find myself writing that way as I like to like my characters!
I’ve learned, though, that people (and characters) do show their true colors. That old saying comes to mind that you are who you hang out with.
How does it happen, though, that someone takes something wrong and makes it seem right? Is it in the way things are portrayed in the media whether fiction or not? It’s like the plot twists you find in books and movies - some make sense and some don’t. I recently read “The Silent Patient” and it was a good and fun read, but yet I hated the ending twist because I simply didn’t buy it and I don’t really want to re-read the book to see if I missed anything. I also watched the Netflix series with Kristen Bell (The Women in the Window, whatever the title is it’s too long for me to remember) and was surprised when I read a review calling it a comedy - maybe they meant black comedy. Again, what’s wrong is right, what’s right is wrong came into play.
The way things are today, it seems this has taken a jump or really big leap from the page, the screen into real life. I like to draw my plots and characters from real life so it’s no wonder this is showing up of late, like everywhere. Instead of writing despicable characters or using similar type plots in my stories or poems, though, I’d rather choose to look at as a way of trying something with my works in a different way.
I think doing what’s right, whether in real life or not, is always the best option. Maybe that’s an old fashioned way to think or live, but that is what I personally prefer.
What kind of characters do you write about? Do you like your characters? How have you twisted up your works lately?
Do you use a smart phone or electronic devices? Most likely, you do. So do I. And I have to admit many times I might be so intently staring into my phone checking emails or whatever that I don’t pay any attention to what’s going on around me. Bet you’ve heard that before, too. Yesterday, I sat through an all day class and found myself looking at my phone on breaks to escape for a few minutes as it was too cold to walk outside on breaks and the breaks were too short anyway.
Fortunately, I did take the time to ignore my phone except to use it as a camera on the country drives I’ve been on the past few days. I wasn’t driving so I could safely use my phone!
There’s so much to see whether you’re driving, walking, etc. But is the view different up close than it is far away?
Of course it is. Up close when I walk in the woods, I see different things in the trees than I do when I’m just glancing at them from a distance. You know that saying! Same thing, when driving along a country road, in my opinions the views are much better from farther away. It all depends on how you see things vs how they really are. How easy it is these days to turn something into what it is or isn’t! I’m currently reading a book about a photographer (fiction) doing exactly that with photo manipulation.
I love to read and often read a variety of books. And, I write in many genres. One I don’t write much of is non-fiction or creative non-fiction. I’d rather fictionalize a story rather than write about a real one unless it has to do with writing poetry because I have written a few books about that subject. It’s good to take time to look around and see what you can see whether you write about it or not. Happy gazing!
How do you look at things? How does it affect your writing?
Some of my pictures in the past week, up close and far away:
As this year begins to come to a close, I thought about one of my favorite things to do: watching sunsets. While I am often up early enough...
