Tag: poets

Ariel Poets

Chrissy12 Comments

The exciting part about social media is networking and meeting like-minded people, especially if you are a writer or poet. A writer is a poet.

I first met Alexandra Meehan on Twitter. We have never met in real life, but our souls have probably met before. We became friends and we have come to appreciate each other’s poetic styles. I approached her a few weeks ago with the idea to open an account for lovers of poetry. We are both immensely inspired by Anne Sexton and Syliva Plath, who are two women who wrote about their turmoil life experiences. Men and women appreciate reading these two poets because through these women’s tough eyes the shape of humanity and relationships unfold in unique, female, poetic voices.

The pursuit of writing is an on-going struggle for writers and poets, especially women. Since Sappho, women have come a long way in poetry, but still struggling along. Emily Dickenson and Christina Rosetti are female poets who are world-reknowned and admired, but Sexton and Plath are still not a household name. In America they are. Just pushed aside for contemporary crap. The dark side and mental illness that haunts their literature takes too much of a front seat. Deconstruct it. Their brilliance shined among all. It seems there is so much more to their writing– to being women– that continues to fascinate us.

We created The Ariel Poets account on Twitter to further explore the inspiration that Sexton and Plath have given us throughout our studies of English literature. To be honest, when I was a young graduate studying English literature, in downtown Montreal; at Concordia University, my professor of modern literature did not even have them on our reading list. I discovered them on my own, like a deep secret you could not contain. That was the early 90’s. Ironically, Alexandra’s college experience has been similar, whereas the only poem ever covered was “Daddy”, which according to her, was not even taught properly.

 

Alexandra Meehan and I hope to inspire you with this account. We want to combine our efforts in writing, and give you some inspiration so that you never stop writing or reading.

No matter how a poet dies, it is how they live that matters most.

We both admire the bravery in Anne Sexton and Sylvia Plath’s writing style, and the brutal honesty.

Our Twitter account: @ArielPoets from:@ArielPoets
Thank  you so much for your support,
Christina Strigas and Alexandra Meehan

http://www.alexandrameehan.com

Les Enfants Terrible

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http://www.femininecollective.com/les-enfants-terribles/?utm_campaign=crowdfire&utm_content=crowdfire&utm_medium=social&utm_source=social#2195478619-tw#1497834079543#2195478619-tw#1497834330095

 

Hello everyone,

 

Excited to share a new poem with you. Click on link above. I am also excited to announce that I will be a new member of SD, (Sudden Denouement) a first rate literary collective.

 

Much love and gratitude,

Christina Strigas

 

 

Book Review of “Bones in the Garden” by McKayla Debonis

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Book Review of “Bones in the Garden”

by McKayla Debonis

 

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My Rating: 4/5 stars

This poetry book is adorable, even though it is about heartache, McKayla Debonis has written a book that takes place during a painful breakup, it also illustrates a resourceful and strong-willed woman. I am so excited to get a signed copy by the author for my collection. I cherish poetry books, and especially signed copies! I know how much time and energy a poet spends in creating a book and it is an extension of our own soul.
“Bones in the Garden” is a small, compact book that is more of a chapbook, than a full-length poetry book. It consists of seventy-nine pages with poems that are a couple of lines per page, the longer pieces consisting of half a page.
The poetic form of this poetry book influences the reader as does the poem, namely, the micro-poetry collection inside of this book, so hence poems have their own effect quite apart from the content. For instance, a sonnet, speaks with precise logic, but here in this poetry book, the form is free verse and open-ended. The messages of these poems reinforces the thought of the poem, which is basically a broken heart and spirit.
The poems are easily understood. The word “bones” is a central theme throughout the book, italicized for emphasis, but at times that may seem overly stated.
The poem
“Bones ii
Deep in my bones I know that I
will never be the same again”

In essence, Debonis is telling us how every relationship changes us and after a hurtful and emotionally abusive one, we will never be the same. I feel that these simple statements are more sentences than poems. She has written a poetry book full of lovely quotes that can lift one’s spirit and broken heart.

I have included some photos of my favourite pieces. My favourite poem is “Barren Wasteland.”

 

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The illustrations by Rachel Aquino add a special quality to the book. This is a cute book to have in any collection.

McKayla Debonis can be found on the social media sites below.

She has a beautiful website at http://www.mckayladebonis.com
Her book can be purchased at all on-line bookstores.
Twitter: @mckayladebonis
Goodreads : McKayla Debonis
Instagram: @mckayladebonis
Her email: mckayladebonis@gmail.com

 

 

Book review of “whisky words & a shovel III” by r.h. Sin

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“whiskey words & a shovel III” is a modern poetry book that redefines poetry in the modern era

   Book Review by Christina Strigas

5 out of 5 stars

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I know that being a poet in the modern world is never easy. Everyone judges you. Your husband, your wife, your lover, your friends, your neighbours. It’s not easy to pour your heart out on paper, on the internet or in a book. Poetry books are sacred to me, I get to carry them around, fold their pages and read them over and over again. r.h Sin is a modern pop poet. He is making poetry popular again, with his Instagram account and his simple, brilliant way of writing from his heart and sleeve. There is nothing wrong with that. Most may criticize this, but I can easily read Dorothea Lasky in one sitting and r.h. Sin. Poetry in another and enjoy both books for different reasons. Reading great poetry is an experience, an individual experience that varies from person to person according to their own life and knowledge. I can connect to poetry and its various forms and techniques, as an English lit Major and as a woman. These are some excerpts from his book.

 

I have been following r.h. Sin ever since he was with Underwater Mountains and the whole publishing fiasco that I was a part of with 451 Press, another division of that company. Although Sin may have many trolls and haters, he has an abundance of love and support. In essence, he is a poet that carries on and focuses on his art.
The free verse and honesty that is shown in “whiskey words and a shovel III” actually surprised me. To be honest, I was preparing myself to not like it as much as I did. My daughter owns his other two poetry books and I glanced at them and although I never read them and never gave them a chance, I jumped to the conclusion that “it wasn’t really poetry.” And who am I to say that? I am trying my best to keep poetry together. Sometimes I write to express, other times to spurt forth words that choke me. It seems to me, that we need to evolve in our perception and high brow attitude of poetry. This is a best-seller. This book has sold so many poetry books that, damn, you ask yourself, who is reading poetry? Well, it appears to me that r.h. Sin has a gift and the masses are reading his uplifting words. His gift and brilliance lies in his simple expressive way of telling us a story from his own personal experience.

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If you are a woman, who has been taken advantage of, ignored, rejected, abused, not loved the way you deserve… it is easy to see yourself on these pages. Most women have fallen prey to men that can’t love them back and vice versa. Sin sees the strength in women and expresses it with beauty. The fact that the poet is a male, makes the words he writes about women even more poignant. His point of view gives us another perception as well, of a man, who wasn’t loved the way he deserved; how women too, can take advantage of love and not give back any intimacy or love in return. That is what I adore about this book…the fact that we get both perspectives of not receiving the love we need.
I also adore the size of this book, and its compact nature. The paper feels almost like newsprint and the typeface is typewriter font, giving you the feel that it is typed. It has an old feel to it in a modern way.
In the poem, “strange love” Sin writes, “ I hope you find someone who falls in love with the strange that lives within you.”
I read this many times, grasping that we are all in some way strange and we all hope to meet a person that can love that part of us. In essence, this is a fear for most people and we try to hide the weirdness in us, up until we can’t anymore. In that simple phrase, so many emotions run through your mind of being accepted for who you are and realizing that most people just didn’t accept that part of you that you so desperately want them to.
I have read this book twice so far and I know for a fact that I will read it again. This is what a great poetry book should do, make you want to go back for more. I suppose it could be during this particular time in my life, I am feeling more vulnerable and this perhaps made me connect to the words and emotions in this book; however, I felt as a woman, he hit the nail on the head with the misunderstanding of love and lust.
I think that the way he writes is pure and from the heart, and even if you have heard some of these quotes or expressions before, reading them again only hammers home the fact that life is short and don’t stay in a relationship that harms you, but try to move on, no matter how hard, and find a true love. It may be a bit idealistic, but that is what poets do, create a world for the reader. r.h. Sin has a unique poetic voice in the natural way he writes and creates a world for us women, that feels safe and loving.
In “a New York summer” Sin writes a longer piece which portrays a man understanding that he has to walk away from a harmful relationship, and by harm, I am implying not being loved back in return. This is how we harm ourselves, by staying in a relationship that cannot give you what you are giving back.
I have chosen some of my favourite pieces in this book to share with you, but there are too many so I will leave you with a few above.
This poetry book fully explores relationships and how they can turn beautiful and loving with the right partner or the complete opposite with the wrong one. So in the words of r.h. Sin,
“consilium I.
the love you deserve
can’t be found
while holding on to someone
who doesn’t deserve you”

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Social media links:
View profile at Medium.com
Twitter: @byRHSin
Instagram: @r.h.sin
https://www.instagram.com/r.h.sin/?hl=en
To buy his book:

Never forget that literature is an art expressed in words.

Thank you for reading and if you have any comments please leave them below.

from Love & Vodka

Chrissy1 Comment

it’s not the way

you leave

it’s the way

you come back

it’s how you

remember

when i forget.

–it’s how you are

 

 

from my poetry book Love & Vodka, available on-line or through me you could get signed copies, visit my Twitter page or Instagram page to message me and let me know if you are interested.

Also, if you are on Goodreads, doing a giveaway this week.

If you already read my book, please leave me a review and let me know you did so. typed poems and hand made bookmarks by moi, delivered to you. Stayed up last night and made each one with my quotes.

Much love & gratitude.

 

Thank you all for your amazing support.

If

Chrissy9 Comments

If the water on the windowsill

could be your molecules

they would give me a paper

to smell

a pen to place safely away

near my utensils

think of me when it rains

how the droplets

become you and me

falling from the sky

like bullets on a battlefield

like trees in the rainforest

sometimes still

most times turbulent

aged and chopped

preserved and honoured.
From “Love & Vodka”

All my books are available at all on-line bookstores, Amazon, Barnes & Nobles, etc. Thank you for reading & your support.💞

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💙💙💙

5 tips for Editing Poetry Books

Chrissy4 Comments

I have recently edited a few poetry books for fellow poets. I find that most poets, find it hard to edit their own poems and a second opinion is sometimes necessary to get out of their own head. I must admit that I never hired a poetry editor for my three poetry books, but I had a particular vision and look that I knew I wanted for my poems.

If you are looking for a poetry editor or you are editing your poems yourself here are 5 tips that worked for me and how I go about editing poetry books.

  1. After every draft, you should put your manuscript away for over two weeks and clear your mind. As many times as you go through your manuscript, is as many times you must put it aside. This ensures that you start fresh every time and believe me, every time you read it, you will find something that you need to correct or revise. Do this up until there is nothing left to rewrite. Do not settle until you feel your book is done. Eventually, you will know.
  2. You can divide your poetry book into sections or parts with titles so that it flows for the reader. Also, a table of contents with the list of poems at the beginning of the book is always helpful to quickly find a poem. Lately, some poets are not using any titles or table of contents…if you choose to do so, make sure that you divide your book into sections such as loss, healing, love, death, etc. so that there is some kind of order. There are not many rules in poetry and anything may go for certain poets, but in my experience, the books that have no titles or breaks are hard to read and difficult to distinguish one poem from the next.
  3. Every poetry book needs a Copyright page, a Dedication page, Acknowledgements page, at the beginning of the book and an About the Author Page at the end of the book. Number your pages. Look at the poetry books in your library and see how the professionals do it.
  4. Format, font and presentation are an integral part of a poetry book. Pay an expert to create your file in pdf with the appropriate poetic fonts and alignments. Equally, cover art and a blurb brings the book together as a whole.
  5. Make sure the poetry editor you hire has experience, knowledge and a grasp of poetic terms.

Good luck in the editing process, this is the hardest part of writing. As Ernest Hemingway wrote, ” The first draft of everything is shit.”

 

 

 

 

Reasons

Chrissy11 Comments

Some people love you

for all the right reasons

but you still go searching

for the wrong ones. The ones

that keep you up or

make you want to smoke up

all day. I never hide behind

a persona or a brand,

I am what I am

sometimes ditzy

sometimes brilliant

but always me. I woke up

in a Woody Allen movie

you can guess the title

but you know it’s dysfunctional

and petty yet narcissistic. I

liked talking to you

because you never interrupt

and this is such a quality

that I adore. I don’t have

scorn, I just love you

so I put up these walls

to protect myself

from how much I care.

I will never tell you,

of course, or maybe

if I’m drunk and Purple

Rain’s solo is on and you

turn to me and with your

eyes you tell me

how you never meant

to cause me any sorrow.

I know. I am smarter

than you think. I carry

you like e.e cummings poem

nowadays it’s modern:

in my phone, in my pocket,

but in another era

it was in my heart

and you,

you are invisible to everyone

but me. You are like

a magician

popping into my life

like the pills

I swallow.

I loved you and lost

you like

a true poet

and you can’t get

any closer to

art than a few hours

alone in a locked room.

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Stay beautiful and strong

Chrissy9 Comments

Featured Image -- 6242Stay beautiful and strong

when others try to break

your soul, it’s not you

they want, it’s your beauty and art.

Some people create friendships

to bully you, steal your man,

betray your wife. Some people

want to catch you weak

and vulnerable to spread it

on the evening news. The

only way to love is by blocking off

negative energy

focus on your art.

People will either love you

or hate you

and if you are really talented

if you have a gift

they hate you even more.

It’s too easy to kill a spirit these days

with group chats instead of mobs

with tweets instead of telephone wires.

It is as if people have lost the ability

to be compassionate

and only care for attention

seeking out the evil

perpetuating hatred

jealousy through harassment.

The sad part is most of these

people I have witnessed doing this

are women. If you want to get your

power back, this is not the way

to do it. It sickens me. And for this

my heart gets broken

I feel too much and I would rather

not.