NaPoMo poetry party last call

The last day of April brings us to our final guest at my NaPoMo poetry party. If you’ve been following along each day (if not tomorrow’s wrap up will help you catch up), you’ll know our scope has widened a bit from strictly poets to meeting with a handful of visual storytellers – photographers. This morning we are joined by Malcolm Evans, a photographer and someone very dear to my heart; my son.

Tell us a little about yourself, Malcolm.

Malcolm: My name is Malcolm and I currently work as an Outreach Navigator with the Canadian Mental Health Association. In May I will begin working on my Master of Public Safety with Wilfrid Laurier University.

As all of you are also experiencing, my life is going through some unprecedented changes. Not only has COVID-19 changed where I live, how I work, and what I do in my spare time, it has also shifted my ability to focus on what matters most to me as an individual. As I find myself distanced from family and friends, there is a heightened sense of priority in my life. The things that matter most to me have been solidified by their absence.

I find peace in this.

We often say we wish we had more time for certain things. Are you spending your time differently in view of our current world challenges? If so, how?

Malcolm: I tend to be the kind of person who does as much as possible, whenever possible. Since I am an essential worker, the only thing that has changed for me is the time that I spend outside of work. Luckily, a lot of my daily activities already abide by social distancing requirements! If anything, I’m saving money by spending less time in breweries and restaurants, and more time out in nature. The biggest thing that has changed is my ability to spend time with my family. I do my best to find activities that allow us to be together from a distance but it’s never the same.

Why is art important?

Malcolm: Art has always been a form of therapy for myself. The world tends to melt away when I am outside with my camera. Photography allows me to focus on things that have minimal impact on my life and yet, carry significant beauty. Finding beauty in the world continues to be an important source of happiness in my life. I think it’s important for everyone to discover a way to see beauty. Art is a lens that helps us achieve that.

What is one surprising thing that happened today?

Malcolm: I ran out of peanut butter today. It happened a lot faster than I expected. I love peanut butter!

You have chosen several photographs to share this morning, and they are striking examples to me of how form, texture, light, and shadow can be crafted into a emotive compositions completely devoid of colour, and yet my perception is somehow not limited to shades and tones of black and white. I wonder why? There is metaphor in this for me.

Thank you so much for coming by today, Malcolm. Your work is masterful. I wish you all the best with MELK Photography, the business you are developing that will specialize in black/white photography. Maybe you will share more about that another day. And thank you for the helping work you do on the front lines. It is a good work, and you have a good heart.

 

And thank you, friends, for dropping in today. Come back tomorrow for our wrap up session where all of our amazing guests will be back for one more fond farewell.

“May the road rise to meet you, may the sun be always on your back, and until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of his hand.” (Irish Blessing)

Peace to each of you,

Lesley-Anne

NaPoMo poetry party.26

Joel Clements is a graphic designer, documentary photographer, and widely involved creative soul who lives in Richmond Hill, Ontario with his fabulous wife Andrea, and two adorable cats. I have witnessed the exceptional work of Joel’s hands in his woodworking, cabinetmaking, and renovating. His vintage canoe is one example of his loving and meticulous process of preserving things of beauty.

To have a creative conversation with Joel is best enjoyed with a cold craft brew in your hand and a good chunk of time to sit and wonder together. For now I’m just going to imagine the day that will happen again, and enjoy our virtual chat.

Joel is my brother, and my friend. Welcome to Buddy Breathing, JC. Your websites HERE and HERE are great resources for folk to dig in and find out more about you, and experience more of your work. Today you’ve brought us a poignant poem, and a photograph, but let’s dig first into the answers to three questions.

Lesley-Anne: We often say we wish we had more time for certain things. Are you spending your time differently in view of our current world challenges? If so, how?

Joel: I’ve been a self-employed creative for almost 14 years, so working from home hasn’t required an adjustment besides adapting to sharing the house 24/7 with my wife. Social distancing and travel restrictions are definitely having an effect on my photography. Last year at this time I was preparing for a month long documentary assignment in Malawi. I have taken the opportunity to play a little – with my Polaroid cameras and some mixed-media art projects. I take a little time out of work each day to do some art for art’s sake.

Lesley-Anne: Why is art important?

Joel: Creativity is central to my being. I love to create, and experience things that other people have created.

Lesley-Anne: What is one surprising thing that happened today?

Joel: I received a request to submit a poem to Buddy Breathing.

Your photo and poem are gifts that seem so well suited to each other. Thank you for taking us here.

Love and hope,
Lesley-Anne

Downtown Toronto under lock down.

Grief Moved In

Blue sweatshirts,
sweat-stained,
darkened,
sled labelled boxes
down the hall
jammed with
box-spring skeletons,
and grunt
a piano up
the stairs

The sofa rests hard
on soft shoulders,
carried away
from an empty
shrunken room.

We sit hard
on hardwood floors,
listen to squeals
of dolly wheels
rolling up plywood
ramps, eat
fried chicken
from the bucket,
sharing memories
with deaf walls
as grief moves in.

 

NaPoMo poetry party.24

Jason D. Ramsey has a creative capacity and reach that is wide and unstoppable. I’ve been enriched by Jason’s generous friendship for many years through his online arts community Altarworks, and most recently through his literary initiative Barren Magazine. It’s amazing to me how connected you can feel to someone without ever meeting in person, and so it is with Jason.

Jason lives halfway between Detroit and Chicago, and serves as Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Barren Magazine. His essays and poems can be found in Parentheses Journal, Tilde Literary Journal, After the Pause, Isacoustic, and more. Jason is also a visual storyteller.

Thanks for making time in your full life to join our poetry party, Jason.

Lesley-Anne: We often say we wish we had more time for certain things. Are you spending your time differently in view of our current world challenges? If so, how?

Jason:  I take too little time as it is for the important things in life. I’m always on the go. My mind is always racing. I manage a respiratory care department at a regional hospital in Michigan, run Barren Magazine, and have five kids under 13 at home, so I stay plenty busy. The current world challenges weigh heavily on me. Not just the coronavirus pandemic, which I am in the thick of, but all of the world challenges. I can’t be on Facebook for more than five seconds without being saddened or disgusted. With that said, though, I am spending what little free time I have differently. Instead of being wrapped up in whatever the latest news articles spew out, I’ve been spending more quality time with my kids. It has been cold, but we’ve played ball in the yard, played board games, worked on schoolwork together. I feel like, somehow, we’ve grown closer as a family as a result.

Lesley-Anne: Why is poetry/art important?

Jason: Poetry, like all art forms, is a way for us to express the profundities of life in ways that challenge us. In particular, poetry is among the most emotional art forms. It’s is also one of the most difficult. It’s hard to find something new to say in an original way. Poets have always tried to be one step ahead of everyone else in terms of worldview, whether successful or not. I believe a new wave of great poetry will surface from our current world state. It has to. It’s intrinsic in our human nature. It’s our life blood. It’s all around us, not just as pretty words on a page. It’s our first thought when we look at a newborn; the air we breathe when we’re walking outside; the hands that raise in protest; the hands we lower in love.

Lesley-Anne: What is one surprising thing that happened today?

Jason: One surprising thing that happened to me today was my oldest son’s attitude when I laid out his new 6th grade online classwork. Michigan schools are closed until fall, but our district is moving forward with online learning. He’s in 6th grade, and he has to juggle six classes. Middle school has been a rough transition for him, and he has had a very challenging last few months. Ironically, the poem I’ve included here is about him, last summer, when we were on vacation in the Appalachian mountains. The poem is mostly true in detail, but completely true in message. He has battled depression, ADHD, ODD, and more for years now. Getting him to do his schoolwork is often the hardest part of my day. But, tonight we sat down, went through his material, and organized things to set him up for success. He even found some joy in it. And we bonded a bit. Now, that’s poetry.

You can find Jason online at:

facebook.com/JasonDRamsey
twitter.com/JasonDRamsey
instagram.com/jasondramsey
barrenmagazine.com

This has been a lovely visit, and we will leave one another now with your poem, ‘In the Blue Hue of Morning’ as it was published in Parentheses Journal (Fall 2019). Thanks so much for spending time with us today, Jason.

Stay safe, and blessings for the care you lavish on bodies and souls,
Lesley-Anne

NaPoMo poetry party.22

Brigitta Davidson is in the house! Brigitta please catch us up on what’s happening in your life right now. I hear you are back in Kelowna for the time being after continent hopping for the past four months with your family.

Brigitta: This entire year has been a strange whirlwind honestly. I’ve had to move home because of COVID-19, however, I’m currently converting an old cargo van into a home and I plan to move into that with my partner once it’s all finished. The hope for this summer is to hang about the interior in the van and spend as much time outside as possible. Lots of hiking, climbing and swimming to be had!

And I am currently completing my 3^rd year at UVIC on the island for a Bachelor of Arts in anthropology and business.

Lesley-Anne: We often say we wish we had more time for certain things. Are you spending your time differently in view of our current world challenges? If so, how?

Brigitta: I notice I have been oscillating between spending more time doing tangible, enjoyable, wholesome activities and doing nothing at all. On days when its sunny and I’m feeling mentally positive and motivated I will go for a run, do embroidery, read, play music. However, if I’m feeling isolated or sad or anxious, I find I will spend hours in a wormhole on my phone or lie on the kitchen floor for a good while not even getting up if I have to pee. It is a strange thing to be bouncing between feeling inspired and wallowing to the point of wasting an entire day. I suppose it is good to have enough time to see the degree to which I really fluctuate whilst learning both how to be okay with it and (also importantly) how to deal with it.

Lesley-Anne: Gosh, I hear you. I feel similar wild fluctuations of dread and emptiness followed by bursts of inspired creative activity. Why is art important?

Brigitta: I feel that art is entirely pointless, and that is why I believe it to be the pinnacle of the human experience. Art has this uncanny ability to move people. It can unite them, divide them, inspire them depress them etc… I think emotions are at the core of the human experience and art is one of the most powerful ways we can connect to our emotions. Aside from our imposed meanings and enjoyment of art it serves no practical purpose. It is one of the few things we, as a species choose-nearly unanimously – as integral to society although it serves no utilitarian purpose. In a post-enlightenment world that is rather astounding.

Lesley-Anne: What is one surprising thing that happened today?

Brigitta: I was surprised that I ran out of time to do all the things that I wanted. Today was a good day, one where I was motivated and enjoyed the time I spent. However, even in this time of isolation where I am on hiatus from work and school there still seem not to be enough hours in the day.

Thanks for spending time with us, Brigitta, and my hope is this will lead you into another really good day. You mentioned to me that you are inspired to be more active at your poetry blog which already has great content. So, after you share your poem, people are invited to head over to your blog to read more of your work.

Happy nesting and tiny home making to you,
Lesley-Anne

gentle and small and turbulent
in a messy, rushing world
sometimes I feel like a pebble drowning in the rapids
or peaceful like the sea foam gently lapped up by shores
expansive like open waters
and small like scrapes set alight by the salt
we are simply people falling in and out of love
gentle and small and turbulent

NaPoMo poetry party.21

We are going to dive into a different genre today with our guest photographer, Chris Hancock Donaldson, from Port Alberni, B.C.. She is a visual story teller. Chris’s work includes street photography, quirky domestic scenes, mystical images of coastal rain forests and clear cuts, shots of pets and people, and more. Today she is sharing a collection of 16 of her photographs taken during the pandemic. For more follow Chris on Instagram.

Hi, Chris. I can’t help but notice your poetic voice in both prose and photograph. I recall two writing retreats we attended together with fondness; one where we experienced a few close encounters with deer. Thanks for opening this window into your life. When did you start taking photos?

Chris: I think I first started taking photos about 20 years ago when my husband at the time brought back an SLR for me — I don’t recall now what it was — from a pawn shop in St. Louis. I don’t know why he got me a camera. He must’ve had a hunch. Not long after I got my first digital camera, and I’ve stayed with digital since. And unless I’m doing a professional job, these days I primarily use my iPhone 11. Taking photos is mostly about self-expression for me. 

Lesley-Anne: What is this quieter version of life teaching you, if in fact, it is quieter?

Chris: Previously, my life was tipping the scale heavy on partying. Being forced out of the haze showed me how often I was choosing substances to diminish stepping out of my integrity, angst, emotional pain. When covid hit and I was faced with the prospect of being alone with fewer distractions, I knew it was sink or swim for me. So I’m swimming in these quieter times, stronger than before.

Lesley-Anne: We often say we wish we had more time for certain things. Are you spending your time differently in view of our current world challenges? If so, how?

Chris: Mostly I do what I used to, only more of it. We’ve been graced with days of warm sun this spring on Vancouver Island. I hike daily, but have been exploring new areas, wandering for miles through forests, deactivated logging roads, pushing higher up ridges. By mid-afternoon I sometimes find a spot to hole up with a couple cans of Heineken, or my drum, with my dog, by a river, on a bluff, on a stump in a clear cut. It really doesn’t matter where — for the time I’m in nature, I don’t feel trapped.

Lesley-Anne: What is one surprising thing that happened today?

Chris: [I] Hiked down to a spot on the inlet this afternoon and sprawled against a log in the sun. The wind made whitecaps on the water and whooshed through the firs and I remembered what I’ve done since I was a child: felt the heat of the sun bite through my clothes, let the wind’s clamour dull the heaviness of my mind, and shut my eyes to a world that is sometimes too much for all my senses.

I hear you about the too much, and often feel that way myself. I can feel the peacefulness of these photos, and I encourage people to scroll leisurely and take in the simple and honest atmospheres you have encapsulated here.

May your back road journeys continue to take you wherever you most need to go.

Blessings and peace,
Lesley-Anne

NaPoMo poetry party.3

Sally Quon is joining us today from Kelowna, British Columbia. Sally is a writer, photographer (see the feature image above), and self professed dirt road diva. Sally’s essays and  accompanying photos at Featherstone Creative are insightful, and genuine. Welcome to our poetry party, Sally!

You can experience more of Sally’s creative work by following these links;

Instagram:  @sallyquon

Blog:  Featherstone Creative

These are unique times for us all, and perhaps even more so for those with the sensibilities and perceptions of a creative. So I’m wondering, Sally, if you might give us a window into how today looks for you by answering these three questions?

1. What is this quieter version of life teaching you?
Sally: There has been a lot of “white noise” in my life.  By eliminating that which isn’t necessary, I have more room to appreciate that which is.

2. We often say we wish we had more time for certain things. Having been given this gift of more time, what are you spending it on?

Sally: Examining my priorities.  Deciding what and with whom I want to invest my time.

3. What is one surprising thing that happened today?

Sally: I received an Honorable Mention for a short Creative Non-Fiction piece.

That’s a wonderful bit of good news…congratulations! Thank you again for being here today, and for sharing your lovely poem.

Blessings and peace,
Lesley-Anne

The Eyes of a Child

I close my eyes and picture
places I once was -
the streets where I grew up,
the steps behind the church,
the woodpile where I used to hide
my cigarettes.Are they still there?

Years between spaces,
sand-worn with age,
polished beyond recognition.
A glimmer, maybe,

like hope.
Like thinking somewhere out there
things are what they were.
Another child’s eyes
will widen to see
the mice in the shed,
the perfect nook in the crab apple tree,
the brook that used to flow
behind Charley Shipley’s house.

There was a game we used to play
--  hidden treasure.
My sister and I would hide things,
each for the other to find.
Silver coins and bangles
beads from our mother’s chest.

I wonder if we found it all?
Or if something was forgotten,
left waiting all these years?
Can you imagine,

just for a minute,

to be a child
discovering long-lost treasure?
A Spanish bracelet, or
that worn-out exercise book

filled with my lost poems.

 

 

NaPoMo poetry party.1

Back story

Yesterday a friend reached out to me and asked if I’d be willing to share some poetry on his lit blog. Rob said he’s planning to host a full month of guest poets on his long time blog in celebration of National Poetry Month 2020. Yes, I said. And as I looked at what poems I might send to Rob, I felt a tiny shift in me that felt a wee bit like I mattered again in the world (cue all the feelings). And then I began wondering how I might be part of a ripple effect within my own creative community.

Bringing us here: day one of our NaPoMo poetry party!

Please say hello to our first guest and my friend, Anne Linington. Anne and I met through Faithwriters, an online writing community in 2006, and have continued a virtual friendship every since. Anne is a lay minister (Reader) with the Church of England, and lives on the picturesque Isle of Wight. Anne reads her poetry at open mics, and leads a monthly poetry group at Carisbrooke Priory.

Before you share your poem Anne, I’d like to ask you 3 questions, questions I will be asking each one of our poetry party guests:

1. What is this quieter version of life teaching you?
Anne: The importance of structure for the day which will be useful as we head to retirement.

2. We often say we wish we had more time for certain things. Having been given this gift of more time, what are you spending it on?
Anne: Sharing more of my writing, not necessarily new material, but older articles and poetry.

3. What is one surprising thing that happened today?
Anne: I offered to share my seventeen years experience of “Contemplative prayer” with others via Facebook.

Thanks for starting us off so well, Anne, and for sharing your beautiful gift and heart.
Blessings,
Lesley-Anne

The Plough

How could I have known
When I opened the creaking gate
to the field of my life,
And invited you in
To do the necessary work,
That your activity would be so painful
And yet ultimately
Bring about a harvest?

Setting your plough
To dig down deep
To turn over
And break up
Almost touching the deep bedrock
Of my soul
Revealing me in all my created
Rawness.

Leaving me exposed
Rich pickings for hungry gulls
Whilst all that I had previously
Thought worthwhile
Is torn from its root
Dies
And is re-interred
In the soil
Of my life

Now I lie open and naked
As my neat furrows are
Rained upon
Reduced
Frozen
Broken down
Emptied of all former life
Waiting

Then one day
The returning sun of your love
Gently warming
O'er lengthening days
Begins my re-awakening

Precious seed is sown
In prepared ground
Watched over
Anticipated
And the Autumn pain
Brings life
And hope.

Anne Linington ©