Poetry Update – Publication and Performance

This week has been busy but I’ve managed to do some work on my new poetry collection ready for its publication in the coming weeks.

I’ve had to solve some spacing issues in the kindle app and read the poems through again. Yesterday I wrote my acknowledgement and started on my introduction, which I’ll continue shortly.

I’ve had a few sales of my poetry books this month, which has been great. I had a lovely author post on social media about the collection I wrote under my pen name, saying how much she enjoyed it. It’s always such a boost! She left a review too.

The facebook algorithms are always a bit up and down but I’ve had some great responses to my grief poems recently. Some people have asked me to let me know when by book is released, which is lovely.

As well as preparing my book for publication, I’ve been preparing some of my poems for reading at this month’s Holy Moly Spoken Word poetry evening. I always look forward to this chance to connect with other poets and showcase my work. This week I’m reading two of my paranormal rhyming poems, a poem about the village I grew up in and a couple of emotive poems, including one from my new book. I also get to see what my fellow poets have to offer and always look forward to hearing their work.

I love writing poems related to wellbeing and I want to close out the post by sharing one with you.

Check in with you

Checking in is a kind thing to do
But never forget to check in with you
Find a quiet place to sit and reflect
No one will mind; no one will object
Think about how your day has gone
Is there anything you need to reflect upon?
Think about anything preying on your mind
Remember, remember to always be kind
Think things through, but do not dwell
Instead focus on those things that went well
Tell yourself that you’re doing great
Treat yourself like you’d treat your best mate.

Jen Elvy

Thank you for reading this and I’ll touch base again next week.

Jen xx

The bird spell – live at the Mole Hole

Running – live at the Mole Hole

Running – live at @moleholepub .
The poems I performed are
Summer Storm
Goblin’s Gesture
Goblin’s Gripes
Running
Covid dodging
My unicorn
Gatekeeper I and II

Dr A Blake Live at The Mole Hole 12.6.22

Last night I attending the Holy Moly spoken word event at The Mole Hole in Gravesend.

I was well practiced so I felt quite confident but did get a few last minute nerves. I’m getting used to it. It’s about the 6th or 7th time I’ve performed now.

Following in hubby’s footsteps – Dan Solo Music, master of open mics! – I have started daily practice and it’s really paying off!

A Celebration Poem

It was touch and go whether or not I would have a poem ready for this weekend, but an opportunity came on Saturday morning in the form of a celebration.

Some of you may remember me mentioning that my husband, Dan is a musician. Since he started to learn the guitar, he has been writing a blog to record his progress. He has been keeping count of his appearances at open mics and last night it was his 100th open mic, so the host and I saw the opportunity to mark the occasion by having a bit of a celebration. The host brought balloons, party poppers, noise makers, etc… and I, unbeknownst to Dan, invited some people down to watch him perform.

Things were going nicely leading up to the big event and I was feeling an overwhelming sense of pride because Dan had performed at a local festival on Thursday night and I was thinking about how far he has come. I decided that I needed to let these strong emotions out and add a little extra to the evening. I was going to write a poem and, if it was good enough, I was going to perform it for my husband.

The poem took shape quite quickly after the initial struggle over the first few lines. Actually, it was more the third and fourth lines as the opening lines came quite naturally. Then I got a little stuck but managed to overcome this, and from the lines “On the stage with your guitar, Entertaining the crowd…”  The process became easier and the ideas flowed nicely. Once finished, I sent it to the host, who I know has read my poetry before and shown appreciation. To my delight, she loved it.

 

Originally, from “I’ve never been so proud”, I went straight to “Now you have come to a milestone,” but I felt that I needed to add in a little extra. After mentioning his initial stage fright, I wanted to say how far he has come, hence the line “It comes so naturally to you now,” and I go on to say that it has always been there, which I really believe is true.  The performer in him was always there, he just needed confidence and experience to bring that side out of him. The following lines starting with “I love to come and watch you..” fit well here too, and indeed I do love to watch him and share his success.

It’s always nice when I can squeeze a couple of lines in between what is already written, without disturbing the flow of the poem.

Again, I sent the full poem to the host for a final check and received further encouragment (Thank you so much, Leya!) I just had to print it out now and hide it in my bag!

The evening went beautifully.  Dan loved the surprises and he performed beautifully.

I performed the poem for him, which was my first public performance of my poetry. It’s funny, I’ve been shy before about performing my poems but this is something I really wanted to do for my husband and so I didn’t think twice. It seemed to go down well and I hope I did him proud! Will I perform again? Maybe….

To close, I will say that I would advise anyone wanting learn an instrument, or indeed embark on any new interest or venture, to document their journey. If it hadn’t been for his detailed blogs, Dan wouldn’t have had a clue it was his 100th open mic and the opportunity to celebrate his success last night would not have materialised. So I invite you all, whatever your field, to record and share your journey.

I will also encourage you to check out Dan’s blog and read for yourself about his incredible journey!

Thanks for reading and also thank you so much to all who came along for Dan’s special evening and to the lovely Leya for all her efforts.

Jen xx

 

I will do a longer “In My Notebook section”  in my next blog post as I don’t want to take the focus away from last night’s events.