Feature Picture Above: The beginning of “Tullawalla”, me and Kerri having a coffee at the Barnes & Noble bookstore in Bensalem, near Philadelphia, May 2019
“Tullawalla”, is now available online at Barnes & Noble .. via this link .. Tullawalla by Ivor Steven, Kerri Costello, Paperback | Barnes & Noble® (barnesandnoble.com)
G’day, I’m Ivor, formerly an Industrial Chemist, then a plumber, and now I write poetry. I’ve had many poems published, and recently I had my book “Tullawalla” published. I started writing about 20 years ago. Then, most of my works were kept private in my desk draws. My wife suffered from severe MS and I was her primary carer. Basically my writings were about her, and our trials and tribulations over the 30 years of her illness. Sadly Carole passed 9 years ago and I’ve gradually become more public with my poems and in June 2017 I decided to start a blog site, and I think 🤔 I’m finally getting the hang of it. I hope you enjoy my humble writings, and I live in Geelong, Australia.
Author’s Statement And Bio
During my younger years I was not a literary person, and I only started writing poetry Twenty years ago. I was originally educated as an Industrial Chemist, but then in my late twenties I undertook a Plumbing Apprenticeship with my father, who was sick at the time, and thus I helped him run his Plumbing Business. Life was going fine until I was in my early thirties, when my wife contracted severe MS, and then my life changed completely. I became a full-time carer, and a part-time plumber.
When I was forty-nine I suffered a semi-severe Stroke, and as well as associated physical difficulties, my reading, writing and speech were affected too. That’s when I took up writing poetry, to assist myself to therapeutically regain my damaged abilities, and as a self-help relief for my ongoing anxieties and depression. Throughout all this, I was still a carer for my wife, and she subsequently became the subject of most of my writings.
I’ve poems published in many anthologies, “Melpomene” (a literary anthology), Geelong Writer’s Annual Anthologies, and a range of other anthologies. I am represented in online magazines such as “The Drabble”, “Poetry Festival”, “Vita Brevis”, “Slasher Monster Magazine”, “Spillwords”, and “Free Verse Revolution”. Recently I had a poem published in an interesting Poetry Chapbook, “Sailing In The Wind”, the result of an Ekphrastic Writing Workshop, at Boom Gallery, here in Geelong, and my poem is called “Waiting Time”. I am a active member of Geelong Writers Inc, and in 2019 I was appointed to the online blog/magazine Go Dog Go Cafe (America).
At the end of 2018 and the beginning of 2019, I unfortunately had 2 more strokes, however I have been able to recover again, and proudly during 2020 and early 2021 I wrote a book from my poetry collection. The book “Tullawalla” has now been published and available online at Barnes and Noble Books
About Kerri: the Illustrator
Kerri Costello was born and raised in Philadelphia, PA. She was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy type 2 around the age of 2, but never let that slow her down or stop her from pursuing her dreams. At a young age, she discovered her love for the arts. In 2009, she graduated from Hussian School of Art where she majored in Graphic Design, but also studied Illustration.
Since then, she’s used her skills working independently for several different companies, including Forward View Consulting and Rosenau Beck Inc. Family is everything to her, which is why creating the illustrations in “Tullawalla” for her “Aussie Uncle Ivor’s” book, means the world. You can find more from Kerri on her Blog at https://kerricostello.wordpress.com
Ivor Steven (c) June 2021
