As usual, during our morning walkie, I take numerous photos, and sometimes the iPhone pic’s instantly inspires a visual idea and later helps prompt me to write about those thoughts … This afternoon I created two Haiku, and then I thought they would be suited to be coupled as one piece. So, here are my photos and the associated ‘Double Haiku’
Hello dear readers and followers … Party Time is here, with the announcement Date for the Launch of my second Book “Perceptions” … A Collaboration of Derrick Knight’s Photos and my associated Ekphrastic Poems …
And here ‘again’ is Ingrid Wilson’s fabulous Book Review of “Perceptions” Please visit her wonderful site >> https://experimentsinfiction.com/
Perceptions by Ivor Steven and Derrick Knight
Perceptions is a cross-continental collaboration from poet Ivor Steven (Australia) and photographer Derrick J. Knight (United Kingdom). Here are dragons, faeries, foals and swans captured in verse and image, which complement one another perfectly. The images are predominantly of nature, and perhaps reflect humanity’s struggle to find a place within the natural world, in the ruins of so-called ‘progress’, as evinced by Ivor’s poem, ‘Mankind’s Dirty Hands:’
within nature’s naked forest waiting for mankind’s dirty hands to stop the desert sands from ravaging the last strands of what remains hanging over our land
The poems are a mixture of haiku, senryu and longer poems featuring Ivor’s trademark end-rhymes:
All the world is green within my midday dream please, do not disturb me let me sleep, let me be – (from the poem, ‘There Will Be An Answer’)
Other contributors who deserve credit are Derrick’s wife, Jackie Knight, who has provided some excellent photography (I particularly like her images of birds) and of course, Ivor’s niece, Kerri Costello, who designed the cover, and linked the book to yet another continent (she lives in Philadelphia, USA).
The book (available from Lulu) is a fortuitous combination of verse and image. Despite his own advice to the contrary in the section ‘Do not quote me,’ I will end with what strikes me as a most pertinent quote from Ivor:
“A poet following a poet, gives you poetry in motion.”
It is a testament to the friendships formed on WordPress that these two artists have been able to collaborate successfully and bring this globe-spanning project to fruition!
Happy Reading, Ingrid Wilson
Editor & Publisher, Experiment in Fiction (England)
“As a poet, sometimes we confuse ourselves, Trying to create ashes, instead of fire ” — Leonard Cohen
On Weekly Prompts the Wednesday Challenge is the word: Wait. Please visit their fabulous site by clicking on >> Here My poem below is about ‘Waiting’ for the sunset.
Hello dear readers and followers, I now write for “Coffee House Writers” magazine on a fortnightly basis, and my poem “Cracks and Holes”, is in this week’s edition of Coffee House Writers Magazine. … please click on the link below and visit my poem, at Coffee House Writers. >> https://coffeehousewriters.com/cracks-and-holes/
This evening I celebrated “World Poetry Day” at a special event sponsored by Deakin University and Geelong Regional Library, which was held in the magnificent Geelong Library Building, featuring recitals from six exceptional poets, John Bartlett, Wendy Fleming, Rosemary Blake, Maria Takolander, Rachel Baxter, and Anne Elvey.
For World Poetry Day I am presenting a poem from my new book Perceptions – “A Soul’s Weary Retreat”, which I scanned directly from the book.
Video Below: Leonard Cohen reciting “A Thousand Kisses Deep”
Ivor.Plumber/Poet 