I downloaded this book last night! I read it in one sitting. I couldn’t put it down!
Lots of wonderful short stories about winter magic. It contains explanations for many Celtic terms, such as Yule, Solstice …, and the meaning of winter decorations we add to our house. And it has recipes! I can’t wait to try some of them.
And of course, being Colleen’s book it has to have poetry. Many beautiful poems in there, and the illustrations are lovely.
The poem below is an example of all the goodness you will find in this book.
Reading. I read two books at once, I mean, I’ve two books going on at the same time. One a paper book and the other a kindle book. I like to read the paper book during the daytime and the kindle during bedtime.
My two last reads were great! Both are about women carving their space during wartime. The paper book was The dictionary of lost words, you can see my little review here, and the other one, All the lights above us. The author is a fellow WordPress blogger MB Henry, and the story is about five women in Europe dealing with the horrors of WW2. It was interesting that the paper book story started years before the WW1, and when I wrote my post about it I didn’t have any idea that the story would reach wartime.
Both books are excellent. I’m glad I read them simultaneously, and the characters were strong women caring for their loved ones and for their own lives.
I’m happy to share with you that two of my poems have been published! I’ve never thought that one day my poetry would be good enough to be in a book. And it is almost unbelievable that they were published in a book that teaches how to write syllabic poetry!
The form of published poems is Haiga, Japanese syllabic poetry that combines a written Haiku or Senryu with an image. Both written form and image should stand independently, and they should be able to transmit emotion to the reader.
If you are following me on my blog or Instagram you already know that photography is my passion, a way to express my feelings in the same way I use words to scribble details of a moment. So, Haiga is an opportunity to combine my photography and poetry together in one piece of art.
Word Craft Prose & Poetry by Colleen M. Chesebro is an educational book for poetry lovers and writers. It’s loaded with information about the poetry forms, the history of them and wonderful examples to help you compose your own poems. It has awesome poems from a variety of poets, it is perfect to have it by the bedside at hand for some bedtime poetry, or as I do, I keep mine together with my journal to consult it when I want to try a new poetry form.
I’ve known Colleen’s work for many years through her poetry challenge, Tanka Tuesday. It was by joining her weekly challenge that I’ve learnt to appreciate syllabic poetry and to write them. Some of the forms are still a mystery to me, but I’m sure that with this guide book I’ll master them at no time.
It is awarding to have my poems sharing the same space with many talented poets in this book. T
I’d like to thank Colleen, for believing in my poetry and always encouraging me to keep up with the writing.
Here are my two original poems and the link for the blog post where they first appeared.
I’m reading The four agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. This book had been for months on my bedside table, but I was a little hesitant to start it. I do believe that the book finds you, not another way around! I knew I’d start it at the right time. Well, I did, and now I’m almost at the end. Not to be a spoiler, but the four agreements are:
Be impeccable with your word
Don’t take anything personally
Don’t make assumptions
Always do your best
The author goes deeper into each of these agreements and at the same time in a concise way, it’s like we are having a cuppa and he is an old friend.
“Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness and drama.”
one of my 100 day project cards
“Every human is an artist. The dream of your life is to make beautiful art.”
I have concluded I need to reset! I need to end a few things that aren’t working for me anymore, and to start others that are in limbo waiting for an opportunity to show up.
“You can have many great ideas in your head, but what makes the difference is the action. Without action upon an idea, there will be no manifestation, no results, and no reward”
Have you read this book? If so, I’d like to hear about it. Have a great week!
Such a great book! I love the way Jodi’s characters are created and molded by the circumstances. The way she started it, from the ending to the beginning, made my imagination wonder most of the time trying to understand the motive behind certain scenes.
Well, if you need a nice reading for the holidays, this one for sure is a great choice.
Noticing how a well-written book is able to take me inside the mind of other people.
Tea & Paper 