POETRY & PUBLICATIONS

I have been totally immersed in the poetry world the past weekends.  Two weeks ago I went to the book launch for this poetry anthology "Sudden Thunder" which has 3 of my poems in it,  all thanks to Candice James who is the poet laureate of New Westminster BC.  She and her partner published this anthology.  It was quite a thrill to read from it, then sit and sign autographs with some of the other poets whose words were published in the book. 

Reading at Hyack Square, New Westminster BC

The following weekend I was invited to read poetry at Hyack Square in New Westminster for the annual Culture Crawl.  Again, this event was organized by Candice who has become my poet mentor.
This weekend I am one of the feature readers at Poetic Justice in NW and will read from the collection I am preparing for eventual publication,  "Songs for Erato" (Tragoudia yia Erato) - poems written in or about Greece.  Thanks to all this inspiration and encouragement I even wrote a new (long) poem for the collection this week, prompted by one line in a Yannis Ritsos poem.

Til now I've not taken my poetry that seriously although I've been writing it on occasions for some years.  I have the collection "Hymns for Gods and Heroes" which was a challenge by a Greek/American friend to write a collection with an Alexander theme some years ago. It was read with accompanying flute music with two voices, a long time ago at a writer's event in Burnaby.  And my old novel (which I am reviving now that Shadow is finished) has some chapters written in Bardic verse. (Amazing how I did that!)

So here I am - the poet who didn't know it!  And it's become a fun diversion while I prepare final edits on my novel.

Meanwhile, I am writing up a storm with travel stories and getting a lot of new ones published either in EuropeUpClose, two accepted by Off Beat Travel and two more for Senior Living in early 2012.  Also attempting to catch up with blogs and regain my readership here.  It's been a very productive summer!