Have recently spent two weeks in Bali. It provided some respite from our Australian winter and afforded me the opportunuty to read, write and relax. We spent 10 days in tranquil Sanur and four days in the more highly populated area near Seminyak.  Spending time in a new or different location never fails to stimulate my thinking around writing. This time in Bali was no exception. I had just started a new writer's notebook. This further heightened my writing urge. I was keen to capture ink and ideas.  Here is a sampling of some of the short verse that emerged across those hungry pages during our vacation in the island of the Gods. Sanur Haiku   Outrigger canoe Glides easily through the waves Painted hull shining.   Red kit dips and weaves Its plastic frame whirring loudly As it sky dances.   Tropical garden Lush growth of leaves and flowers Such fecundity.   The tide slinks away Revealing the rocky reef Marine life expos...

I am experiencing quite a productive writing time at present following a few slow writing days. Days where I felt I was pushing the words out and onto the page. The flow of words had diminished.   Part of the answer for my renewed writing energy may lie in starting a new notebook. I am always energized by the prospect of a new notebook. It is gleefully receiving my words across its unmarked, hungry pages.  It may also lie in the fact I have been reading lots of poetry. Poetry prompting me to think and consider form and idea. There has been much rehearsing of words in my head and lots of daily walking to clarify my thoughts and determine my preferred actions.  The extended Covid Lockdown has no doubt impacted my thoughts and responses of late. A range of heightened  and varied emotions have made my recent notebook entries range from more introspective pieces through to light hearted fun filled and frivolous entries. I recognize wordplay as a strong motivator for ...

It's Poetry Friday and this week I have been exploring Erasure Poetry. It is a poetry form similar to Black Out Poetry.  Erasure poetry is a form of found poetry created by erasing words from an existing text in prose or verse and framing the result on the page as a poem. The words can be arranged into lines and/or stanzas. Just like Black-out poetry, Erasure poetry require words to be removed, obscured or redacted. What is left becomes the basis of the poem. For me there exists a sense of joy in unearthing poetic words seemingly buried within a larger text. Some people see Erasure and Blackout poetry as the same thing. I am inclined to draw a distinction between them because in an Erasure poem the words are typically lifted out of situ and assembled on a different background. Erasure poems also allow some reorganization of the original line order.  So more writer's notebook experimentation... This time using the words of The Brother's Grimm to create Erasure Poetry.  My ...

  So, yesterday I spent my writing time in our small garden. It was the perfect morning for writing outdoors. Quiet, balmy air, sunshine, no traffic humming in the distance, no machine noise, solitude in the garden. I also took time to wander about and take photos. If my illustrating skills were better, maybe I could have indulged in some drawing as well. I had an idea... Maybe the photographs could spark some short little poetry pieces.  That way I could share with others, how the place we find ourselves located, can be quite an inspiration -if we sit still and observe closely. If we make a mindful effort to look around at what's in our immediate view. Ideas are all around us waiting to be discovered. ‘Sometimes the easiest way to start writing is not to try to think something up, but simply to write something down- and what better place to begin than with what’s is right in front of your eyes.’ Andy Griffiths, 'Once Upon A Slime' So, post...

I have been a traveling poet of late. Exploring three islands in the Mediterranean region. Almost six weeks devoted to discovering and gathering on the islands of Capri, Sicily and Salina (part of the Aeolian island group).  With my trusty writer's notebook and camera, I made sure I soaked up as much detail as I could during my time in these special places. Snippets and snapshots were eagerly collected and raw words captured for later polishing... Swimmers on the Malfa Beach, Salina Valley of the Temples, Agrigento,Sicily. Exploring Anacapri, Capri Scala dei Turchi, Realmonte, Sicily Cat in the Piazza, Erice, Sicily The mist covered streets of Erice Here are a few of  the many poems inspired by my time in these beautiful island settings. A Night For Numbers There were ten cats  purring in the piazza this evening Curled up  Small, furry clumps shielded by the shadows of the oleander trees Five Russian sailors sat in...