It's a strange life being a poet. It's not something I can talk about in general conversation, like gardening, or a day at the office, or the difficulty of researching information towards a novel. The closest analogy I can find, is that it's a bit like cooking. Only you can create the outcome. You can feel and see what you want the end result to be, in your head, but having to keep on tasting, adjusting the ingredients, getting the balance right and you'd hope to have something to show for your efforts by the end of the day to be appreciated by your guests. Also, with cooking, your creating is being transferred directly into the movement of your hands. Creating a book is all done in the head, the writing down of it is incidental and may be days or even months later months later.A novel is telling one continuous story, with various twists and turns along the way.
A book of poems is a collection of separate stories, stories in miniature. Both types of book can take years to write. Go to facebook.com/Lois-E-Hunter for my poetry page.
My previous book, "When We Were Old," was about going through the process of accepting retirement. MEANDERINGS carries on from there; the poet being out and about questioning where to go now in these last chapters of life.
And you never know whether all those years of living in your head was worth it. I am delighted that MEANDERINGS has been selling so well. Here are some excerpts taken from the reviews posted on Amazon.com
Roger
Horrocks: “…poems which are clear, colourful and emotionally rich, with a
distinctive feel for language… allowing us to share the experiences and
landscapes of her life (‘I know the sounds of each place / I know the smell of
it’).”
Diana Holt: “…Each one [poem] stirs the mind and you feel you are part of these events
which brings up your own memories of maybe similar times and places. Maybe, you
think " I should slow down and see the beauties of nature right before my
eyes"”
Vicki: “ My husband was very
impressed, he said it was the first poetry book he found easy to read and he is
now working his way through the book”
Diane Gray: “..A great read. Our
favourites goodbye Colin and the lessons of three.”
Anita: “… A quiet and
thoughtful meander with a gentle soul”
MEANDERINGS is available as a hardback and paperback from Barnes and Noble. Hardback and paperback from Xlibris.co.nz . Hardback, paperback and Kindle from amazon.com
And for Aucklanders, the paperback of MEANDERINGS is available from Matakana Village Bookshop.
All the copies I had and was offering at a special discounted price have been sold, except for one - and seeing sales have gone so well, let's give it away FREE. Send me an email by close off date, 3rd July and I'll put you in the draw to win it. No, I won't pass on your email address to anyone else.
My email is: lois.e.hunter2@gmail.com
UPDATE: 30th June. For Kookaburra members. I have more copies arriving at the end of next week. If you wish for a copy then please contact me at the above email. Many thanks for the recent enquiries.
