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Writer's pictureBurl Battersby

3rd Thursday Newsletter - Issue: 13


Date: February 17, 2022

Dear Reader,

Each month, as I think about what I will include in this newsletter, I take a mental inventory of my activities and my intentions and ask myself, what am I inspired to share that might inspire you, my readers? This month I have been focusing a lot of my energy toward poetry. I am not only reading a lot more poetry, from a much more diverse group of writers, but I am working on creating more of my own; I hope it can inspire you in this, the thirteenth issue, with a poetic update!

This year I plan to self-publish (likely using Ingram Spark) my next two books. The first, my novel Entrance to Hell, is currently in the revision phase after I received valuable feedback from Jenny Bartoy, Editor, from Laura Lee Bond, Author & Haikupreneur, and from other amazing early readers to whom I am grateful and indebted. Based on their insights, I plan to have the novel complete by the end of summer and published in time for Halloween.

My second book to be published in 2022 is currently a work in progress. “In a Past Life & Other Poems Sung by the Window” is a collection of poems which have come from an inflection point in my creative life, a break between the storm and the calm. My mind has been filled with powerful and emotional urges and I could do nothing except express them in the form of these poems. Unlike my first book of poetry, Corrected Poems, these are all recent and written specifically for this collection.

A wild dream I had when I first conceived “In a Past Life” was to write ninety-nine pages of poems to start with, and I am almost there. Not all will be included in the final book, but it is an interesting exercise in stretching myself out to expose my deepest self to the reader. I am also journaling as I create each poem, a form I loved reading with Laura Lee Bond’s collection of haiku and essays in The Love Around Us. Although I do not intend to include these journal essays in my book, they have helped me to frame the poems and connect them to that which inspired them. I am also finding the process of having many several poems in-the-works at the same time to be a new experience. I love the interplay that these works-in-progress have on each other as they are being formed on the page.

Stay tuned for these two books, and please reach out if you want to be an early reader of either!


Announcements

Mysteriously, the first in a trilogy by Laura Lee Bond, was released on February 3, and I highly recommend it! Each of the poems stands alone and speaks to the reader beyond the words on the page even as they are all woven into the overall theme of the book. I can’t wait for the second and third books to be released! (April & June).

We Need a Reckoning | Poetry, Essays, and Memoir by Tacoma-area Women of Color, has been featured in several readings, most recently on February 11 at Town Hall Seattle, part of their Arts & Culture Series. The panel discussion, moderated by Blue Cactus Press publisher Christina Vega, included contributors Krista Pérez, Katharine Threat, Lydia K. Valentine, and Jesi Hanley Vega. This is another book of poetry I highly recommend!



Lastly, to send you off in this late winter [northern hemisphere] day (and in recognition of February being Haiku Month), here is an original poem to savor:


Candy sun jumps out

From behind marshmallow clouds

& melts frosting skies


Until next month, happy reading (whatever you enjoy)!


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