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Archives for 2020

Eye to Aye with Poetry

April 10, 2020 by Rae Stoltenkamp Leave a Comment

Recently
in my writing group we had a very interesting conversation about poetry and why
so many people feel they are unqualified to comment on it let alone attempt
writing it. Both myself and another very accomplished poet argued that poetry
should be for everyone and the reason so many people are put off is because
their introduction to it has been stultifying. We are made to feel that if we
don’t understand form, method, metre, then we’d best step aside and leave it
all to the professionals. But I believe we all intrinsically grasp poetry
because it is first and foremost about the sound of words. Us humans relish
rhythmic sounds. It’s why we listen to music, sing and dance. I stand by this
opinion as I have to teach children about poetry and am met by their fear of it
coupled with the idea it will be too difficult to understand.
In a
classroom full of resistance to poetry I start with just one word. Your basic,
everyday common noun. I ask them to list several objects: book, cheese, knife,
snake etc. Then I show them how very easy it is to turn this one word into an
image which we instantly recognise. At this point I ask them to choose a
favourite word and turn that into a picture. Even the child who considers
itself utterly uncreative is able to complete this exercise. Now I explain that
this is an Image Poem and since each of them has created one, they are now,
each and every one of them, bonafide poets.
By Flynn







Every
time I do this exercise I watch my classroom assistants look at me with
confusion. It must be a trick. It can’t be that simple. Yet I maintain it is.
For me, poetry starts with just one word. 















I remember once being told that a
poem is like a painting or drawing but instead of using colour and line, we use
words. I think poetry helps us understand the texture and flavour of a word.
Starting small is a beginning and we should always savour the good things in
the world.



By Jojo







One
word can then become three lines containing seventeen syllables and suddenly
your budding poet has created a haiku. The journey through poetry has begun. I
favour learning by doing. The more you do something, the more you hone the
skill. Muscle memory for the brain.





By Rachel







I
started writing poetry when I was about 12. The impetus was my English teacher
at the time – Miss Donalda Patrick who always wore her hair in Princess Leia
buns. She asked us to create an anthology of our favourite poems. Under each we
had to state why we had chosen that particular poem. 













I didn’t have the
vocabulary I currently possess to express how those poems made me feel. But this
was when I realised I relished certain words for their connotations and the way
they felt on my tongue and palate as I sounded them out loud. This was also
when I began to understand the value of the spoken word – how a poem read to
oneself took on a whole different timbre when read aloud by Miss Patrick. There
was none of those hideous pauses at the end of lines when they weren’t
warranted or the dum dee dum delivery I had been taught at primary school. It was
magic.

Of
course at the time my poetry rhymed. I was 12 years old. And surely, all poetry
rhymes when you’re that age. Now I write and care not a fig for convention. I
play with form, in so much as I understand of it. My knowledge is minuscule
compared to other poets I know. The main thing is that I write because I feel
the need to express myself and I write what is important to me. The rhythm of
it, the sound of it pleases me. Of course I look for validation. Who doesn’t?
But I don’t let my lack of knowledge stop me. I can learn all that stuff.
That’s what reference books, courses and the internet are for. Right?
Coming soon…

A collaborative poetry collection told from the point of view of the animals. Some of their views are not exactly pretty.

FREE books for you, your friends & family


Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Bev Cross, collaborative collection, English Teacher, Eye to Aye with poetry, metre, Poetry, Poetry & Me, rhyme, understanding poetry, Zoo Nation

Eye to Aye with Poetry

April 10, 2020 by Rae Stoltenkamp Leave a Comment

Recently in my writing group we had a very interesting conversation about poetry and why so many people feel they are unqualified to comment on it let alone attempt writing it. Both myself and another very accomplished poet argued that poetry should be for everyone and the reason so many people are put off is because their introduction to it has been stultifying. We are made to feel that if we don’t understand form, method, metre, then we’d best step aside and leave it all to the professionals. But I believe we all intrinsically grasp poetry because it is first and foremost about the sound of words. Us humans relish rhythmic sounds. It’s why we listen to music, sing and dance. I stand by this opinion as I have to teach children about poetry and am met by their fear of it coupled with the idea it will be too difficult to understand.
In a classroom full of resistance to poetry I start with just one word. Your basic, everyday common noun. I ask them to list several objects: book, cheese, knife, snake etc. Then I show them how very easy it is to turn this one word into an image which we instantly recognise. At this point I ask them to choose a favourite word and turn that into a picture. Even the child who considers itself utterly uncreative is able to complete this exercise. Now I explain that this is an Image Poem and since each of them has created one, they are now, each and every one of them, bonafide poets.
By Flynn




Every time I do this exercise I watch my classroom assistants look at me with confusion. It must be a trick. It can’t be that simple. Yet I maintain it is. For me, poetry starts with just one word. 







I remember once being told that a poem is like a painting or drawing but instead of using colour and line, we use words. I think poetry helps us understand the texture and flavour of a word. Starting small is a beginning and we should always savour the good things in the world.


By Jojo




One word can then become three lines containing seventeen syllables and suddenly your budding poet has created a haiku. The journey through poetry has begun. I favour learning by doing. The more you do something, the more you hone the skill. Muscle memory for the brain.



By Rachel




I started writing poetry when I was about 12. The impetus was my English teacher at the time – Miss Donalda Patrick who always wore her hair in Princess Leia buns. She asked us to create an anthology of our favourite poems. Under each we had to state why we had chosen that particular poem. 






I didn’t have the vocabulary I currently possess to express how those poems made me feel. But this was when I realised I relished certain words for their connotations and the way they felt on my tongue and palate as I sounded them out loud. This was also when I began to understand the value of the spoken word – how a poem read to oneself took on a whole different timbre when read aloud by Miss Patrick. There was none of those hideous pauses at the end of lines when they weren’t warranted or the dum dee dum delivery I had been taught at primary school. It was magic.

Of course at the time my poetry rhymed. I was 12 years old. And surely, all poetry rhymes when you’re that age. Now I write and care not a fig for convention. I play with form, in so much as I understand of it. My knowledge is minuscule compared to other poets I know. The main thing is that I write because I feel the need to express myself and I write what is important to me. The rhythm of it, the sound of it pleases me. Of course I look for validation. Who doesn’t? But I don’t let my lack of knowledge stop me. I can learn all that stuff. That’s what reference books, courses and the internet are for. Right?
Coming soon…

A collaborative poetry collection told from the point of view of the animals. Some of their views are not exactly pretty.

FREE books for you, your friends & family


Filed Under: Bev Cross, collaborative collection, English Teacher, Eye to Aye with poetry, metre, Poetry, Poetry & Me, rhyme, understanding poetry, Zoo Nation

Memoirs Launch

March 20, 2020 by Rae Stoltenkamp Leave a Comment

It is
my great pleasure to announce the launch of Memoirs of a Feline Familiar. I merely acted as amanuensis to Jinx Obsidian Bastet (aka Kastaspella’s
famous feline Familiar). In this memoir he tells us of the hardships a Familiar
has to deal with on a daily basis and spills the beans about the famous and infamous alike.

MAILING
LIST EXCLUSIVE OFFER

ON 22 MARCH the E-book will be completely FREE. Just follow the link below.

FREE E-book


Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Animal expose, Familiars, Fantasy, Free books, Jinx, Kastaspella, Memoirs of a Feline Familiar, Prelaunch

Memoirs Launch

March 20, 2020 by Rae Stoltenkamp Leave a Comment

It is my great pleasure to announce the launch of Memoirs of a Feline Familiar. I merely acted as amanuensis to Jinx Obsidian Bastet (aka Kastaspella’s famous feline Familiar). In this memoir he tells us of the hardships a Familiar has to deal with on a daily basis and spills the beans about the famous and infamous alike.

MAILING LIST EXCLUSIVE OFFER

ON 22 MARCH the E-book will be completely FREE. Just follow the link below.

FREE E-book


Filed Under: Animal expose, Familiars, Fantasy, Free books, Jinx, Kastaspella, Memoirs of a Feline Familiar, Prelaunch

Back Catalogue Secrets II

March 15, 2020 by Rae Stoltenkamp Leave a Comment

The
Main Characters

Brueberon
–
A very lonely over-sized dragon in need of a friend.

Clarissa Henry – An extreme reader who
dreams of worlds other than the one she lives in.

Kastaspella – A dastardly witch
who detests Clarissa and hopes to make her life even more miserable than it
already is.
A Book Is Born

My
intention was never to write a children’s book. Before I started working at
Inkhead I actively avoided little children quite simply because I was afraid of
them. Okay, terrified is more accurate a description. As a teacher I stuck with
teenagers. Despite their erratic qualities I related to them very well. Perhaps
I was still a teenager at heart.



Ultimately I assumed my writing would focus on
teen and adult themes. At the time I was already writing the first in my Sci Fi
series and was almost done with the final edit of my debut novel. So I was a
little stunned to find myself writing The
Lonely Dragon
. I’m even more surprised now to find myself producing a
sequel. And still more astounded to find myself sucked into writing the memoirs
of a character I considered to be minor. I of course mean Jinx, Kastaspella’s
cat and feline Familiar. Let’s just hope he doesn’t read this as he’d
be particularly miffed that I ever considered him minor. I can assure you, my
thinking on that score has been totally revised.
If you
ask where the idea for The Lonely Dragon
came from, I honestly don’t know. The book wrote itself. Bruberon was the
character most prominent in my thoughts. In my mind’s eye he was like the dragon
from The NeverEnding Story but
without the sophistication and assurance that dragon displayed.
Clarissa’s
character is probably most like my own as she spends a great deal of time
reading and daydreaming. The rest of the story is made up of my love of mixing
fact and fiction till the lines blur.



The front cover came about because I worked with a young artist, Anastasia Scudamore and a group of children she was teaching at the time. The aim was to show them that art can be used as the basis for an income. I provided extracts from the book and the children created the most marvellous paintings. The first edition cover featured every single drawing even though book cover designers were appalled. I very much wanted every child to know their work was appreciated. The new edition still uses a cropped image from one of those paintings.
To
celebrate the fact that Memoirs of a
Feline Familiar
(the spin-off inspired by a once supposedly minor character)
is due for release as soon as all the final edits are done, the e-book of The
Lonely Dragon
is available FREE until 20 March. 



Enjoy!



Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: #giveaway, Anastasia Scudamore, Back catalogue secrets, Free books, Jinx, Memoirs of a Feline Familiar, spin off, The Lonely Dragon, The Neverending Story

Back Catalogue Secrets II

March 15, 2020 by Rae Stoltenkamp Leave a Comment

The Main Characters

Brueberon – A very lonely over-sized dragon in need of a friend.
Clarissa Henry – An extreme reader who dreams of worlds other than the one she lives in.
Kastaspella – A dastardly witch who detests Clarissa and hopes to make her life even more miserable than it already is.
A Book Is Born

My intention was never to write a children’s book. Before I started working at Inkhead I actively avoided little children quite simply because I was afraid of them. Okay, terrified is more accurate a description. As a teacher I stuck with teenagers. Despite their erratic qualities I related to them very well. Perhaps I was still a teenager at heart.

Ultimately I assumed my writing would focus on teen and adult themes. At the time I was already writing the first in my Sci Fi series and was almost done with the final edit of my debut novel. So I was a little stunned to find myself writing The Lonely Dragon. I’m even more surprised now to find myself producing a sequel. And still more astounded to find myself sucked into writing the memoirs of a character I considered to be minor. I of course mean Jinx, Kastaspella’s cat and feline Familiar. Let’s just hope he doesn’t read this as he’d be particularly miffed that I ever considered him minor. I can assure you, my thinking on that score has been totally revised.
If you ask where the idea for The Lonely Dragoncame from, I honestly don’t know. The book wrote itself. Bruberon was the character most prominent in my thoughts. In my mind’s eye he was like the dragon from The NeverEnding Story but without the sophistication and assurance that dragon displayed.
Clarissa’s character is probably most like my own as she spends a great deal of time reading and daydreaming. The rest of the story is made up of my love of mixing fact and fiction till the lines blur.

The front cover came about because I worked with a young artist, Anastasia Scudamore and a group of children she was teaching at the time. The aim was to show them that art can be used as the basis for an income. I provided extracts from the book and the children created the most marvellous paintings. The first edition cover featured every single drawing even though book cover designers were appalled. I very much wanted every child to know their work was appreciated. The new edition still uses a cropped image from one of those paintings.
To celebrate the fact that Memoirs of a Feline Familiar (the spin-off inspired by a once supposedly minor character) is due for release as soon as all the final edits are done, the e-book of The Lonely Dragon is available FREE until 20 March. 

Enjoy!


Filed Under: #giveaway, Anastasia Scudamore, Back catalogue secrets, Free books, Jinx, Memoirs of a Feline Familiar, spin off, The Lonely Dragon, The Neverending Story

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