Category: Life/lifestyle

World Poetry Day, Friday 21st March


It’s not “World Poetry Day” until Friday 21st, but here in Geelong, the Geelong Library held a celebratory event tonight (Wed) … so appropriately, I thought I would repost a poem from my first book, Tullawalla, “Poetry in Motion”



Poetry in Motion

I was searching for words
Maybe the script’s lost in celluloid
I’ve a pile of empty poems
Frustratingly strewn
Here, there and everywhere
But I hear them whispering

“We’re not finished yet
Do not leave us for dead
Under this thick biblical heap
Please tend to your lost sheep”

The mound of poetry pages
Began chanting louder
And I was silently listening
To their distant preaching
But I’m not that proud
And I quickly lit the gunpowder







Ivor Steven (c) March 2025

Our Day at The Market

Our Creative Geelong Market Day was a very warm 33’C. However, we were comfortable enough, and with Frankie’s friendly demeanor and help we still managed to sell a fair few books.


Our bookstall, and Frankie overseeing the setting up …


The market’s Atrium area, and Jen Stevens with her creative pottery display


Adele and her fabulous hand-painted denim jackets …”Twilight” and “Ekphrastic” were inspired by her perusing my books at our previous market day.


A painting I purchased from our adjacent stall holder, Jen McElwee. And an embroidered card that she gifted me, with my poem “Dreams of the Heart” that she copied from my book “Tullawalla”


How the card appeared on the inside





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Until Eyes Hear Sound

Lulu Books >>  Until Eyes Hear Sound (lulu.com)





Perceptions:

Amazon >>  Perceptions : Steven, Ivor, Knight, Derrick: Amazon.com.au: Books
Lulu Books >>  Perceptions (lulu.com)





Tullawalla:

Amazon >> Tullawalla A Meeting Place Where My Empty Hands are Full of Memories and Rhymes : Steven, Ivor: Amazon.com.au: Books



OR: >> You may email me directly for a signed copy at
ivorrs20@gmail.com




Ivor Steven (c) March 2025

There’s No Exit! (a Tanka)

It’s another hot day here in Geelong, and after our early morning walk, we have been inside avoiding the heat haze. I’ve been writing, and Frankie has been snoozing. The heat haze seems to have sent my computer into a discombobulated maze!



There’s No Exit (a Tanka)

In a daze, I gaze
At my screen full of X-Rays
My mind is ablaze
Analyzing the next phrase
There’s no exit to this maze!







.


Until Eyes Hear Sound

Lulu Books >>  Until Eyes Hear Sound (lulu.com)





Perceptions:

Amazon >>  Perceptions : Steven, Ivor, Knight, Derrick: Amazon.com.au: Books
Lulu Books >>  Perceptions (lulu.com)




Tullawalla:

Amazon >> Tullawalla A Meeting Place Where My Empty Hands are Full of Memories and Rhymes : Steven, Ivor: Amazon.com.au: Books



OR: >> You may email me directly for a signed copy at
ivorrs20@gmail.com





Ivor Steven (c) March 2025

Is This The Time?, is in this week’s Coffee House Writers Magazine edition.

Hello, dear readers and followers. I write for Coffee House Writers magazine (USA) fortnightly, and my poem “Is This The Time” is in this week’s edition. …
To Read my poem, please click on the link below to visit the article, at Coffee House Writers Magazine.
>> https://coffeehousewriters.com/is-this-the-time/






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Until Eyes Hear Sound

Lulu Books >>  Until Eyes Hear Sound (lulu.com)




Perceptions:

Amazon >>  Perceptions : Steven, Ivor, Knight, Derrick: Amazon.com.au: Books
Lulu Books >>  Perceptions (lulu.com)





Tullawalla:

Amazon >> Tullawalla A Meeting Place Where My Empty Hands are Full of Memories and Rhymes : Steven, Ivor: Amazon.com.au: Books



OR: >> You may email me directly for a signed copy at
ivorrs20@gmail.com





Ivor Steven (c) February 2025

Illuminated (a Tanka)


On Thursday evening I attended the Lowercase Poetry Open Mic night, and after the event was finished I went down the road to check out the Creative Geelong “Third Space Gallery”, which I had not seen before at night. Wow, as the saying goes, “It was lit up like a Christmas tree” …





Illuminated (a Tanka)

The neon spotlights
illuminated my words
and the art display
in the “Third Space Gallery”
like a hit show on Broadway





Ivor Steven (c) February 2025

Throwback Friday, The Closing Chapter

Today’s Throwback Friday poem is from October 2022, and I wrote it to signify the announcement that “Tullawalla #31” was to be the final publication in my series of “Tullawalla” Booklets.
The poem appears in my book, Until Eyes Hear Sound, Chapter 8, page 120. 


The above Images are of my, bedroom bookshelves, loungeroom bookcase, and bedside table of books.




The Closing Chapter


After the first page was turned
The saga progressed slowly
Unopened books were lost
Unused words were found
New novels had to be read
The search for more
Went on, and on

Adventure volumes were added
Library expansion soared upwards
Higher than fiction could fly
Fluttering beyond
The ladder’s last rung
Where the quest for more
Was out of reach
And the tale of uncharted possibility
Remained the unfinished story
Of the final chapter









.


Until Eyes Hear Sound

Lulu Books >>  Until Eyes Hear Sound (lulu.com)





Perceptions:

Amazon >>  Perceptions : Steven, Ivor, Knight, Derrick: Amazon.com.au: Books
Lulu Books >>  Perceptions (lulu.com)




Tullawalla:

Amazon >> Tullawalla A Meeting Place Where My Empty Hands are Full of Memories and Rhymes : Steven, Ivor: Amazon.com.au: Books



OR: >> You may email me directly for a signed copy at
ivorrs20@gmail.com





Ivor Steven (c) February 2025

Celtica, Irish Dance Show

Celtica, a high-octane modern Irish Dance show, will tour the stages across Australia in 2024. It stars an elite troupe of dancers, including stars of Lord of the Dance and Celtic Illusion, and on Tuesday evening they were in Geelong. My friend, Barbara, and I were fortunate enough to be part of a ‘packed house’.



The ‘packed house’ theatre. Then Barbara and I with the singer and the lead dancers after the show.






And another music/video for something different …




Ivor Steven (c) October 2024

Sunday Afternoon





Sunday Afternoon

We are both exhausted
After Saturday’s strenuous market day
And today we are calmly unwinding
At the convivial Box Office Cafe
I am drafting this poem
And Frankie is quietly resting
The Sunday sun is warmly shining
But yesterday’s cold wind is still howling

We didn’t get to sleep
Until after midnight
And today, the relaxing ambience
Of our favourite destination
Is the place for some peaceful hibernation
Away from our poetry workstation












All Books. Now Available At:

Creative Geelong MAY’D Shop,
Shop 15/Centrepoint Arcade
132 Little Malop St, Geelong
TRADING HOURS
Thursday-Saturday
11am-3pm


Until Eyes Hear Sound

Lulu Books >>  Until Eyes Hear Sound (lulu.com)


Perceptions:

Amazon >>  Perceptions : Steven, Ivor, Knight, Derrick: Amazon.com.au: Books
Lulu Books >>  Perceptions (lulu.com)



Tullawalla:

Amazon >> Tullawalla A Meeting Place Where My Empty Hands are Full of Memories and Rhymes : Steven, Ivor: Amazon.com.au: Books



OR: >> You may email me directly for a signed copy at
ivorrs20@gmail.com





Ivor Steven (c) September 2024

Market Day






Market Day
 
 
 
The weather was not kind  
For our Makers Market Day 
The afternoon was wet with an icy wind 
Which naturally kept the crowd away  

I did not sell any books 
But again, my poem lucky Dip pot 
It was an intriguing and delightful success  
As all the envelopes contained my web address  
And I had some happy customers 
Who said they followed my website 
Their kind words have made my night




 









All Books. Now Available At:

Creative Geelong MAY’D Shop,
Shop 15/Centrepoint Arcade
132 Little Malop St, Geelong
TRADING HOURS
Thursday-Saturday
11am-3pm


Until Eyes Hear Sound

Lulu Books >>  Until Eyes Hear Sound (lulu.com)


Perceptions:

Amazon >>  Perceptions : Steven, Ivor, Knight, Derrick: Amazon.com.au: Books
Lulu Books >>  Perceptions (lulu.com)



Tullawalla:

Amazon >> Tullawalla A Meeting Place Where My Empty Hands are Full of Memories and Rhymes : Steven, Ivor: Amazon.com.au: Books



OR: >> You may email me directly for a signed copy at
ivorrs20@gmail.com





Ivor Steven (c) September 2024

An Unstable Fable


“Be a mirror, absorb everything around you, and still remain the same.”
– Leonardo da Vinci






An Unstable Fable



At times, imperceptibly and involuntarily
I appear to be vulnerable and disabled

I have lost my agility and movability
My inabilities could have been a liability
But I am capable and dependable
And over time, I have developed adaptability











All Books. Now Available At:

Creative Geelong MAY’D Shop,
Shop 15/Centrepoint Arcade
132 Little Malop St, Geelong
TRADING HOURS
Thursday-Saturday
11am-3pm



Until Eyes Hear Sound

Lulu Books >>  Until Eyes Hear Sound (lulu.com)



Perceptions:

Amazon >>  Perceptions : Steven, Ivor, Knight, Derrick: Amazon.com.au: Books
Lulu Books >>  Perceptions (lulu.com)



Tullawalla:

Amazon >> Tullawalla A Meeting Place Where My Empty Hands are Full of Memories and Rhymes : Steven, Ivor: Amazon.com.au: Books



OR: >> You may email me directly for a signed copy at
ivorrs20@gmail.com





Ivor Steven (c) August 2024