Hello dear readers and followers … Party Time is here, with the announcement Date for the Launch of my second Book “Perceptions” … A Collaboration of Derrick Knight’s Photos and my associated Ekphrastic Poems …
And here ‘again’ is Ingrid Wilson’s fabulous Book Review of “Perceptions” Please visit her wonderful site >> https://experimentsinfiction.com/
Perceptions by Ivor Steven and Derrick Knight
Perceptions is a cross-continental collaboration from poet Ivor Steven (Australia) and photographer Derrick J. Knight (United Kingdom). Here are dragons, faeries, foals and swans captured in verse and image, which complement one another perfectly. The images are predominantly of nature, and perhaps reflect humanity’s struggle to find a place within the natural world, in the ruins of so-called ‘progress’, as evinced by Ivor’s poem, ‘Mankind’s Dirty Hands:’
within nature’s naked forest
waiting for mankind’s dirty hands
to stop the desert sands
from ravaging the last strands
of what remains hanging over our land
The poems are a mixture of haiku, senryu and longer poems featuring Ivor’s trademark end-rhymes:
All the world is green
within my midday dream
please, do not disturb me
let me sleep, let me be – (from the poem, ‘There Will Be An Answer’)
Other contributors who deserve credit are Derrick’s wife, Jackie Knight, who has provided some excellent photography (I particularly like her images of birds) and of course, Ivor’s niece, Kerri Costello, who designed the cover, and linked the book to yet another continent (she lives in Philadelphia, USA).
The book (available from Lulu) is a fortuitous combination of verse and image. Despite his own advice to the contrary in the section ‘Do not quote me,’ I will end with what strikes me as a most pertinent quote from Ivor:
“A poet following a poet, gives you poetry in motion.”
It is a testament to the friendships formed on WordPress that these two artists have been able to collaborate successfully and bring this globe-spanning project to fruition!
Happy Reading,
Ingrid Wilson
Editor & Publisher, Experiment in Fiction (England)
“As a poet, sometimes we confuse ourselves, Trying to create ashes, instead of fire ” — Leonard Cohen
Tullawalla is Available From
Jaymah Press:https://www.jaymahpress.com.au/
Ivor Steven: email, ivorrs20@gmail.com
Amazon: search via, ‘Tullawalla by Ivor Steven’
AND
Perceptions is Now Available via:
Amazon: https://amzn.asia/d/4yFHWrT
Jaymah Press: https://www.jaymahpress.com.au/
OR: email me directly for a signed copy – ivorrs20@gmail.com
Ivor Steven (c) March 2023
Ivor.Plumber/Poet 