Hello, dear readers and followers. I contribute to Coffee House Writers magazine (USA) every second week, and I’m delighted to share that my latest poem,“Beyond My Outpost,” appears in the new issue. You can read it by following the link below. >> https://coffeehousewriters.com/beyond-my-outpost/
I’m delighted to share that the wonderful Ortensia has featured me in her February edition of “A Chat Among Bloggers.” It was a joy to sit down with her and talk about writing, life, and the little threads that weave our stories together. My warm thanks to her for the invitation and for the care she brings to this beautiful series.
Ortensia opened the interview with these kind words: “Good day everyone, it’s ST. Valentine’s weekend and I have the perfect guest for our February chat among bloggers: Ivor… I have been following dear Ivor for years, and he never fails to bring me joy and warmth with his verses so… Sit back, relax and enjoy the chat.” (Read the full interview on her site — link below)
Featured Image Above: Cover art by Kerri Costello — a guitar hidden in the island’s reflection, just as Barbara describes.
Featuring «Until Eyes Hear Sounds» by Ivor Steven
Over the weekend, I received a lovely surprise: LatinosUSA’s Poetry Bookshelf, curated by editor Meelosmom (Barbara), has featured my book Until Eyes Hear Sounds. I’m honoured by the care she took in presenting the poems, the themes, and the story behind the book. It’s always humbling to see my work through someone else’s eyes, and I’m grateful for the thoughtful attention this feature brings.
LatinosUSA’s Poetry Bookshelf, curated by editor Meelosmom (Barbara), has published a full feature on Until Eyes Hear Sounds. The article highlights the book’s imaginative structure, its thematic breadth, and the creative collaboration behind it.
The feature explores the symbolism of the cover design by Kerri Costello, noting how the island’s reflection forms the shape of a guitar with a little imagination. The book is presented as a journey through ten diverse chapters, each paired with one of Kerri’s drawings.
Barbara also reflects on the meaning of the title, suggesting it can be read as a metaphor, a poetic expression, or a state of deep inner focus. She writes that my poems do not claim to have the answers, but instead invite readers to think about the environment, existence, and our place in the universe.
The article includes three poems from the book — Bird on a Ladder, Time Strolls, and Flying Bricks of War — and closes with a short biography of my writing life and creative background.
To read the article at LatinosUSA, please click >> Here
My sincere thanks to Barbara for this beautifully presented feature. Your thoughtful reading of the poems and themes means a great deal to me, and I’m grateful for the care you’ve taken in sharing my work with your readers.
Tonight’s accompanying song is Enya’s “The Humming” — a gentle meditation on the rhythms beneath our everyday world.
Featured Image Above:A quiet stretch of the Moorabool, holding its breath in the summer heat.”
Nancy >> RDP Thursday: river – The Elephant’s Trunk Nancy’s haiku about winter’s thin ice stirred something in me this morning. Her quiet image of a fragile river set my thoughts drifting back home, where our waterways are thinning for a very different reason. Her words nudged me toward the dry, sunburnt world I’ve been watching all summer, and this poem arrived as my response
Wading in Dry Ice
Hardly a drop of rain Has fallen on our sunburnt plains Rivers are slimy drains No fields of grain Nor wading cranes Only dusty stains On the windowpanes
And again Dry ice runs through my veins While the windmill vanes Rotate in vain
“I’ve always felt this song holds the heartbeat of a parched Australian summer. It seemed the right companion for these words.”
A fallen flowering bush caught my eye on the way back from our morning walk — knocked flat by last night’s storm, yet still holding colour. The sight struck a familiar chord, and the words came quickly, shaped by that quiet recognition of what it means to be brought down and still not done.
Yet to be Found
I’m lying on the ground. The overnight storm knocked me down. I’m feeling flat and unsound; my flowers are turning brown. When will I be found?
Do they know, I need to be reset? I’m still bound to this mound – and I’m not dead yet!
Today’s Throwback Friday poem (originally written in July 2023) is drawn from my upcoming book, Time Hears No Sound. It appears as the first poem in the Senryu section of Chapter 10, Time’s Short Poems: Haiku, Tanka, etc. A small return to 2023, where shadows still had something to teach me.
Sadness (a Senryu)
Below the grayness Naked emotions stumble Between the shadows
For a soundtrack to this quiet ache, here’s Leonard Cohen’s Show Me the Place — a voice searching through the same shadows.”
Featured Image Above: Was created by Copilot and me.
A Blackbird’s Night
Not everything said understands the light within our heads.
On a Wolf Moon night, what I write, in black and white, is not always right – slumber darkens my sight.
I am no white knight, nor a feathery kite. And despite my comfy campsite,
the world’s warring blight incites me to always fight for what is right in black and white.
Footnote: I’m pleased to report that last week’s plumbing job was completed today. Even though I was tired and it was nearly dark, we still managed to go for our walkie …
Ivor.Plumber/Poet 