The Subversive Act of Writing on The Cosy Dragon

I think poets are great at breaking rules, I can't think of a single rule of poetry that hasn't been warped out of shape at some point. And I think that is because early poetry had so many rules poets were just dying to burst free. So generally I like to put rules back into poetry - and that's almost as genre busting as breaking out in ordinary prose...

But anyway, I thought this might be a fun article for people following this blog who are interested in the art of writing, or as encouragement for those who want to break out and try something new.

It starts:

"Originally this article was going to include the idea best covered by a quote attributed to Pablo Picasso “Good artists copy; great artists steal.” The subversive act of taking ideas from other sources and making them your own. But great writers are not only thieves, they tend to be rule breakers...

The rest of the article can be found on The Cosy Dragon here, or on the html link below :)

http://www.thecosydragon.com/2018/11/guest-post-aj-ponder-on-the-subversive-act-of-writing.html

I know this post is a bit late, so have a great weekend,
A.J. Ponder
P.S. The following is no longer upcoming - but we had the Riders of Fire book launch and it was a whole heap of fun. If you came along I hope you enjoyed it, too. :)

Riders of Fire Book Launch and Medieval Fun

Saturday, 17 November 2018 from 13:30-15:00
Vogeltown Bowling Club, 93 Mornington Road, Brooklyn

An Epic Quest

 While I've been out having an epic fantasy quest of my own (pictures below - including sword fighting!) , there's been a so much happening in the world of poetry, book releases and more.

While I've been distracted, Tim Jones has released his latest book New Sea Land available from Makaro Press and so has Keith Westwater, releasing No One Home: A Boyhood Memoir in Letters and Poems .  And that's not even including Bonsai : Best Small Stories From Aotearoa New Zealand,which has some great little stories and prose poems by a range of literary authors. It was fun to see so many familiar and new faces at the launch, I was almost sad not to have subbed, but authors have to choose their projects, and I choose fun. Take a look at the pictures of my launch of Quest and say I chose wrong!

It was lovely to see so many wonderful friends, fans and fellow writers at my book launch for Quest. It was epic, so thank you all, and here are some pictures from the launch. I'm looking forward to seeing even more authors next month when Eileen Mueller launches her book Ezaara, because it won't clash with the biggest NZSA event of the year (oops!)

Have fun,
A.J. Ponder

And if you like fantasy and having fun check out the article It's a World of Fantasy on Scoop or buy a copy of my book Quest, it's at a low opening price that is unlikely to be repeated so get one now - before checking out the last two pictures of the Company of the Dragons sword fighting during the launch of Quest. :) 

 (Available to buy on Rona Gallery, Children's Bookshop or Arty Bees, Wardini with personalised signed copies available from Rona Gallery if you ask. To find out more follow this link to "Quest" on my author website.

Love fantasy? An invitation to my Book Launch Event Sept 22 2018

An invitation to come to my book launch of Quest. Quest is a real celebration of the fantasy genre, so I decided the launch should be as well. With heaps of fun for all ages.

If you're on Facebook you might like to sign up to the event, or you can just come along, I'm looking forward to seeing everyone there.

A.J. Ponder 
PS if the blurb is hard to read  in the image...it's repeated below

If you like Terry Pratchett, The Princess Bride or Diana Wynne Jones' The Tough Guide to Fantasyland, you'll love the latest book by A.J. Ponder:

Sylvalla escapes Avondale castle and the life of a princess, in search of the adventure she’s always wanted.

Once found, adventure bites back.

Fortunately, she is not alone. Unfortunately, her new-found companions are less than heroic. Jonathan would rather make money. Dirk would rather live a long and happy life. And at 150, old Capro would rather stop gallivanting, and harangue unsuspecting wizard students about his glory days over a nice cup of tea.

Quest has everything: heroes, monsters, chases, escapes and a complete lack of true love.  To see more follow this link to my author website. 

Pre order your copy today because it's a great read, and a lot of fun from Wizard's Guide to Wellington author, A.J. Ponder. 

Call to Arms: by A.J. Ponder from Prophecy (The Sylvalla Chronicals)

When reality is cut asunder

And made anew

When the world cries out for Heroes

And Death awakens

When Evil slithers through

The cracks of Truth

Then comes a moment,

A call

Then comes a simple illusion that breaks its bonds

And becomes.

I was editing today and came across this old poem. Ironically, it was written as a chapter heading for my to be released book "Prophecy" (Yes, the book is a little bit cheesy. I like a good dollop of humour in my fiction!)

But still, it seemed apt.

The call has been made, either we are for human rights - or we are not.
Our reality is about to cut one way or the other -- into divisive hate, or a step forward to something better.

This is a time for heroes.
Who will they be?
Who will stand up for the rights of babes torn from their mother's arms?
Who will stand up for the oppressed?
What illusion is going to ne freed? One of hate? Or one of love?

Have a great week, people,
I truly hope we can make this world better.

A.J. Ponder

Find my stories and support my writing on ko-fi 

And tell me which poems you'd like to see in my upcoming poetry book—2024? https://ko-fi.com/ajponder

Discovering Science with tomato power! :)

Apologies for the lack of a poem this week, we're going into an election at the moment in NZ and it's seriously tense, will we have Green policies, or not? Will we have fiscally sensible policies, that come from a deep understanding of how poverty and homelessness are expensive? Or giveaways just to look good, but not actually fix the problem?

Who knows. But what I do know is our kids are amazing, and their future is worth fighting for. Also this is just a cute little review of my book The Frankie Files.

Now all I need are some of Einstein's wonderful quotes about creativity and the imagination.
We need that creativity and imagination more than ever so we can look at the world and imagine what might be. :)

A.J. Ponder

The Frankie Files is available wide and on Amazon (aff link) and on ko-fi as an ebook only.

 

Find my stories and support my writing on ko-fi    

And tell me which poems you'd like to see in my upcoming poetry book—2024

 

 

The Great Weta Robbery

Once again I have failed to meet the Tuesday deadline with a poem, I'm trying to keep up posting every week and get a new book out, but in the meantime, I'd like to link you to a book I co-wrote with Peter Friend, a few years ago now, called The Great Weta Robbery. It's a great little book published by Gilt Edge for early readers. There's an audio version at the above link, and even better for teachers, there's an educator's guide here.

The blurb: When your after-school job is looking after weta the size of cats, it'd be understandable if you thought that your life couldn't get any more exciting or dangerous. But there is a darker secret lurking in the laboratories of Krell Reserach and it's down to one boy – with his sidekicks Snapper, Fluffy, Five-Legs and the other mega-weta – to get to the bottom of it.

I hope you enjoy it (even though it's definitely not poetry!)
A.J. Ponder



Links (for people who like to see where their links are going)

The Great Weta Robbery Book and Audio Link
 https://www.giltedgepublishing.co.nz/products/the-great-weta-robbery-1

Educators Guide
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/54aabd1ee4b037e9bad286f6/t/58b4336459cc684cc88b9a63/1488204656597/Friend%2C+Peter+and+Alicia+Ponder.+THE+GREAT+WETA++ROBBERY.pdfteach

Tuesday Poem: The Downside to an Earthquake by Emanuel E Garcia

Hello, all my faithful followers!   Yes, I know was meant to be on sabbatical 'til the end of the month - but its worth breaking a sabbatical when a poem like this flies into your radar...
Also I should note, if you like this, you will almost certainly love The Upside to an Earthquake here on my blog.

The Downside to an Earthquake

 

The rumble begins

You wonder just how long it will go on

Before the walls start swaying and

A carelessly placed book falls off a shelf

For the life of you

You can’t remember whether you should

Hide under a table or head for the hills

So you’re stuck in your tracks

Shaking with the thought

That survival’s more important

Than, say, writing poems

Until you come back to your senses

When it stops

That is,

If you have any senses left

Emanuel E. Garcia

July 2013

emanuelegarcia@gmail.com

The rumble begins...

And with it a poem that feels real. 
Wellington has started and stopped quite a bit lately, as the middle of the country has been rocked by quakes.  And we have all discovered Geo Net, (somewhat after the Christchurch folk) so that in the moments after a quake we can quantify it, put it at rest, and return to our senses.

About the Author:

Emanuel E Garcia is an author and physician who resides in Eastbourne. His most recent book, "Twenty-Four Caprices for Violin," is a collection of whimsical, fantastic, poignant, macabre and capricious tales, each of which features the violin. Set in wide-ranging locations and milieux, from Vienna to Nashville, Florence to New York, Venice to New Zealand, they capture the bittersweet and ridiculous nature of human follies — romance, repression, vanity, fidelity, ugliness, adultery, mischief, mastery, innocence and betrayal, and is available here at http://mebooks.co.nz/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=485 for only $2.99.

I was treated to a number of these stories at a reading at Rona Gallery, and they really did all the things the blurb says.  Unexpectedly fun, given there wasn't a single spaceship. Not even a wizard— unless you count the multitalented Emanuel E. Garcia himself.

... and just a reminder the poem's sequel, The Upside to an Earthquake is here :) 

cheers,
A.J.

A.J. Ponder's books are available through Rona Gallery, Amazon, Paper Plus and good Wellington bookstores.

The very last "Not a Tuesday Poem" on Tuesday

ok so it's not a Tuesday Poem quite yet - but it was a lot of work and it's taking me a bit to start to get into the rhythmn of writing poetry every night all over again. 

Still, putting out a book was fun - and now everyone knows what Wellingtowne really looks like (and how it should be spelt ;) - thanks partly to the map below - and partly to all the great artists who submitted paintings for the art competition.

http://wizardsguide.wordpress.com/2013/02/15/the-opening/

The poems that caught my eye today were The First Farewell by Saradha Koirala, very natural but very moving account of a reunion, T Clear's Lament, Watermelon, by Michelle Elvy, and Black Chalk by James Brown. And I think for this last one it was the title that caught me - it makes you wonder what - exactly - has been hidden in the darkness. 

A.J.

A.J. Ponder's books are available through Rona Gallery, Amazon, Paper Plus and good Wellington bookstores.
 

The Final Happily Never After (Part 3)

 If you're not sure what this - or how how intrepid heroes could have got this far - then check out the first edition of Happily Never After, and Happily Never After part 2 or we could kick start everything with the short version - but where's the fun in that? 
   
The short version.   The Narrator is having a bad day.  He (or she) is angry the story-book characters are not behaving like they're supposed to.  They don't want to speak in rhyme and they certainly don't want to get married.  So the narrator's decided to conjure up a giant with the help of his magic book and get rid of these annoying characters once and for all...



And so with no further ado
The next section after part two:

NARRATOR turning page: Ahem. 

Since our heroes would not wed,

The giant came and killed them --

JACK: Stop right there.  We don't want to die.

RAPUNZEL: And marry?  Never.

RAPUNZEL runs to NARRATOR and turns the last page of the narrator's book.

RAPUNZEL: Jack and Rapunzel become famous pilots and live happily ever after.

JACK: But--

RAPUNZEL: And they never get married to anyone.

JACK: Yay. Let's go! 

JACK and RAPUNZEL run off stage.

GIANT (sniffing): But I'm still hungry -- and I can still smell the blood of an Englishman.

NARRATOR: How did you know I was English?

NARRATOR runs off stage followed by GIANT.

THE END

A.J. Ponder

And so the end of our epic tale, the boards are bare,  the heroes have gone home for dinner, and thanks to these people for the book cover.  It's perfect.  (After all, I believe the giant is still chasing that narrator!)

Don't forget to always climb beanstalks when the opportunity presents.  Sometimes there may be giants, but more often I think you'll find geese with golden eggs and other such novelties.  So go on, go, and search for your treasures  at this your local beanstalk.  (Otherwise known as The Tuesday Poem Hub.)
Or this beanstalk leading directly to the Portal of Fairytale Poetry. 

If anybody knows some I've forgotten, please message me (note, poems are in alphabetical order)

A.J.

A.J. Ponder's books are available through Rona Gallery, Amazon, Paper Plus and good Wellington bookstores.