Author: Peregrine Arc: An Author's Scratchwork

Writer and artist. Author of Memory Bound.
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Millennial Girl & Pricks of Mortality

Peregrine Arc: An Author's Scratchwork

“Since someone in your family had breast cancer before the age of 50, and you’re turning (jackhammer and car horns) soon, I’m going to have you start doing two mammograms a year–for the rest of your life! Does that sound good to you, you little dreamer?”*

Oh, the prick of mortality on this little millennial’s soul. I stumbled out to the waiting room to be checked out, got the phone number to schedule said mammograms, and walked out to my waiting car. The grim reaper chuckled evilly and opened the door for me to pass, doing a pretentious half bow in his gray tattered robe. I slugged him in the jaw with a solid right hook and broke his scythe over my knee. As far as I know, he’s still being patched up at an ER somewhere. The next time I see him, I’ll be carrying my Louisville slugger…

*Crack!*
“And he’s…out…of…here!”
*The crowd goes wild*

All drama and negativity aside, I’m all for medical preventive care–and will be gladly (and gratefully) following my doctor’s advice. It was the rude awakening of “Hey–you may get cancer one day, so lets try to nip that in the bud, shall we?” moment of dialogue that jarred me. What was I supposed to say to my doctor?

“Nah, you see–I like to play on the wild side. I was thinking of going to Vegas, putting everything on the poker table, and just going with the flow–letting it all hang, flip the peace sign and take up saying “groovy” every other sentence. Groovy?”

Bottom line: don’t miss your preventative care–whatever that means for your gender/body. To quote from Nike: JUST DO IT. You’ll be very glad you did.

And if you see a Millennial shaking at the mammogram waiting office, holding a stuffed grim reaper doll…carry on. She’ll be just fine.

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*There’s other factors than this that my doctor considered in her decision, but it’s private information, so please don’t leave any unsolicited medical advice in the comments. Honestly, don’t patronize women. A baseball bat can hit more than one target, after all.

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Free Virtual Writer’s Conference: “Find Your Readers” (July 24 – 27th)

Peregrine Arc: An Author's Scratchwork

I received an e-mail from a YouTuber Author I follow and wanted to pass along the following information for a free* Writer’s Conference starting this Saturday. I’ll be attending a few sessions myself.

Hope this is helpful and feel free to share with your fellow writing pals. Cheers!

To register/find out more, click here: https://summit.findyournextreader.com/?sc=BHj5NMKx&ac=EEtPBJEt

*There is an option for a paid reservation, which gives you unlimited access to the recorded sessions, I believe. Otherwise, there’s a free option which includes replays up to 24 hours. 🙂

book reviews

Poetry-Photo Book Review: “Sheep on the Somme” (WWI Australia)

Peregrine Arc: An Author's Scratchwork

Looking at war photos with poems being whispered to you by ghosts amongst the mud…

This is a book you take your time with, a companion you turn to to hear another one of their stories. It’s like sitting in a train car and hearing your companion, a stranger to you before this day, open a tome of history you’ve probably heard very little about. At least this American traveler knows little. You sit up a little straighter, feel the solemnity, and are handed this book.

You can flip open to any page of this almost four hundred page work and pick a photo that catches your eye; your companion then reads to you the accompanying poem, words that echo the realities of war and its hells. Stay awhile and listen–the book is solid and weighs on your lap as you page through the photos, the weight grounding you to the present. You hear a train whistle; a horse neighs and stamps its hoof. In the black and white photos, people greet us with smiles in new uniforms, quite proudly. Some pose solemnly, while others appear already wary or unsure. These people, these Australians, are being called by England (as the opening poems tell us) to stop their regular lives and come fight. So, they come.

Reading these poems is like looking at a scrapbook of history, hearing words travel back to you through time. You wanted a war? the soldiers seem to say. Well, here is your war. Here is what happens; here is what it does. What do you think of this now? We’re people, just like you–we had dreams and aspirations, too. We’re not so different, are we?

To embark on such a quest as this–a historical research project mixed with gentle but strong and unflinching poetry–is remarkable. Museums and archivists take note–sell this in your gift shops, preserve it in your archives. Professors, teachers–share with your students. Mr. Prem includes the sources where he obtained each photo (a feat in itself), and also provides an index with each poem. This would also make an excellent Christmas or birthday gift for those who appreciate history. A remarkable project, beautifully executed. Well done.

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To visit the author’s page, please visit here. If you care to browse more of the author’s works, more can be found on his bookshop page. You can either order a copy of the author’s works there, or search on Amazon. Cheers.