Tag: writing

Brief Humor & Check-Ins

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.

Brief Humor & Check-Ins

Dusty Corners & Humility (Humor)

Peregrine Arc: An Author's Scratchwork

I’ve been wandering around the dusty corners of life, keeping my corner of the universe as tidy as I can, re-adapting to the daily commute and being back in an office environment full of gaggling coworkers and a few non-gaggling ones as well. I was luckily able to work remotely during the pandemic, but now it’s all hands on deck, Delta variant be darned apparently. My colleagues are generally nice people, and a few I like more than others, but this introvert cannot handle gaggling-giggling-goggling nonsense for more than a few hours when working. Then it’s just time to break out Green Eggs & Ham, join the Ministry of Silly Walks and call it a day. I work better alone in my quiet writing room, in other words. But one can adapt. Eventually, I’ve heard.

I took a phone call at work the other day, week, month (what is time?). On the other end of the line was a very prestigious person. Like, sparkly titles, important looking framed papers with random Latin, shiny pieces of metal strung with ribbons that make your neck itch–that kind of thing. It was the first time I had spoke to said person, and I was helping them complete a project: “Do this, not that. No, that goes there; yes you’ve done it now. No, no you fool! Oh, it’s a disaster now; we’ll have to start over. Did wild hyenas raise you? Give it here…just turn off your monitor and go home.”

While I asked questions to help them, they confessed something that struck me: “I’m not sure about many things” the caller said with a jovial, laissez faire chuckle. If this had been a comedy sitcom, that’s where I would have turned in my dainty chair and did a perfectly timed disbelieving blink, staring aghast into the camera lens. Then the audience would have roared and applauded, and the sitcom would have moved on to another scene.

“That’s a cut, Mrs. Author. Well done! Now, we’ll rehearse the scene where they give you a project that’s due in less than twenty four hours. Short notice is always such a hoot!”

This being real life, I instead quickly recovered myself, grabbed the football and ran it down to the end zone, post haste. Then I tossed the football down and did a lively dance, remembered I hate football analogies, and hung up. We got the project done. Six points for us, and here’s the question for the extra field goal point:

Do any of us actually know what we’re doing? You kick and…we wait for the answer.