My goodness, what can 25 years do for a poetry collection? Quite a lot.
Should the sky not fall in, come September 2020, my book of poems When Eve Walked shall be released as print and ebook in all good online bookstores.
A poetry collection is like a bottle of wine that develops depth with time. Ever evolving. Well, it’s almost time to share the poetic vino, my friends!
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The story of When Eve Walked
When Eve Walked is a collection of poems about a young woman who is soul-searching for love, acceptance, and relevance. Along the way, she discovers herself and is transformed.
The poems are my lived experiences from when I was in my early 20s and convey feelings shared by women coming into their personal power. With this in mind, I developed a point of view named Eve, with whom the reader may identify.
The collection, therefore, became Eve’s observations as she walked through life. Though When Eve Walked is likely to resonate with women mostly, men are referenced throughout. They are stars to Eve’s moon. Or the thorn in her finger. Yet vital to her wisdom quest.
When Eve Walked grew out of my belief that women are to be celebrated. Powerful femininity is a force of harmony in our world. To realise our essential nature as the divine feminine, we must transcend our misconceptions of self – this is Eve’s story.
A poem about my mum won me a big prize at the age of eight (a family meal at a seafood restaurant!). As a girl, I journalled often. I studied English Literature and Art in high school and there, I fell in love with rhythm and symbolism.
Then, some 25 years ago when I was a political student, I began writing poetry at night. It was a time when I had many remarkable spiritual experiences. My memories are of sitting at the dining table alone, penning my sentiments into the wee hours.
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Playing with words and making sense of my life was something that challenged yet absorbed me. Like creating a tapestry and getting lost in the weaves. Developing a communion with my inner sanctum through creativity was deeply satisfying.
I wrote to heal the pain of living. Or to capture the beauty and wonder of living in a magical world. There was meaning to it. And a life of meaning matters to me most. I hoped. I gave up. I hoped again. I kept going. I met myself. Warts and all yet splendid and true.
Following university (and a lifetime of study!) I wrote a fiction (unpublished) that I titled Journey of the Ants. (We are the ants!) It was a goddess romp with Persephone as the heroine and Apollo as her opposing star.
I thought it was a masterpiece – but it wasn’t quite. Rather, it read like a meandering poem. I knew little about fiction writing and I thought my mere love for writing would get it published.
I then travelled to America to visit friends with a suitcase full of manuscripts hoping someone might see the magic and publish it. I was wrong.
On that trip, I wrote poetry in Chicago and New York. Then, continued to write a little more upon my return to Australia, before painting became my focus. These poems became my second (unpublished) book, Silver Shoes.
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Forward 20 years… in my early 40s I was diagnosed with Marfan syndrome, a chronic disease. This gave me the rocket fuel I needed to move on organising my poems into a collection for publication.
When Eve Walked, therefore, brings together, in celebration, womanhood, and spirituality. I have chosen my favourite lines, passages, and poems and created one spectacular finale!
The poems remain in their original form with a few minor exceptions. I have fussed over punctuation, spaces, and line breaks. It has been a grand effort. But this is for the love of words and self-discovery.
There are 72 poems in total (there were more but I culled) which are divided into three parts – Hidden, Rising, and Risen – 24 poems in each. These denote Eve’s transformation.
Finding herself amidst the questioning, introversion, and inner turbulence. Yet, allows herself to be in it all. Moving through it. Then, finally, knowing that she is enough.
Eve is enough. I am enough. You are enough. She is enough. That is the book’s conclusion. Eve starts off as a voyeur of life. And then she becomes present in her life. This is where the magic is!
