One of the advantages of starting a blog post by choosing a photograph or two and then finding something to write that can go alongside, is that the whole issue of images is sorted.
If you start with the words, though, however vast your archive of photos, there may not be anything that fits and it’s not always easy to take a bespoke photo, even if you have an idea that would work.
Continue reading “image problems”
Last week, in the post Coast to Coast, I briefly mentioned transcreation. For those unfamiliar with the term, it’s a portmanteau word derived from translation and creation.
Translation is seldom easy and, depending on your definition of the word, translation of poetry may be considered impossible: should you focus on form or content? on sound, on patterns of metre or rhyme, or on meaning?
Continue reading “transcreation II”
They say that one of the best ways to actually ensure you carry out a commitment is to make it public, which is presumably why there is always so much fuss and discussion of New Year’s resolutions: the theory is that if you tell everyone you’re giving up drinking or going on a diet, etc., you’ll lose face if you fail to follow through.
Perhaps it’s true, too, that if you make your aspirations public and tell everyone how high you are aiming, they may be supportive and try and help you achieve your aims.
Continue reading “coming up empty”
Once again, I’ve been thinking of Dorothy Rose from the poem by Pauline Frances Camp.
For those who don’t know, Dorothy Rose was a little girl whose “turned-up nose” inspired her to adopt a positive attitude in life. (Read more about The Rhyme of Dorothy Rose, plus a lovely comment from one of PFC’s great grandchildren on the post Ever Upwards)
In general, I’m an optimist and agree that a positive attitude is a Good Thing. But, more and more, I realise that looking on the bright side isn’t really about looking upwards and overlooking the dirt and the nastiness of life. In fact, by ignoring the negative you can miss so many delightful things.
Continue reading “onwards and upwards – or downwards”
The snow may have gone, but I’m afraid my mind is still a blank and every faint idea leads to a dead end.
For those who didn’t read yesterday’s post, here’s a quick reminder that five of my books are available to download free from Amazon until Wednesday 20th. There are two poetry collections, a couple of books for writers, and a collection of essays written when I lived in Spain. They can all be found from my Amazon author’s page.
don't confuse the narrator 