OMG 8 years writing, performing and creating on-chain and I'm still here, alive and (mostly) kicking 😂
But rather than writing a retrospective 'My History on Hive' type post, I thought I'd celebrate a more immediate milestone in my life...
The recent inclusion of one of my poems and one of my short stories in an anthology of fantasy writing.
Away with the Faeries
My works in this collection are inspired by mythology and magic, including a story of a new wizard caught in an alternative dimensions and a poem featuring Norse gods and goddesses.
This collection is a wide ranging body of work with one unifying theme; that of mystery and magic.
If you would like to order a copy you can do so here: https://amzn.eu/d/2ewKwev and enter a land of myths, magick and the mystical in this collection of poetry and short stories.
“Written by various authors from around the world, this is an eclectic tale that will leave you questioning reality!
Be whisked away to a world of witchcraft and wonder- fly among the dragons, flutter into fae circles, be drawn down deep into the depths with mermaids and selkie. Lark around with leprechauns and shapeshift with crows.
From Irish folklore to Chinese myth, the Nordic seas to Orion's belt, this is a magickal anthology of fantastickal proportion.
The words within this book will transport you to a multitude of places even your dreams can't dream!”
Source: Away with the Faeries Description from Amazon
I have written and self-published over 200 poems and over 85 short stories here on hive.
I hope you will join me in celebrating this milestone of having works accepted into a peer-reviewed anthology.
I am duly proud of what I have produced on Hive, and spent many hours editing each creative work that I have published here, but it is true that a writers' CV is looked at differently once work has been accepted by an editor into a collection.
This acceptance shows proof that your work fulfils another professional's view of what should be considered 'publishable' material.
As a special treat to my Hive readers, I will include below a Youtube author's reading of my poem, The Space Between Worlds, that is published in the anthology 'Away with the Faeries'.
The Space Between Worlds is a Ghazal, which is an ancient form of Arabic poetry.
Its most well-known proponent is the Persian poet and Sufi master Rumi who was born in 1207. Rumi's Ghazal, and his poetry in general are amazing and encapsulate the mysticism of both divine and human love perfectly.
The Ghazal as a form is expressed by in line rhymes and a repeated refrain at the end of each two (couplet) or three (tercet) line stanza. I decided to use a three line stanza, otherwise known as a tercet.
This gives the poet more space to breath, and as I've deviated a little from form this was essential. Ghazal are traditionally made up of a sequence of independent stanza, which can all sit on their own as mini poems.
As I wanted to tell a story and build a narrative this was difficult. I feel like I may have achieved independence for most of the tercet but one or two run on from each other to build a story within the structure of the poem. I did stick rigidly to the form in regards to the third line refrain which should be of one to three words that repeat, in this case branches of heaven.
Historically poetry is a spoken format, and is often more effective when performed by the writer. I especially wanted to perform this poem given that Norse mythology lies at its heart and to honour the Skald's (Norse poets) oral tradition.
If you would like to discover more worlds of wonder from this anthology, and further support me and a small independent press, please do consider purchasing Away with the Faeries Anthology from Amazon on the link below.
https://amzn.eu/d/2ewKwev
Thanks for reading 🙂🌿
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