Don’t Ask
by isabelrogers
After years of writing and months of planning, I have a book!
Earlier this week I took an oil painting to be properly photographed for the cover. This painting is by Alan Slater, and has been hanging by my desk for a few years now. I met Alan through Twitter (we still haven’t met in person), fell for this painting and bought it. I’ve been losing myself in it when I write for so long now, I couldn’t think of any other image that would suit the cover of my book so well. Luckily, my publishers agreed. I think it’s beautiful. The original painting is square, so we lose a bit to the right, but this portion of it captures the sense of depth and calm I always feel when staring at it.
Forty-seven of my poems made it into this collection. Kelly Davio, my editor at Eyewear, sifted those out of nearly double that number that could have gone in, and I’ll be forever grateful for her steady eye and evaluation skills. She has organised them into four sections that bring disparate ideas into coherent themes, which makes the whole book easier to navigate as a reader.
There are some poems I love that missed the cut: they will either end up somewhere else or sulk. You know what poems are like. One long one about a chap in Paris having his head guillotined, investigating how long he remains conscious afterwards, didn’t make it in. One day I may write an entire collection about different deaths, but it just didn’t fit here. Some just weren’t good enough. Some were too much like others already in. There are some I wrote years ago and some from my current year as Hampshire Poet.
If you’d like to put Alan’s beautiful painting on your bookshelf and get some free poems stuck to the back of it, you can order it from Eyewear Publishing. It’s out in February.
I can’t wait to read this! Congratulations!
Thanks, Mark! Feels like we’ve come a long way from our first Live Canon show … 🙂
Huge congratulations, Isabel! Beautiful cover. I’m really looking forward to this 💐🍰🍾👏🏼
I can’t match your emojis xx
So excited for you – and so very proud OF you. A wonderful achievement and will order manymany copies xx
Hope you like what’s inside … NO PRESSURE
Wonderful post, Isabel, congratulations and love. And the painting on the front is beautiful
Thank you, Jo! I just hope my poems keep up the standard he set for the cover.
Beautiful book (and the first of many, of course)! I’m looking forward to reading this so much.
Thank you – hope you like it.
Isabel, I love your poem. And Alan’s art. Perfect XX
Thank you, Kay. Isn’t the painting beautiful?
I don’t know what to say, Isabel. Thank you so much for the kind words and for the link. I’m sure the contents will ensure that it’ll be a great success. Thanks also to people who have commented for their kind words about the painting. X
I think you can see how people are responding to your painting! I’m so glad my poems are behind it – thank you.
Congratulations!! I have a friend who is a published poet – yayy!! I promise to order but will need it signed 🙂 *v proud face* I’m sure there’s an emoji but I don’t know where… xxx
P.S. I know you don’t use Facebook but I have shared this on my timeline – hopefully my friends will find you…
Not a full blown resolution, just a wish, I want to read more new poetry this year and this looks an ideal place to start. Congratulations🎉