One of my dear friends who wishes to remain anonymous loved the book so much that she read a poem for you. The poem is splendid, her reading is splendid, and I am not saying this lightly. I hope you enjoy.
time and laundry
in grandma’s attic she would hang the wash to dry in winter
midst the whispered wisdoms earned through loneliness the creases in her hands earned from time and laundry
humming sweet songs soft to herself awash in apricity
she found peace dancing cheek to cheek with grandpa’s ghost
midst the pale sunlight and dappled dust motes who still remembered the continuity of love
At the hour that I write Echoes Lost in Stars by PS Conway is #1 Amazon Top New Release [nature poetry]. Patrick you are now a #1 bestseller poet. Congratulations! Literary Revelations is thrilled to add your book to our collection of # 1 bestsellers. Thank you to everyone who helped us!
Amazon Description:
“Echoes Lost in Stars” by PS Conway is not just another poetry book; it is a fabulous experience that transports the readers to realms where words transcend their mere definitions. It is an exploration of the universe, a celebration of love, an immersion into nature’s wonders where philosophical, mystical and biblical concepts, and our eternal connection to them take new forms. This exceptional collection of poems weaves together all these elements to create a stunning journey to self-discovery.
I am thrilled to let you know that Echoes Lost in Stars by PS Conway is now available on Amazon. It’s a fabulous poetry collection and LR is proud to be its publisher. My deepest thanks to everyone who supports us and Happy St. Patrick Day to everyone who celebrates.
Amazon description
““Echoes Lost in Stars” by PS Conway is not just another poetry book; it is a fabulous experience that transports the readers to realms where words transcend their mere definitions. It is an exploration of the universe, a celebration of love, an immersion into nature’s wonders where philosophical, mystical and biblical concepts, and our eternal connection to them take new forms. This exceptional collection of poems weaves together all these elements to create a stunning journey to self-discovery.”
Literary Revelations wishes you a great Sunday and a wonderful week ahead. We are thrilled to present you with two fabulous poems by Michael Shoemaker. We hope you enjoy them.
Bio
Michael Shoemaker is a poet, photographer and writer from Magna, Utah. He is the author of a poetry/photography collection Rocky Mountain Reflections (Poets’ Choice) and the forthcoming Grasshoppers in the Field. Michael is a winner of the California State Poetry Society Prize and is on the shortlist for The Letter Review Prize for Poetry. His writing has appeared in Blue Lake Review, Literary Revelations Journal, The High Window, Seashores Haiku Journal, The Penwood Review and in anthologies at Poetry Pacific and Echoes of the Wild. Michael has been awarded artist residencies at the Wollf Cottage in Fairhope, Alabama and the Writer’s Cabin at Camp Tilikum in Newburg, Oregon. Michael is an editor at The Clayjar Review. He lives with his family where he can enjoy looking out on the Great Salt Lake every day. His hobbies include tennis, pickleball, golf and hiking.
Where I Belong
Latitudes north draw me where my destination will be a place where I can lean back in a camp chair and breathe in the harmonious smell of deciduousness the red maple, white pine and sweet birch and know from the heaven’s vaults and spires down to the center of my core in this late lazy afternoon daydream that I belong in thy enraptured arms sheltered, courageous, warm, bold and free for today and tomorrow until time’s last dangling moment of eternity
photo by Michael Shoemaker
From a Borrowed Garden Terrace
vermilion violet ethereal fragrance tumbles from high trellises over
the
wall
into a pool casting shimmering radiant resplendence revolving kaleidoscope reflections dancing and darting slivers of sunlight mid water lilies completed in virtuoso silence
Do no forget: On March 17, 2024 Literary Revelations will publish a fabulous poetry book – Echoes Lost in Stars by PS Conway.
Dawn Pisturino is a retired nurse whose publishing credits include poems, short stories, and articles. Her poetry has appeared in several anthologies, most recently in Hidden in Childhood: A Poetry Anthology (Literary Revelations) and Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women (EIF).
Jigsaw
The song on the radio Broke her heart all over again, And when she swept up the pieces And dumped them in the trash, She felt like she had thrown away A part of herself. She rummaged through the garbage, Trying to gather all the bits, But she could not manage To retrieve them all. They fit together like a jigsaw puzzle With gaping spaces in between That reminded her of what she had lost. She turned on the radio And sat for hours, Listening for that song. She never heard it.
My Secret Love
When you called again, I listened breathlessly On the phone For words that never came. Not a sigh escaped your lips Or a faint rustling on the line. Not even a dirty word Or heavy breathing. Just silence. Pure and simple. And sweet. I felt your heart reach out to me With shy longing. Is this you? I said quietly. You hung up the phone.
Do no forget: On March 17, 2024 Literary Revelations will publish a fabulous poetry book – Echoes Lost in Stars by PS Conway.
We are thrilled to bring you several wonderful praises for Echoes Lost in Stars by PS Conway and the full cover reveal. We will publish this fabulous poetry book on March 17. Please stay tuned for more news.
PS Conway’s Echoes Lost in Stars is a wonderful four-part volume of poems that will delight both poetry aficionados and newcomers alike. It’s all there – life and death, love and loss, joy and sorrow. He balances radiant colours with hazy shadows – light and darkness (yes, one needs to understand the two in equal measure.). We get a mixture of the temporal and the Devine, the ancient and modern. There are rich descriptions of the natural world, whether that be outside your kitchen window or by “fields of heather ‘long the sea” or somewhere “on the Amalfi coast”. Our poet is worldly and cultured (yes, he does love his Yeats!) His “poet’s mind” conjures up all sorts of thoughts to provoke, to inspire and to savour. He tempts a reader to sit back and just “fade into words”. “[F]eed yourself” on this and enjoy!
Dr. F. Stuart Ross PhD, Queen’s University Belfast
Every poem PS Conway writes is gorgeous. From the first time I read his poems on social media to having an early glance at his long-awaited poetry collection, I was and am always in awe of his talent. Echoes Lost in Stars will become a perennial favorite where we go to gush over his words, over and over again.
Yong Takahashi Author of Observations Through Yellow Glasses and Co-Management Editor of The Fictional Café
PS Conway’s “Echoes Lost in Stars” celebrates both the light and dark aspects within the journey of life. Conway uses vivid imagery and metaphors to convey complex emotions in a concise manner. He explores nature, love, death and everyday life while blending in his Irish heritage. My favorite poems in this book include: “Headstrong”, “Whiskey”, “Born Anew”, and “Invisible Things”. This is a must read for anyone who loves poetry.
Ravo Root III Ed.D. Superintendent of Camden N.Y. Central School District
As the title alludes, PS Conway’s classically-styled and timeless work has echoes of some of the brightest stars to have shone in the firmament of great poets, yet his poetic voice remains unique, compelling and contemporary in its technique and tone. I urge you to lose yourself amongst his constellation of poems for there is glittering treasure to be found in this stellar collection.
Tom Pennacchini is a flaneur living in NYC. Has had pieces published at The Free Poet, Mojave Heart Review, Jalmurra, The Scarlet Leaf, Poems for All, Free Lit Magazine, Backchannels, Loud Coffee Press, Mason Street Journal, Portsmouth Poetry, the Fictional Cafe KGB Lit Journal and the upcoming issues of Synchronized Chaos, NYPL Library Zine and Spillwords.
A good clean break
realities routine’s are a stone crusher all of it the jobs the relationships the striving the failing the achievements (I’m guessing) and more begets more all the do’s of you have to do you can get tired beyond exhaustion tired of your self your thoughts (if you are inclined to that sort of thing) and relief is much needed some quiet a long walk to the middle of nowhere some surcease the compassion of a dog’s eyes
it can sometimes does
I am looking out the window with my classical on as I ponder the rigmaroles of existence discussing such with the most fascinating person I know.
Every time I feel I’ve made a valid point or observation during my ongoing convo I like to whip off my glasses to add further emphasis
while highlighting a point that’s been made salient and to add further punctuating resonance landing on a note redolent of conversational flair. For example as I gaze out
I reflect to myself on the virtues of eschewing the virtual for the sake and embracement of tactility and doing the sharp clean whip on eschew.
When I revelate that the only thing remaining is to become a saint there is a slow whipping on become. Like that.
Happenstance can work well and good sometimes.
Oh sweet exquisiteness, as I lovingly prepare an afternoon aperitif and just now at the ready of the first gentle sip (lord how I love my ceremonies!) the radio crows out “heroes” – Ah yes, aglow and a flow, I duly proceed to an illuminated bask.
The heart of the matter resides in the entire lonesomeness of the venture, and so dream, a much needed break from the prosaic, makes fantasy a much vaunted ally. So it goes, the garden of eden and myself with menagerie of profound friendships and equipped with a fleet of canines are baying in unison at the rising moon each eve over the waters.
I think of a bovine at dusk by the side of a country road, looming and ruminating. Life can be so wonderful! And indeed the cat never ceases to contribute the phenomenal
and to provide blessed insight into all things seriously absurd, a well rounded tutorial in surrealist burlesque, It welcomes and relieves one from the strangulating confinements of love and isolation, providing a delightfully futile longing
for unencumbered innocence and a bit of air.
So it goes, the gallivanting ambition is to string two good days in a row together.
But for now, synchronicity dovetails to a tee and a thickening of well and good in the here/now of slow nothing.
Do no forget: On March 17, 2024 Literary Revelations will publish a fabulous poetry book – Echoes Lost in Stars by PS Conway.
Literary Revelations is thrilled to bring you an interview with our talented and most beloved Hikari. I hope you enjoy it.
featured image: Hikari
Gabriela Marie Milton: What inspired you to become a painter, and specifically, what drew you to the art of painting?
Hikari: First, I’m very grateful for such a wonderful opportunity. I am honored to be interviewed by Literary Revelations.
I started drawing before I had the sense of consciousness, so I don’t remember what inspired me to start drawing. I lived in France from my childhood until I was 15 years old, due to my father’s work. My parents sent me to a painting classroom in Paris after school. The painting classroom was a place where both children and adults drew together on the same theme. I was taught various painting techniques such as watercolor, oil painting, and ink painting.
After returning to Japan, I have not attended any painting classes. All the basics of my drawings were cultivated in a painting classroom in Paris.
My parents loved history and art, and during the holidays, they took me and my younger brother to visit many museums and archeological sites.
Although it was boring at times, it was a valuable experience to see the great art and history of Europe with my own eyes. It was something beautiful which is difficult to express in words. I am grateful to my parents for giving me such an opportunity.
However, I will never forget the impact on me when I visited a Japanese Ukiyo-e exhibition held in Paris. I was a junior high school student. While European art was a part of my daily life, the “traditional art of Japan” that I encountered strengthened my admiration for my homeland, Japan.
I wanted to not only see this kind of traditional Japanese art, but also to painted it myself. This became the starting point for my current depiction of Japanese traditions.
Gabriela Marie Milton: Could you describe your painting style and how it reflects your artistic vision?
Hikari: My painting style is based on the theme of “strong, dignified women who stand up against the injustices in our society. Although it depicts women, my painting style is not a “beauty painting (Bijin-Ga).” Of course, “beaty painting (Bijin-Ga)” is a fine genre of art. However, the reason I created the theme of “strong, dignified women who stand up against the injustices in our society” rather than “beauty painting (Bijin-Ga)” is because I would like to live strongly and proudly in this difficult time. No matter how difficult our society is to live in, I can’t run away from it. We must “create our own place” and live better lives.
I believe that if we do our best, we will bulid the foundation of a society where the next generation can live in a more comfortable and just ways. For the boys and girls of the future the paintings I draw have also an underlying message, “Be strong, and Be dignified.”
Although there are many artists who depict women in KIMONOs, the paintings I draw are not of KIMONOs, but of women wearing “NohGaku Costumes” and dancing powerfully on the mysterious NohGaku stage.
“NohGaku” is the oldest theatrical art in Japan. Its origin go back to 14th century.
“Japanese Danse (Nihon Buyo)” is one of the traditional arts performed in KIMONOs. In Japanese dance, dancers perform light dances “for the customers” by moving their wrists flexibly and using fans.
On the other hand, “NohGaku” is a “dance dedicated to the gods(nature).” The dancers hold the fan forcefully, keep their center of gravity below the abdomen, and keep their feet firmly planted on the ground. The main difference from Japanese dance is that a prayer is sang.
I continue to practice NohGaku, and since discovering NohGaku, I have been able to image myself as “a strong, dignified woman who stands up to society.” For this reason, I hope that by drawing paintings centered around NohGaku dance patterns, I am able to encourage myself and other people who are struggling to survive in a difficult society.
The photo below is of me practicing NohGaku.
Gabriela Marie Milton: What themes or subjects do you typically explore in your paintings?
Hikari: I would like to connect with society and explore themes that appeal to society, rather than immersing myself in self-satisfied paintings that are detached from reality.
I believe it is very important to bring together ideas and create works “together” with artists from various fields, such as photography, poetry, and writing.
Through these collaborations, I build connections with many artists, and I am able to convey complex emotions and gain the sympathy of many.
Gabriela Marie Milton: How do you see your work evolving in the future? Are there any new directions or experiments you’d like to explore?
Hikari: I don’t know how my work will evolve in the future. This is because, although I graduated from the Faculty of Education at a national university in Tokyo, I currently work as a certified public accountant. Therefore, a characteristic of my life is that it is not very consistent, and to be honest, I cannot imagine what direction my art will take in the future.
I was living a life centered around my work as a certified public accountant, and when I started posting my paintings and tanka on social media, I’ve never expected it to become an opportunity for me to receive various inspirations from great poets and writers from all over the world.
Literary Revelations Publishing House taught me that life is truly a place where wonderful things can suddenly happen.
I am trying to live every day to the fullest. I do it now and I hope to do it in the future.
Then, there are two things I want to explore.
One thing is art. I have not studied professionally the theory or history of art, so to have a proper background in the field of art, I am thinking to go to a graduate school specialized in art that I can attend while continuing to work. Although there is a possibility of failing the exam, I believe that it is important to “try”.
The second thing I want to explore is Japan. I lived in France for a long time, and my parents are from Tokyo, so actually, I don’t know much about Japan outside of Tokyo.
I like history, so after graduated university, I traveled to various places in Japan by myself and I found out that different regions had different languages, and each region had different customs. These characteristics can only be understood by going there and experiencing them as I had experienced different regions in France.
Gabriela Marie Milton: Do you have any notable influences or artists who have inspired your work?
Hikari: There are many painters who have influenced me, among them are Shouen Uemura (female Japanese-style painter 1875-1949), Jakuchu Ito (1716-1800), and Alphonse Mucha (1860-1939).
Shouen Uemura painted many Japanese-style wolrks of famous women in Japanese history, but I think these are not just “beautiful paintings(bijin-Ga). I think that Uemura is a Japanese painter who beautifully expresses emotions such as jealousy, sorrow and isolation while focusing on the sad backgrounds of famous women in history.
The following painting (below) which in entitled “HanaGatami” had a huge impact on me. The story of this painting depicts the artist after the person she loved left her. She turned into a madwoman…
The paintings below “HanaGatami” by Shouen Uemura and “Hydrangease and Pair of Chickens” by Jakuchu Ito.
In addition to the influence of painters, I am greatly influenced by people in fields other than painting.
Mr. Naoki Kimura, a fine photographic artist, teaches me the theory of art even though I have never studied art as an academic subject. My master of NohGaku teaches me about the historical position of Japan’s traditional performing arts. He teaches me about the meaning behind each movement of NohGaku, including historical background.
When I was able to understand more about the depth of the books written by many great writers and the poems written by wonderful poets that I met through social media, the influence on me was great.
The book “Wounds I Healed” edited by Gabriela Marie Milton, was an impressive book that made me realize the depth of English poetry for the first time.
I hope that I can continue to receive a lot of lessons from people from different fields, value my core work, and understand the feelings of others. I’m happy to create good works in order to have a positive influence on others while sharing my art and thoughts.
Thank you once again for this wonderful opportunity.
I am deeply grateful to Hikari for dawning for me a splendid picture called White-Eye. Hikari thank you from the bottom of my heart!
We plan to release Echoes Lost in Stars by PS Conway on March 17 (tentative date). Below please find the foreword of the book. Thank you for reading and supporting us.
Echoes Lost in Stars by PS Conway – Foreword
“Echoes Lost in Stars” by PS Conway is not just another poetry book; it is a fabulous experience that transports the readers to realms where words transcend their mere definitions. It is an exploration of the universe, a celebration of love, an immersion into nature’s wonders where philosophical, mystical and biblical concepts, and our eternal connection to them take new forms. This exceptional collection of poems weaves together all these elements to create a stunning journey to self-discovery.
“long before the Christ child drew his first wee frail breath, reaped his first oblation, a frankincense tree grew in the sun of Persian sands”
The book’s forward-thinking approach to poetry is evident in its interpretation of concepts such as the sun, stars, sunsets, rainbows, and more. Each of the four sections of the book Sun, Sun (light), Star (light), Stars showcase these elements with a superb interpretation that not only engages readers but also leaves them pondering the mysteries of life. The readers are taken on a captivating journey through the depths of profound human emotions and the vastness of the sky. The sensory element is also beautifully expressed.
“this once barren cage now unlocked as colors merge to create a roiling symphony that inundates my senses, pulsing waves of sun that feel like tears from a god.”
Through evocative imagery and thought-provoking verses, PS Conway invites readers not only to contemplate their place in the universe but to find solace and joy in the beauty that surrounds us. With a masterful command over language and an innate understanding of human emotions, Conway’s poetic expressions resonate deeply with audiences from all walks of life.
Whether you are a seasoned poetry enthusiast or new to this art form, this book promises to ignite your imagination while leaving an indelible mark on your soul.
Immerse yourself in “Echoes Lost in Stars” by PS Conway – a poetic masterpiece that will leave you mesmerized by its lyrical beauty and profound insights into the human experience intertwined with our celestial surroundings.
Literary Revelations is thrilled to bring you the poetry of Sanjeev Sethi. We hope you enjoy it. Have a great week ahead.
BIO
Sanjeev Sethi has authored seven books of poetry. His latest is Wrappings in Bespoke (The Hedgehog Poetry Press, UK, August 2022). He has been published in over thirty countries. His poems have found a home in more than 400 journals, anthologies, and online literary venues. He edited Dreich Planet #1, an anthology for Hybriddreich, Scotland, in December 2022. He is the joint winner of the Full Fat Collection Competition-Deux, organized by Hedgehog Poetry Press, UK. In 2023, he won the first prize in a poetry competition at the prestigious National Defence Academy, Pune. He was recently conferred the 2023 Setu Award for Excellence. He lives in Mumbai, India.
Oblivious of zeitgeber, spread of sunlight you usher into my winter tide, fill it with spunk.
You erase footmarks of fuzziness. But I can’t keep pace with your transmogrification. The old you is the only jewel in my vault.
I picked up early; giving is better than being a gowpen. With you, I fail to follow it.
Manege
Altering metaphors of existence are the wanderer’s primer for survival. Joy of journeying doesn’t lie in witnessing what’s lighted upon, which larder is laid bare but where it’s taken to. Some distances are worth stalking, as they oust us from ourselves.
Please do not forget that Literary Revelations will release in March a fabulous poetry collection entitled Echoes Lost in Stars and authored by PS Conway.
