“Alluring Moon”, a short poem

 

 

http://goo.gl/RzFRj4

 

I’m pretty passive about these opportunities, but I shouldn’t be. They are good experience and also sell books. But mostly, they are fun and a chance to read and hear other poets.

To those in and around Atlanta,  you are invited.

 

Avondale Estates’ monthly poetry reading will feature Jane Kohut-Bartels on Tuesday March 4 at Savage Pizza at the corner of Laredo and N. Clarendon. The evening begins at 7 p.m. with an open reading during  which anyone may read from original works or another favorite poet. Ms. Kohut- Bartels will read at 8 p.m.

Jane Kohut-Bartels is a writer of novels since 1990.  Presently she has five novels that she is completing and is publishing two in the next two years.  Since 2007, Jane has been writing poetry and presently has published 4 books of poetry, short story and one novella.  “A Seasoning of Lust”, “The Zar Tales” (this book includes “The Zar Tale”, a novella about Turkey and the Zar ritual and it’s attempted oppression by religious elements), “White Cranes of Heaven” (50 seasonal poems) and this January, 2014,  she published “Pitcher of Moon” (Poems of Gratitude and Spirituality).  She is to publish her 5^th book, “The Nightingale’s Song” from Australia in the fall of 2014.  These books are all available at Lulu.com and Createspace, Amazon.  Jane is also a member of the Anglo-Japanese Tanka Society in Kent, UK and is listed in the Bibliography of Tanka Writers in English, which is a world-wide compilation of published tanka writers, amongst other literature groups.  Jane specializes in medieval Japanese literature.  She also has been published in the prestigious 25^th  PoetsCRIT Journal published in Mumbai, India, and also is to be published this July in the same Journal.

 Jane maintains a blog at www.ladynyo.wordpress.com  that has had over 115,000 readers in the last 5 years.

Thank you, Friend Julia Ewen.

Lady Nyo

Alluring Moon 

 

The moon sits moored

In a midnight sea.

Clouds sweep her face

Shading a pale, wavering beacon.

 

She tugs at her moorings

And floats

Across upended bowl of Heaven

Into the harbor of dawn.

 

Jane Kohut-Bartels

Copyrighted, 2012

from “White Cranes of Heaven”

the picture is from GaryHartPhotography, (garyhart.com) and is the cover of my new book: “Pitcher of Moon” , now on CREATESPACE, Amazon.com

 

“Pitcher of Moon” finally published!

“This world of dew

is a world of dew,

And yet, and yet”

—–Kobayashi Issa (Japan, 1763-1828)

from the frontpiece of “Pitcher of Moon”

 

And a new poem, “Darwin’s Worms” from the book.

“Pitcher of Moon” has been almost a year in the making. Nick Nicholson, a long time friend from Australia took on this project and produced a lovely book.  He did the design, the formatting and all the interfacing with Createspace and the cover photographer, Gary Hart.  Nick did much more and without his hard labor, this book would have not come to life.

Gary Hart  (www.garyhartphotography.com) was the photographer Nick picked and  bought the rights to use this photo for the cover of the book.  Gary Hart was very generous to us as I could have not afforded his usual price for his photographs.  I am very thankful for his kindness and generousity.   Please check out his website.

I have just received the proof copies and after approval here will AOK them for sale on Createspace.   Should be a matter of days or a week before it is available.  Those who have bought my previous  three books from Lulu.com will notice that I have jumped ship.  Lulu was fine for a while, but Createspace offers a lot more for writers.   Nick and I intend to bring over all three previous books (A Seasoning of Lust, The Zar Tales and White Cranes of Heaven) to Createspace in time.  Later this spring, we will also be publishing “The Nightingale’s Song”  at Createspace.

It is so good to have this project finally done.  Without Nick,  I would still be moving in a circle.  Nick cut through all the issues and I am deeply appreciative of his creativity.

Lady Nyo

The end poem of “Pitcher of Moon”….

Darwin’s Worms 

 

The soil has lost its excellence.

Worms  hide in the  

Deep sullen earth

I imagine curled up,

Embracing worm castings

And each other,

Desiccated former selves

Pale little ghosts

Awaiting the fertility of spring

The watering of a hard rain.

 

I squandered the bloom months,

Thinking paper and pen

Would bring its own blossoming

Scarcely seeing the vitality outside

Windows,

Allowing cabbage moths and beetles

To dominate

My nod to farming,

To self-sufficiency,

My tithe to the earth.

 

Ah, the soil is hardened

By the sins of the season.

Sharp winds make

furrows 

The cold buries down,

Deep, deep down

Torments, teases any life

That  would show a feckless head.

 

Especially those hopeful worms

Now bundled in worm-sleep.

 

The words, verse,

I chose to cultivate

Over cabbage, collards

Failed to bloom.

Better I had plied the hoe

And bucket to that

Than a fevered pen

To paper.

 

It is now winter

And the fallow earth

Plays a waiting game

Knows I have failed

In pulp and soil

And mocks with a barrenness

I feel inside and out.

 

Jane Kohut-Bartels

Copyrighted, 2014

 

With special thanks to Adam Phillips for the title of this poem. 

 

 

 

 

 

Done….mostly.

A collection of short stories and a novella

New Book: “The Lady Nyo Poems and other Verse”

This was an opportunity that came suddenly.  It’s a private printing, but I take it as just a chance to see how they all look together.  I have complied some of the Japanese styled poetry and the writings of the character (fictional) Lady Nyo.  I have some things to work out here, but I was asked to get this together fast.  So I did.

It’s going to be republished in a ‘fuller’ version, as there are other stories I want to include, but that will be later.  I have to finish them first.  I had a lot of ‘stuff’ and at least this time  it all is of a similar theme.

Makes for less confusion. And a shorter book.

Lady Nyo