Shouldn’t I have more time on my hands right now? Is it just me or are you all finding that you are busier than ever? I am running a little behind on updates, but as they say (whoever they are) better late than never.
Hopefully you all caught the update last week that my poem Windows was accepted into the Poetry Archive Now! WorldView 2020 competition. If not, or if you wish to give it another viewing, you can find it if you scroll down. I am so elated that it has been accepted and now wait for the shortlisting in September. It has gained 149 views in 6 days which is pretty awesome. So thank you to all who have watched it so far. I hope you keep watching, sharing it with your friends and all the other good stuff.
This post however, is about another video I made for the poem Emptiness taken from my new book of poems Blue In Green. The book is due for release on Amazon this month. I have been busy putting the final touches to it and will have some more news on that very soon. Until then, enjoy some spoken word poetry as a preview to what you can expect from the book. And if you like what you hear, please give it a thumbs up, leave a comment consider subscribing to this blog and my YouTube channel where you can find more videos of my spoken word poetry. It all helps. Thank you. Phil
A week or so ago I told you all about a collection of work I wrote back in June 2014 called Blue In Green. I am finally readying myself for its release and wanted to give you a little preview before its release in June. So here it is, your first taste of Blue In Green. A poem called Pasta In The Olive Groves. The artwork is by my amazing friend Catherine Pendegrass whose illustrations appear throughout the book. Enjoy!
Pasta In The Olive Groves
It would be sometime before she saw Italy again, So in this moment she soaked it in, Cast her green eyes over the vineyards along the Adige.
She thought of him, dressed in his linen shirt, Perched on some veranda, casual glass of white tipped, Soaking the lips she used to dream of.
Life is full of tragedies.
She loved the Verona sunset, how its golden light Spread across the rooftops of the old town, How the sparkle meandered down to the edge of sky.
They would never meet, she knew that now. Something in the way the light let go of the air, or How she knew he was out there somewhere, Lifting a fork-full of pasta to his mouth,
At the end of last year, before the Covid-19 pandemic was known to us and we were all not yet in lockdown, I was planning on releasing a book of poems I wrote six years ago. The poems focus on the emotions we experience at the end of relationships, and while they are not autobiographical in their various situations, they are emotionally autobiographical.
At the time I asked my good friend Catherine Pendegrass to produce some illustrations for some of the poems, which she graciously did (but may have forgotten about as it has been so long since I said I would release this book and so much life has happened).
There I was. I had everything I needed. All I had to do now was put it all together. Which I did, on several occasions in several different ways, but despite this, I never quite pulled the trigger. The closest I got was in 2017. Back then I had a hard copy proof in my hand, but again hesitated and did not release it.
Friends who have read the poems (I shared all the early first drafts on Facebook) have told me nothing but positive things about the poems. I would go so far in saying that it is probably the best feedback I have ever received for any of my work. So why the hesitation?
This is the point where I could list off a whole bunch of reasons why this book has never seen the light of day, but I think the most honest reason is I wasn’t emotionally ready to release them. I started dating Heather the year after I wrote them and I wasn’t in the same emotional headspace I was in when I wrote these poems. But I had an affection for them, their raw honesty and clarity. I knew I had to publish them at some point.
Now finally enough time has passed that I feel ready to share them with the world. I contemplated delaying the release again, due to the pandemic, but I think there has been enough delay already, so I will be releasing them this year.
In 2013-2014 I lost my way in my life in lots of ways, relationships ended and I was left questioning a lot of what I believed in. I found myself looking into meditation, which I began to practise daily. I became a member of a small Buddhist center in Leeds, to deepen this practise. I attended the center weekly and got to know many people who helped me in my journey and I truly can say the time I spent with them was deeply enriching. Why am I telling you all this? I think because it is relevant to these poems in some way.
Many wonderful things have happened to me since that time in my life, I met Heather as I said, and we got married and now live together in the States. I am happy, truly happy and content. The release of this collection of poems titled Blue In Green is the final step in that journey of letting go of the past and embracing the present. Like I said before these poems are not situationally autobiographical, but they are emotionally autobiographical, and most of us go through these emotions at some point in our lives. It is good to know we are not alone and there is a light at the end of even the darkest tunnels.
I am currently waiting for proof copy of the book to arrive and I will update you all on when you can get your hands on a copy should you wish to. It will be sometime in summer this year! Until then, thank you for indulging me this moment of rambling. And to whet your appetite I present you with the final cover for the book. This doesn’t feature artwork by Catherine, I have saved that for the inner pages which will be full color and full of her wonderful illustrations which really do enrich the poems. I hope she approves of how I have designed the book around her work.
Stay safe and healthy my friends.
Phil
Front cover of Blue In Green to be released summer 2020.
It has been one week since The Unaccompanied was released. A huge thank you to everyone who has bought a copy so far and supported this latest endeavour. It means more than I can say. Lkes and comments are wonderful, but when you buy a book it really supports me and this dream of mine in the most effective way possible. It has never been about making money for me, I just want to reach as many readers as possible in the hope that my words might resonate with others. So I want to express my deepest gratitude to everyone who has supported me by buying a copy of this or any of my other books through the years. Thank you 💖
Please consider purchasing a copy and supporting an independent writer. Links for the various versions in the US and UK stores are below. Ever copy purchased supports a dream and means much more than can be expressed. Thank you, friends.
It’s with great pleasure I can announce my ninth book of poetry The Unaccompanied will be released on Friday November 22, 2019!
You can pre-order the kindle version here and it will be delivered to your device on the date of release. For everyone who would like to order the paperback version, that will be available from November 22, 2019.
“There is a war that rages inside every heart —
A battle between the light and the dark.”
– The Battle.
This conflict is the thread that weaves the poems in Phillip Mellor’s ninth collection of poetry together. From the protagonist in the opening poem Main Event refusing to “take a knee”, to the title poem that closes the book, the poet takes us on a journey into the human heart and mind and asks, if we leave love behind us, what steps in to take its place?
Thoroughly modern, yet rooted in ancient ideals and metaphors, The Unaccompanied is a master work of emotional and spiritual exploration from a poet at the zenith of his powers.
The Dark Places of Lost Things read by Phillip Mellor
Phillip Mellor’s eighth collection of poetry is his most elegant yet. The poet delves into his deepest archived memories, conjuring up a world that despite seeming solid and permanent, is so temporary and finite that most of the poems seem to be told from the point of view of a ghost. The spirits impart their timeless stories and lessons, and encourage all those who wander through their haunted rooms to honor the past and seize the present to avoid their own fate in the future. The poems are immediate, engaging, and their scope acutely focuses in on subjects ranging from lost dreams, lost freedoms and lost love, to the current state of the world today. Phillip Mellor has delivered a collection of poems full of the hopes and fears of the modern world and the call to live your life with an open heart.
If you missed it over the weekend, the teaser trailer for my new book THE DARK PLACES OF LOST THINGS which will be released this year dropped. You can view it here: https://youtu.be/GnVPaEUYj_Y
It will be the very first release from SILENT DAYS STUDIO, a new business venture myself and my wife Artist Heather Mellor will be launching this year. If you have ever read and liked any of my poetry, this is the book for you. I am so excited to share with you all what I have been working for the past 3 years. More details about the book and our business venture soon.
phillipmellor 