Poetry

New Year/New Book… Soon!

/ Phillip Mellor / Leave a comment

A very belated happy new year to you all! January has come and gone and February is here! I was hoping to be able to give you some solid news about when my new book of poems was going to be released, however this just isn’t possible at this moment for several reasons. 

I have recently relocated and all the excitement that ensues from that endeavour has and is still in motion. A recent family bereavement has been receiving much of my emotional attention and of course a recent submission of work to the New Yorker (one poem of which is planned to be featured in Other Silent Days) is still under consideration. 

What I can tell you is I have had some very exciting conversations with Heather and the cover art sounds like it is going to be awesome! Once that is completed we can proof the book and review ready to sign off for the full printing run. I will keep you up to date as much as I can over the next weeks and as soon as I can I will be announcing when you can get your hands on a copy for yourself. 

Thank you for your understanding and continued support. 2016 is going to be amazing! I hope you can come along for the ride!

Phil x

Who We Are

/ Phillip Mellor / Leave a comment 
This morning I have been reviewing my first draft of the new book, Other Silent Days. The poems in the book stretch as far back as 2012 through to the present day, covering various subjects.

With the current vile display of the worst side of human nature that is happening around the world at the hand of extremists, and the war mongering talk in the media and by the worlds politicians, I felt maybe it was time for reflection and inner peace. I came across the following poem and thought it was fitting to share today. I wrote it back in 2012. I hope it can resinate some hope in peace in your hearts. Peace.

Who We Are

I sought the stars for answers, 
The cosmology of truth; 
The origin of remembrance
In the vastness of our youth.

I found nothing there but deconstruction; 
The building blocks of life. 
I found no emotion in the void
Just the actualities implied.

No story to be told; 
No conclusion to be drawn; 
No scientific paper to write; 
No intellectual dawn.

Just faith in the knowledge
That we are more than the sum of our parts; 
There is hope in our existence
And the complexities of our hearts.

And we are altogether one
A symmetry of stardust –
A revolving mass of particles
Adrift in the darkness.

Despite all our differences
And varied points of view,
You are related to me
As I am to you.

And from a distance we are viewed
As just another lonely star
Flickering in the firmament
With someone wondering who we are.

Phillip Mellor from Other Silent Days (coming 2016)

Blue..

/ Phillip Mellor / Leave a comment

Words from the Poem, Blue (taken from the book, Other Silent Days) Artwork by Heather Carr
I will be sharing more snippets from the book over the coming weeks and months, and will keep you updated on how it is coming together and how/when you can get your copy. 
Thank you for your support. 
#othersilentdays #phillipmellor #leedspoet #poetry #poem #wordart #heathercarr #wordporn #blue #poetryoffacebook #newbook  

 

Other Silent Days… After all the chops and changes the book…

/ Phillip Mellor / Leave a comment

Working on my new poetry book this morning. 📖 I am amazed that after almost 4 years of writing these poems I can look upon them as if they were poems by another writer. I know I wrote them, yet here they are after all this time separate from me in someway. I am amazed and humbled I have been given this gift of creativity and communication. I so desperately want to share these things with the world, not to be famous or rich (although making enough money to be able to be a full time writer is the goal) but to bring joy, light and happiness to people. To offer emotional support to those out there that think they are alone. This will ensure my gift is not wasted. 
My work often explores the theme of love and often I look at the darker elements of life, the disappointments and heartaches. But out of all that comes faith, positivity, hope and love. Yes, I write first and foremost to please myself, but it is my hope that my work can provide hope and warmth to people who feel that they have none. That they are not alone in how they feel. 
Many of the poems in what is to be a large single volume of work have been shared to Facebook and other sites before. Some of you will have read them and even requested that they all be put in a book one day. Well they are being, and sometime next year you will, should you wish to, be able to own a copy of them. 
I feel very strongly that because a vast number of these poems have been shared before that they in someway belong to you as much as me. That is why I will be selling the book at cost. No profit will be taken by me from the sale of this book. I want as many of you as possible to be able to read and enjoy the work I have produced and hope that you will all come along with me as I take the next step in my writing career. There are many exciting projects I have the wish to participate in and I would love if those of you that feel a kinship to my work could enjoy the fruits of those projects too. 
Life for me has been a rough ocean these passed 4 years, though calm seas never made a great sailor, and I now see the sunrise and the promise of tranquil bays. I am so grateful for the challenges I have faced. So happy and thankful that I got to meet so many wonderful people along the way. I think the title of the book really captures my feeling on this time. It is to be called: Other Silent Days. 

Poems Vol 1

/ Phillip Mellor / Leave a comment

On the 10th July 2015 I will be releasing my first ever audiobook, Poems Vol 1. The poems I read and recorded for this cd album are taken from a cross section of my poetry books, seven of which are from the upcoming collections Poetrybox Vol I to IV and are currently unreleased. There are 22 performances in total and they were recorded between April and June of this year.

Although I have done my best to select poems that fit together despite being from several collections and periods of time, each poem has its own personality, and I have tried to honour that in the production, preferring to capture an individual atmosphere and feel rather than record them all uniformly.
Each package is printed in full colour and put together by hand by yours truly. No mass production involved. The card for the cd case is made from 100% recycled materials and the printed card both attached to the front, back and the inlay are sourced from responsible and recycled sources. The CD is a beautiful vinyl style with a black data side to carry the retro feel for vinyl lovers and each one is hand signed by myself.
I don’t currently have a store set up on my website, so if you are interested in having your own copy of this please private message me. Each album is £5 + postage and packaging (prices included at the bottom of this post) and each one made to order.
Here is a sneak peek at the package with artwork by Heather Carr and the poem, Trees, Autumn from the album:
Postage Prices: UK £1, Europe £2.50 and Rest of the World £3
IMG_4656

You’ll Know Him

/ Phillip Mellor / Leave a comment

Far across the desert 
Over the dusty cracking earth,

There is a man of legend 

Who lives a life of dearth. 

Inside his soul is hollow,

Devoid of love or light. 

His heart is pruned and withered 

And his blood runs black as night. 
His name I cannot speak it,

His look I can’t describe. 

But you’ll know him by the piercing

Daggers in his eyes. 

No man or maid dare wander

Into the hovel of his room. 

Inside he keeps such secrets

That no one should consume. 
I hear he lived a wondrous life

Had a wife and two fine kids.

But fatal fate had turned one day

And broke his love to bits. 

He turned his back to the sun

And wandered off the edge,

For years no one has seen him

But I just can’t forget. 
For I know him in the silent

And wounded on this road.

I’ve seen him in the eyes of those

Who’ve lost all self control. 

I’ve felt him move inside me

And whisper to me lies.

He runs in tear-like rivers

That pour forth from his disguise. 
So if you come to know him

Don’t look into his eyes,

Don’t sit down at his table

Or in his water you’ll baptise.

He’ll turn your soul to desert 

An arid desolate land. 

And you’ll too wear the scars

Of this broken bloodily man. 
So while I’ve got a voice to speak,

While there is hope within my heart.

I choose to spark a candle

That holds back his deadly dark. 

We all must learn to live here

Side by side with every man

And accept that there’s a balance 

In time’s silver shifting sands. 
Far across the desert

The wind it howls and moans. 

But devil’s cannot speak the names

Of things they can’t control. 
Phillip Mellor 2015