A Review Of “Beyond The Pyre”

There is a purpose that burns within us all… a fire that longs for expression and validity. At times it burns without even being identified,… a longing, existing to redeem sufferings into something new and precious as life itself.  This refinement burns brightly within an incineary collection of poems by Imelda Garcia entitled “Beyond The Pyre”, published by Wheelsong Books.

Imelda possesses an exuberant edge that sets her apart from everyday authors. A poet in every sense of the word, she is able to extrapolate images out of emotions… weave stories out of feelings, and discern truths out of deception.

Her topics maneuver between the diverse and the divine. She is no one trick pony, touching upon such hot button subjects as climate change, war, poverty, racism, women’s rights, and child advocacy. She also celebrates her Latino background exquisitely through the eyes of an endlessly expressive spirit. Imelda is bold, and writes with a distinct expression that gives every poem her signature. 

Her years of experience with tragedy and celebrations as a mother come to life in such poems as “Momma Doesn’t Want”, “Bolt” and “Woman Of Wonder”, in which she elegantly celebrates her daughter. She delicately touches upon childbirth and the ups and downs of motherhood here in “Womb”: 

“mothers sow seeds from the womb

tend then watch seedlings grow 

nurturing throughout life’s expanse 

often while consumed with sorrow”

The spiritual  aspects of her poetic voice are also evident in selections with such enthralling  titles as “What If God’s Not One Of Us”, “Untouchables”, “Rock Of My Altar”, and “Oh J.C.!” In “I Thirst” she passionately petitions to us all to become aware of our own precious redeeming vulnerabilities by addressing her own:

“I and mine call on your humanity

though He might have said it first

look to your souls, you’ll see

I am a human being, and I thirst”

Able to cover so many subjects, she ducks and dodges jabs of the mundane like a skilled prize fighter, unafraid to challenge any metaphor. She dances with death in poems like “Above Crosses” or “Forbidden Fruit”, and even explores the cosmos itself with titles like “Celestial”, “Of Stardust” and “Ethereal”.

Her love poems soar as she professes a most solid adoration for her beloved husband. Balancing between heavenly and earthly desires, Garcia knows romance where it comes to for better or for worse, or as she would describe it, “… to go for gold and failed to fall”, a fine line from “In Heaven”. From passion to endearing forever love beyond the physical, she does not fail to deliver.

Her dedication to poetry is evident in offerings like “La Poeta”, “On The Swing”, and the following excerpt from “Abstract Stamp”:

“…The art I now create for prosperity 

Are words, I hope with clarity

Impress upon future review

My definition of my view

Having shared on podium stalls

On stage, in schools, library halls

I try to stamp a liberal mark

On countless minds who hear my spark” 

No one writes quite like Imelda Garcia. Her use of short staccato phrasings, set with a lush use of metaphors, paints a mosaic of meaningful word murals that are both enjoyable to read and practical to interpret.

“Beyond The Pyre” is exactly that… a white hot refinement beyond our earthly reality into an understanding of illuminating truths, both profound and utterly beautiful. 

Matt Elmore

Available now on Amazon

Beyond the Pyre
https://a.co/d/5vlnfqY

Beyond Poetry - Wheelsong Anthology 3

 

The emphasis of the mission statement of Wheelsong Books is not solely about poetry. It is really about poverty.

Wheelsong is coming out next week with a brand new Anthology Three in a series of absolutely new poems to knock the socks off the poetry world! However, the purpose of these books is not  to demonstrate the immense talent that makes up the roster of the Wheelsong poets. It is about children in need. 

ALL of the proceeds to Wheelsong Anthology Three are going to Save The Children, an international organization and movement designed for the sole purpose of helping impoverished children around the entire world. 

In 2021 alone, Save The Children supported 183 million children, distributing 22.8 million meals to children living in poverty in America alone… helped 12 million children access quality education – including more than 6.2 million girls… improved the nutrition of 3.2 million mothers and 10.1 million children… responded to 103 emergencies in more than 80 countries.

It employs vastly effective health, education, and protection programs, in addition to emergency response.

Just this morning Steve Wheeler listed this statement for the Invisible Poets Group on Facebook. “I just sent in another £375 donation to Save the Children from the sales of Wheelsong Poetry Anthologies. We are making a difference. Wheelsong Poetry Anthology Books 1 and 2 are still available for purchase on Amazon and Wheelsong Poetry Anthology 3 will be published next week! Thank you to all who are supporting this amazing effort to bring aid to children in crisis around the world!”

By purchasing Wheelsong Anthology III next week with a reasonable contribution, you can make a difference in a child’s life in so many ways… and also receive a FANTASTIC  book of the most professional quality selected poems.

Wheelsong publisher Steve Wheeler also had this to say of the ongoing Anthology series….

“Money is a terrible master but a great servant. Some of the money we recently sent went to purchase food paste sachets for malnourished children. Some went to fund a camel library to reach unschooled children in Ethiopia. Some went to support orphaned children in Ukraine. Purchase a copy of one of the Anthologies and you'll be helping.”

Please consider this today. The Wheelsong Anthologies are all available on Amazon. Buy one or all three!!!

Children really are suffering now. This is a wonderful way to support them and receive an incredible gift of beyond beautiful poetry in the process…

Matt Elmore

Image By: Save The Children Foundation

Poetry Inspired By Photography

Warning!!! 

This article should not be taken as irrevocable truth!!! 

When it comes to creating and art, most rules are subjective. They are rather meant to be broken, in order to implement change. Thus, there is always another fresh “movement” of various ideas and implementations. 

Thank heavens… it would be a rather boring world otherwise, wouldn’t it?!

                                        —

Many poetry groups offer photo prompts as a way of moving poets to write of what they perceive. It is an effective way of inspiring a writer because  it is all right there. Just let the hash fly… detailing descriptions, atmosphere, character development, ambiguities… all the usual content suspects to a writer.

I always considered writing a poem about a photo cheating. All the images are frozen there for a poet to immediately suss out in the moment. Nothing is left to imagination as far as capturing anything that happens after the fact. It is but a snapshot of a memory. 

Many artists like to paint or sketch from a picture. This is how they paint, and more often than not, it comes out amazing. The shade is right on and the colors are appropriate. How can they not be? They are right there…

Photos contain many useful attributes for poets to utilize. Not only content, but the feel of the atmosphere, action , suggestive shapes, and

expressions amongst other things…

Since writing is an evolving craft, writers must evolve with it. Not only in terms of what readers want, but what we as writers want to convey. The amount of information we work with and put out can get stagnant. Thus, the use of any and all provocative processes of our craft should not only be attempted, but REPETITIVELY ENCOURAGED! 

                                        —

I have gotten over my personal dislike of writing from pictures, and now find it amusing (if not somewhat successful) in creating a crafty keeper. It can be amazing how many particular subjects an imaginative poet can expound upon to be inspired!

                                        —

Do you write poems from observing pictures? Do you not? Please free to elaborate as to how and why you do… POST YOUR COMMENTS BELOW! I’d love to hear from you. 

Matt Elmore

A Modern Poetry Renaissance

I’ve always approached this blog in a very direct business oriented manner. Strictly appropriated to approaching poetry… the application of it, the nuts and bolts of it, the surface beauty of it all.

But this article is not about that. It is about THE LOVE OF POETRY… underneath the skin of it all… to the heart.

Anyone who has been in love knows one true aspect of it is about give and take. It’s about sacrifice. Time spent with the one you love. The sincerity of it… affection, sharing , and truth. The pure love. The good stuff.

This also applies to loving something other than a person. You think about it, spend time on it. LOVE IT.

Steve’s last blog about generosity in commenting on poetry other than one’s own hit a note with me in this regard. About not only writing poetry, but reading it as well. Beyond that… in encouraging the work of other poets. Not just giving lip service or gilding the lily as it were. But really reading beyond the words to the essence of the works.

The good stuff.

                                     —

When Steve approached me to become involved in all the Wheelsong projects, I was instantly drawn to the gravity of his vision. The mission statement of Wheelsong simply encompasses two things:

1.) To utilize the divine gift of poetic skill to make this a better world by giving back in some way bigger than we possess as individuals. To pool our talents together into a beautiful purpose to benefit the unfortunate. The brilliancy of the past and future Wheelsong Anthologies for Save The Children drives that. It’s at the CORE of our direction.

2.)To explore the poetry realms as we know them, on social media and beyond. To invite those wordsmiths, emotion evokers, and profound surfers of human spirit to be a part of our poetry community through participating in and drawing poetry power from our collective collaborations. To build a roster of international poets of renown with a similar vision.

Very simple mission. It is what makes me do what I do in my humble role in promoting the Wheelsong brand. It’s simple. We are a family. And we are growing.

                                     —

Today I helped my brother move my niece’s things out of her apartment in the city back to the country. She just graduated college. It was an endeavor! I injured my foot terribly last week, nearly critical. It was an effort. That’s for sure. But I did it anyway… and sang goofy songs with a smile on my face as we moved and had fun doing it, despite the hard work (and pain for me). 

Why did I do this? I’m hurting now, as I FINALLY got home. Why?! The same reason I’m writing this after reading Steve’s blog. BECAUSE I LOVE MY FAMILY. 

                                     —                                     

I don’t just read poems and comment as a moderator on Invisible Poets and Wheelsong Poetry on Facebook. I reach out to members on messenger. I try to read their works and mentor them. I even support them with non poetry issues. Why? BECAUSE I LOVE MY FAMILY.

I don’t just write this blog for some vanity protect. I do so in the hopes that one… just ONE poet might find something of interest and become inspired.

I believe we are approaching a modern poetry renaissance, brought about by a social media that is not being utilized to its full potential. This is why i do what I do. I spend most of my spare time reading and trying to comment on so many poems. Sometimes I ask myself… why am I doing this?!

BECAUSE I LOVE POETRY. And I LOVE MY POET FAMILY. 

Thus… I will continue to do what I do… which is encouraging, reading, and engaging with all the poets that are on my radar. ALL the poets, new and old favorites. I keep my palette open for new colors, and I thrive on it.

Steve’s blog said more about being generous and sharing with each other than I could ever say. However, it was THE BEST BLOG I HAVE EVER READ. Why? Because it absolutely reflects everything I feel about being a poet and being part of this poet community.

Let’s be make this poetry renaissance happen by uniting! Together… as a family. 

I do hope you feel the same reader! Please FEEL FREE TO COMMENT below and let me know how you feel about this topic. 

When I say I’d LOVE to hear from you… now you know why…

Matt Elmore