Sowing the poetry seed

You and I both know--because we are poets--that poetry is one of the greatest, most expressive art forms there is. We also know that it takes a lot to convince some people that it's a worthwhile pursuit. Often we are met within indifference, apathy. It's clear that some others don't share our passion. 

"Yeah, well. Not really into poetry..."

"Too many thees and thous for my liking..."

"Poetry is boring..."

I'm sure you've heard these types of remarks before. I certainly have. Many times. It's a shame because poetry can be very exciting, dynamic, liberating, inspirational. 

As a poet you owe it to your friends to switch them on to something good!

So what does it take to get people interested in poetry? Well, you need to sow some poetry seed.  Here are a few things you could try:

1. Buy your friend/family member/work colleague/cell mate a copy of one of a great poetry book. One of the Wheelsong anthologies for example. They are packed full of premier poetry, and the poems are diverse. There's something in these books for every possible taste.

2. Show them a video of a poet performing their work. The more dynamic the performance, the more impact it will have. 

3. Set them a challenge to write a poem. Get them to read it out, and then, together, go through it to find the strong points, and areas where it can be improved.

These are all great ways to encourage people to get interested in poetry, but the last one is probably the most powerful. If they realise they can write their own poetry, they will definitely start to build an interest. 

Steve Wheeler 

Image used under a Creative Commons licence

Anthology 4

Do you want some good news? Wheelsong Poetry Anthology 4 is now published, and at the time of writing, it is selling quickly across the globe, in all continents. It's already available in softcover (paperback) and hardcover editions and the Kindle e-book version will be with us soon. 

The book contains poems written by 127 members of our Wheelsong family of groups (Invisible Poets, Wheelsong Poetry, Safe Haven and Pure Poetry). The editors reviewed and selected from more than 500 submissions, and selected around 250 poems for the final publication. The process was managed as fairly as possible, where each submission was anonymised in what is known as a double blind peer review (similar to the process used by academic publishers). 

It has, as ever, been a mammoth task to put together a book of this quality. The cover art was designed around a stunning photograph by poet David Catterton Grantz (the church is on Lake Bled in the central European country of Slovenia). There is a wonderful quote inside the first few pages by the former UK Poet Loreate Carol-Ann Duffy. 

Every purchase (whether from Wheelsong Books directly, or via Amazon sites worldwide) will raise £3.00 ($4.00) for a great cause - Save the Children worldwide relief fund. Other worldwide outlets such as Barnes and Noble (USA), Wantitall (South Africa) and Waterstones (UK) will also stock the softcover edition in their online stores.

So, please do get behind this mission of war on poverty by purchasing, promoting, sharing and otherwise helping us to sell as many copies of this splendid book as we can! 

Poetry against poverty!

Steve Wheeler

P.S. All previous Wheelsong Poetry Anthologies are still available to purchase!

The Soul of the Poet

Well, this is interesting... it's an interview I completely forgot I had done for an education magazine called Inspired Creative Minds. I was interviewed about my 'poetry career' by one of Tony Dukeva's students and this is the result (click the image to enlarge it for reading). You can also read the entire magazine online at this link. 

Steve Wheeler

Why Save The Children?

The publication of the Wheelsong Poetry Anthology series remains one of the absolute first priorities of all things Wheelsong, with ALL proceeds going to Save The Children. Why Save The Children? What does Save The Children do?

Save The Children is a charitable organization dedicated to programs involving health, education, protection, emergency response, advocacy, and localization initiatives for children worldwide. 

A staggering 118 million kids in 116 countries around the world felt the saving impact of these programs just last year (2022)…. 5 MILLION meals went to impoverished children in U.S. areas alone… 9 MILLION kids observed a quality education (4.5 million being girls)… 4.6 MILLION mothers and 16 MILLION children improved their nutrition.. 3.8 MILLION kids rescued from violence…107 MAJOR EMERGENCIES were averted in over 70 countries.

This is just ONE story of so many… in 2010 Save The Children began the “camel library” in Ethiopia. The program includes 21 camels, which are traditionally used by communities in the Somali region of Ethiopia to transport goods across the hot lowland areas. Camels can carry up to 200 storybooks at a time in wooden boxes strapped to their backs. The project currently reaches over 22,000 children in 33 villages.

Mahadiya, 13, is in grade seven in a remote part of the Somali region of eastern Ethiopia COVID-19 forced her school to close. She eagerly looked forward to the “camel library” to work its way through the arid desert lands to bring her the only education she could know. She says wants to be an engineer when she grows up!

Mahadiya confided, “Many children have become herders and some walk into the bush to look for firewood. When schools were closed (during Covid), I was very sad.  However, the camel library continued to come to our village and supplied us with storybooks. I feel very happy and I am now able to borrow and take home the storybook that I would like to read.”

Children raised concerns around increases in child labor, early marriage, and abuse due to the outbreak and closure of schools. Even today Ethiopian children and their families are facing floods, desert locusts, cholera, measles, food insecurity, and rising poverty levels. 

Save The Children assured her of protection from the dangers of child labor and exploitation… in addition to providing nutrition  and education. This is only ONE child… out of 118 million. Mahadiya no doubt still waits for that camel to bring her the books she so desperately longs for.

One child. One story. One world. One cause. Wheelsong continues to support Save The Children. Wheelsong Books founder and publisher Steve Wheeler has put in the hard work, donating £2225 ($2820) so far from the Wheelsong Poetry Anthologies. His work, the editors, and the works of the poets contributing make this possible. But we have to get the books out there. 

Please consider buying one today for a

Christmas gift, or otherwise. Your contribution not only provides quality poetry… it provides a child with needs she or he will never get otherwise in a world where so little… can often mean so much.

Matt Elmore

Image from: 

Save The Children

References:

https://www.savethechildren.org/us/about-us/media-and-news/2020-press-releases/covid-19-camel-library-takes-remote-learning-to-new-levels

https://www.savethechildren.org/us/what-we-do