“Sweet, sweet poetry to my ears” from Brian! A Big Thanks from Kym and I again!

I am honored to be featured on Brian’s site, writingfromtheheartwithbrian, in the best company of Kym Gordon Moore who authored We are Poetry: Lessons I Didn’t Learn in a Textbook. Kym is a wonderful writer who always has you pondering the deeper meaning of life. If you haven’t met her yet, please take the time to visit her site: frombehindthepen. You’ll be glad you did!

In Brian’s post, he shares his vulnerability while writing about his early tumultuous relationship with poetry. His humor is what I absolutely love about his blog posts. I know he’ll always make me smile – he simply has that gift. Here’s a brilliant example of how he expresses his feelings about poetry, “I would see the poetic beauty of some of my favorite songs, but poetry and I kept our distance. We were like two shy seventh graders at a school dance. I didn’t come near poetry, and poetry didn’t come near me. We kept our eyes on each other, but didn’t dare talk or ask each other to dance.”

And then he read Kym’s book and mine, and his feelings about poetry shifted…

“But, if it’s possible to turn a large team of sled dogs in the Yukon wilderness like old Sam McGee, before his unfortunate demise, then I think there might be hope for me yet. In fact, I have two poetry books I can’t recommend strongly enough: fellow bloggers Kym Gordon Moore’s We Are Poetry: Lessons I Didn’t Learn in a Textbook and Lauren Scott’s Ever So Gently.

Kym reminded me why I love writing and why poetry matters. “We write because we have a story to tell and emotions to express. We are touched and moved in unexplained ways and want to connect with others who experience the same bottled up emotions as we do.”

Kym’s essays remind me that poetry is a personal thing. It’s meant to be taken in and no one can tell us how to feel. We feel what we feel. I read her poem “Like An Eagle I Soar” and felt myself soaring too:

my strength is renewed, with wings as an eagle
graceful, strong, and courageous I take flight
to heights I never imagined were possible

I was lucky on two fronts, first to come across Kym’s book and then to find Lauren’s and to race through her book, captivated by her use of imagery and the scenes that she lays out for the reader. I especially found her use of language pulled me deeper into the writing and the nature around us. In her poem “I Wonder” she playfully asks if pine needles “wiggle in delight until they float to the earth.”

I don’t know about other readers, but I read that line and I was hooked. She had my undivided attention. My very adult worries and responsibilities were far from my mind. I was a little kid again looking up at the leaves in the trees…I had to read the next line and the next and the next. She continues:

“I know I would cheerfully slip on my dancing shoes
if the sky above me suddenly exploded in vivid oranges
as though hope itself pushed through all the debris
that I’ve allowed to clutter my mind.“

Thanks so much for stopping by! ❤️❤️❤️

© Lauren Scott, Baydreamerwrites.com – All rights reserved.

Just click on the image to purchase your copy,
and if you enjoyed this collection,
please consider writing a review,
a hug for indie authors.
 💚

How Ever So Gently touched Pooja at Lifesfinewhine!

And now for Pooja’s detailed amazing review:

Ever So Gently By Lauren Scott Review:

I was first introduced to Lauren Scott’s writing when I followed her WordPress blog. Even though I was new to her blog, I thoroughly enjoyed her writing. And I’m pretty sure I have read the vast majority of the blogs she has published since I followed her if not all the posts she has published since. A good number of her posts include poetry so I was used to her style of writing and knew that I enjoyed it. When I saw that she had published a poetry book recently, I was very excited to give it a read. And since I loved the book (spoiler alert lol!) I decided to share my review of Ever So Gently by Lauren Scott.

Overall Review

I generally like to start with what I liked about the book overall and then go into more detailed thoughts on it. As you must have guessed by now, Ever So Gently is a poetry book. And what I loved about the poems is that they were so vividly descriptive. The poems are inspired by the things around Lauren and her experiences. And her descriptions made me feel like I was there with her.

For the most part, her poems are quite light and beautiful. But some are darker and dive into darker themes. Although these poems are heavier, I still very much enjoyed them and found the emotionally raw poems to be really touching.

Ever So Gently is not trying to be like every other poetry book. It’s also not trying to be pretentious or trying too hard. It simply just is and as a reader I love that. There were moments I forgot I was reading because I got so into it and lost track of time. What was supposed to be a ten minute break turned into half an hour. And to me, that’s a sign of a great book and a great writer.

I rarely talk about book covers but I wanted to add that I really love the minimalistic book cover. I’m a big fan of minimalistic covers especially for poetry books. This one is so calming and it really captures what to expect from the book.

Specifics

My favourite poem from the book is called Unexpected. I don’t want to give away too much about the poem but it’s such an uplifting one. For those of you that know me, you know I suffer from depression and anxiety. This poem is about getting better and trying to see colour again when your life has been stained grey. Interestingly, I read it right before my therapy session as I waited outside my therapists office. The universe is funny like that sometimes. But I think that’s what made me really connect with the poem.

Even though I enjoyed all the poems, I think my favourite were actually the more heavy ones because they had so much emotion behind them. Such as “Things I Know, Believe, And Imagine.” I thought this poem was very relevant with how the world is at the moment. It’s a great reminder of how important love, acceptance, and kindness are in a world where we are so quick to turn to hate and violence.

Conclusion And Where To Buy “Ever So Gently”

Overall, Ever So Gently by Lauren Scott is a book I think is a must read. It’s really so well written that I think everyone would find it enjoyable and easy to follow even if you are not particularly a poetry fan. I would say this book can be enjoyed by both poetry lovers and those that don’t generally read poetry. The poems are largely uplifting but are still quite thought provoking and draw a lot of emotions from the reader. If you’re not sure what to read next or are looking for something to read, do consider this book. It won’t let you down.

You can find Ever So Gently By Lauren Scott on Amazon.

Fun fact: My son offered to create the cover, but instead of doing it digitally, he painted it on canvas (a surprise to me) using colors I requested. I wanted minimalistic and gentle for this book and I’m so happy with the outcome.

Thank you for stopping by, and thanks to you who have bought my book! I hope you enjoy this collection where I prompt you to reminisce and reflect upon your past, present, and future. And what matters most is to love and live ever so gently.

Stay well! ❤️

© Lauren Scott, Baydreamerwrites.com – All rights reserved.
Photo: Loon Lake, Sierra Nevada mountains

Nomination from Spillwords Press!

Dear Friends,

Yesterday I was so excited to receive this email from Spillwords Press
:

Dear writers,
  
We want to congratulate you all, as your pieces have been nominated due to Popular Demand for ‘Publication of The Month’ for January & February!

You can vote here: https://spillwords.com/vote/

After clicking on the above link, you’ll see my poem on the right sidebar on the very top, “The World is Broken.”

Voting will cease on Wednesday, March 1st, and soon after we will reveal the winner.

Please note, you need to register and/or login to vote.


The winning publication will be featured on Spillwords.com sidebar during the entire month of March
.

I am truly honored to receive this nomination and to be among so many talented authors!

Photo by Sebastian Arie Voortman on Pexels.com

If you haven’t read my poem, “The World is Broken,” you can read it here .

Now, the last thing I want to ask anyone to do is to create another account and password! I’m sure the mental cabinet you stash away your millions of accounts and passwords tilts as much as your TBR!!! But, it doesn’t hurt to ask, right?

So, would you be so kind as to vote for me before March 1st? I would greatly appreciate your support! But there is no pressure to create an account and I understand that dilemma. 🤗

Most importantly, Thank you for stopping by, for voting if you do, and for simply reading and considering!

Wishing you all a fabulous week ahead! ❤️❤️❤️

© Lauren Scott, baydreamerwrites.com – All rights reserved.
Spillwords Logo: credit to Spillwords.com
Photo of woman: credit to Spillwords.com to accompany my poem.