"Like an insecure prayer, or a counterfeit candle lit in The Church."
Shamanic poetess, Wendy E Slater, invokes a common purpose through which we might"Like an insecure prayer, or a counterfeit candle lit in The Church."
Shamanic poetess, Wendy E Slater, invokes a common purpose through which we might all set the tone for a future of harmony aboard this planet; her poetry is a constellation of spiritual musings from deep within her kaleidoscopic soul.
Slater is a force majeure hurtling towards the truth, championing Mother Nature's abundance while drawing upon Rumi's timeless principles of earth, air, water and fire. There is a raw honesty in her penmanship as she passionately rails against betrayal and false narratives, the Yin/Yang of Slater's optimism and cynicism jostling for position within the subtext of her script. Each line is spoken from the heart, each word plucked from the cosmos and then allowed to float on the breeze: aching, caring, provoking, hoping…
This author's stirring poetry takes me to a place that no novel can. Her humanity is venerable, her passion undeniable. It seems that Wendy E Slater's heart is reborn each time she puts pen to paper. And long may that continue!...more
Based on the premise that what doesn't break us makes us stronger, a group of marginalised Canadian wr. "Quae Nocent, Docent" (What Hurts, Teaches)
Based on the premise that what doesn't break us makes us stronger, a group of marginalised Canadian writers have pulled together an insightful collection of poems and compositions. Some are achingly sad, while others are a beautiful blend of humour and pathos. All speak a truth and embody the resilience of the human spirit.
It must be said that some are inevitably better than others, but each has a unique voice and a creative worth. If I had to pick a favourite, it would be Richard Van Holst's bittersweet Icarus on Bloor Street where the author, who suffers from cerebral palsy, introduces us to a typically embarrassing moment in his life in which well-meaning, but unintentionally patronising, bystanders rush to his aid as he clatters to the pavement in a confusion of arms, legs and crutches. In this touching belle lettre, Van Holst maintains his equilibrium by biting back sarcasm and resorting to a stoic sense of humour that made me want to hug and hi-five him all at once (if such an adroit feat were even possible).
Bravo to all of these writers - and also to the Friendly Spike Theatre Band for their meritorious cause....more
"I see you across the ocean Scrawling across the sky." —Wendy E. Slater
Wendy Slater's spiritual poetry always takes me to a place that a novel can't. He"I see you across the ocean Scrawling across the sky." —Wendy E. Slater
Wendy Slater's spiritual poetry always takes me to a place that a novel can't. Her metaphysical reflections are a kaleidoscope of conceptions: enigmatic and esoteric, analogous and trenchant, fatalistic yet celebratory. In her own words, she gathers thoughts as a child gathers shells on a beach.
There is a raw hunger and a deep longing to her words, a paradise lost with every hope that it might be regained. Slater alternates between earth and spirit, speaking of love and loss, of destruction and rebuilding — the circle of life. She is at one with nature; her vivid poetry diving to the depths of the deepest oceans and soaring to the furthest stars, reminding me of the superfluity of our modern world.
Like a latter-day Sylvia Plath, the author's truth is beautifully told with meditative cynicism and spiritual love. Slater experienced a spiritual awakening a long time ago, while the rest of us were sitting in front of our TV sets with crumbs falling onto our clothes. She didn't need a rocket ship to the galaxy in which she resides — it was already in her heart.
. "It takes dedication and cooperation to omit women from the story of the human race." —Bernadette Rule
This enlightening book of short stories, con. "It takes dedication and cooperation to omit women from the story of the human race." —Bernadette Rule
This enlightening book of short stories, conceived by a coterie of Canadian writers, sets out to give a voice to a diversity of inspirational women in history whose names might not be familiar to the masses. Broadly speaking, the writers imagine what life must have been like for these remarkable ladies at crucial points in their lives, employing a great deal of acquired knowledge and a generous sprinkling of poetic license. Mine was an educative read, teaching me snippets of Canadian history, of which I know very little, and prompting me to scamper over to professor Google to find out more. I now know something of Innu dialects, Mohawk names, the Métis people, and also the dogged heroism of Laura Secord, during the War of 1812.
I would like to give a special mention to author, and voracious reader, Richard Van Holst, whose story, Maiden Aunt, places us in the company of Georgina Hogarth, sister-in-law to Charles Dickens. This was an elegantly written tale in which Charles, at one point, regales Ms Hogarth with a hammy impersonation of Uriah Heep. I was extremely entertained and 'umbled by Mr Van 'Olst's clever wordplay, I was! The author did a wonderful job of bringing Charles Dickens to life (figuratively, not literally) and absolutely nailed an upper-class English accent at the same time. Bravo!
Also deserving of high praise was Joe Girard's The Changeling. Such poetic imagery! A beautifully written story about a monstrous event in history that had me rapt with shock and disbelief at the demented evil that jigged through its dark-yet-lyrical pages.
Oh, and another shout-out goes to Carol Leigh Wehking, who did a sterling job of imagining the undaunted mindset of Annie Taylor as she tumbled over the thunderous crest of Niagara falls in a wooden barrel! Those of you who've stood right next to the Falls will know how terrifying (and foolhardy) that stunt must have been.
This was an illuminating read from start to finish. Such a good collection!...more
"But if Irina was quiet, she was quiet the way a heated skillet is quiet – in the moments before you drop in the fat."
Pushkin, a gentle-spirited R"But if Irina was quiet, she was quiet the way a heated skillet is quiet – in the moments before you drop in the fat."
Pushkin, a gentle-spirited Russian peasant with poetry in his soul and cabbage soup in his stomach is happy with his simple life, working the land whilst marvelling at nature's glory. From the safety of his rural idyll, he bears witness to both the collapse of the monarchy and the rise of Bolshevism with quiet consideration; such seismic shifts were hardly likely to affect his bucolic existence, were they? However, his ambitious wife, Irina, has other ideas. In this brave new world of equality, she is inexorably drawn to the bright lights and bustling crowds of Moscow and won't be dissuaded. So Pushkin dutifully ups sticks and loads his wagon in readiness to make the 100-mile trip – a precursor to a much longer journey.
I'm a huge fan of Amor Towles' silky smooth, animated prose; he is, after all, one of my favourite living authors. So I was already in Moscow, queueing patiently outside a bakery, waiting for comrade Pushkin to arrive. And he is adorable; an equanimous gentleman who sees the positives in every situation, his naïve optimism completely infectious.
So do yourselves a favour and get to know the admirable hero of this story. It's free to read online and takes less than an hour to do so. https://granta.com/the-line/
My express thanks to Cheri for shining a light on this little gem. Cheri's review...more
"Sloppy people should not be allowed to have pets, and certainly not birds who would never choose to live in such conditions. Have you ever seen a "Sloppy people should not be allowed to have pets, and certainly not birds who would never choose to live in such conditions. Have you ever seen a sloppy forest?" —Zelda McFigg
This winsome-yet-poignant story, a testament to one woman’s truth, traverses recent decades and had me rooting for our eponymous heroine from the get-go. The lady in question is binge-eating, animal-loving New York English professor, Zelda McFigg. She stands four-feet-eleven, weighs in at two hundred and thirty-seven pounds and is (reluctantly) a middle-aged virgin. Because of her corpulence, male suitors are not exactly queueing up at Zelda’s door and she feels that the likelihood of sexual congress is but a fanciful pipe dream. Therefore, the written word becomes her burning passion; punctuation superseding penetration.
In McFigg, author Betsy Robinson has created a champion for our time. The archetypal underdog whose haphazard nobility would usually go unnoticed and unappreciated. Zelda is as self-deprecating as she is determined; as caring as she is resourceful and as fatalistic as she is idealistic. This is a story about compassion and understanding; a tale of unrequited love and one woman’s struggle to remain optimistic in a cynical world. Robinson writes with aplomb and possesses a literary intelligence that is sadly missing in any number of much-vaunted modern bestsellers (if only ‘Eleanor Oliphant’ had been written this well). The book is packed with metaphor and symbolism, which pleased me no end, and Zelda’s sabotaged school production of Grimm’s The Frog Prince was comedy gold.
I enjoyed being in McFigg's company almost as much as she enjoys a private evening of binge-eating and flatulence. So here’s to you, Zelda! Clink! In the words of Don McLean, this world was never meant for someone as beautiful as you....more
"All her bright golden hair, tarnished with rust. She, who was young and fair, fallen to dust." —Oscar Wilde
For Me-me, the girl who named herself.
Oh,"All her bright golden hair, tarnished with rust. She, who was young and fair, fallen to dust." —Oscar Wilde
For Me-me, the girl who named herself.
Oh, my! A poignant, hugely emotive short story of a unique little girl (Me-me), whose sparkling imagination elevates her from the grim reality of the London slums in which she resides. This snapshot of a tale is told from the POV of her older brother, Sammy, who has a rather more jaundiced view of the world they live in. Yet despite himself, his little sis provides him with the spiritual guidance he so sorely needs. She is Sammy's inspiration as well as his entertainment. In her beautiful spontaneous mind, Me-me pirouettes like a ballerina, living her disadvantaged life to the full and enriching the lives of those around her. And she enriched mine too for the duration of this soul-stirring story.
Thanks to Angela M for drawing my attention to this touching, almost parabolic, tale. It would move a statue, so it would.
"Something will have gone out of us as a people if we ever let the remaining wilderness be destroyed; if we permit the last virgin forests to be tu"Something will have gone out of us as a people if we ever let the remaining wilderness be destroyed; if we permit the last virgin forests to be turned into comic books and plastic cigarette cases…" —Wallace Stegner
As with A Gentleman in Moscow and The Heart's Invisible Furies, the inescapable popularity of this book on Goodreads was the white flash of a rabbit's tail that first caught my eye. Then as I dipped into the lavish reviews, it became the godlike voice that boomed at me through thunder clouds: "Do thyself a favour, mortal, and REEEAD THIS BOOOOK!" it resounded. So, that’s exactly what I did. (I would just like to add at this stage that a plethora of five-star reviews isn't always a reliable indicator of a book's calibre).
The story spans several decades and is told by genial culture vulture, Larry Morgan, a writer who marries during the Great Depression; a man prepared to suffer for his art so long as he has his wonderful wife, Sally, by his side. He remarks that it was beautiful to be young and hard up if you had the right wife. There is a 'let's get it all out in the open' honesty to Stegner's writing. His direction though is steered by optimism. This is an urbane version of Steinbeck: An erudite, glass-half-full Steinbeck. He is highbrow yet humble, scholarly yet folksy. And as if his elegant no-nonsense prose wasn’t enough, he proceeds to tick almost all my literary boxes by gilding it with some wonderful imagery (cattle grazing in the distance are described as being "tiny as aphids on a leaf") Brilliant! Back of the net, Stegner!
In a scene reminiscent of an episode of Frasier, Larry and his wife are beguiled by like-minded aesthetes, the Langs, who invite them to their fancy schmantzy dinner party. The foursome become lifetime friends and the thrust of the story is as much about them as it is the Morgans. Their very human dynamics will ring many readers' bells because this semi-autobiographical tale gives us the sense of being allowed to pry into the highs and lows of people’s personal lives over a period of several decades. Despite his literary success, Larry is often embarrassed at being able to enjoy a comparatively comfortable lifestyle without ever needing to roll up his sleeves and commit to a 'proper' job (his father was a farmer). He also recognises that there is more to life than the tinsel of literary praise (so true!).
This was my first read by this astonishingly gifted author, and it shan’t be my last. Stegner was clearly at one with nature and a charming aside about Achilles the Tortoise immediately reminded me of dear old Gerald Durrell. Oh, and the women in this book are given equal billing to the men, which is always a good thing in my view.
Because this human story was capably written and wonderfully realised, it didn't need any flash bang wallop or bells and whistles. It's ostensibly a book where a seasoned author has taken his time and allowed his love of words to drive the narrative....more
"The bond between a mother and her child is the only real and purest bond in the world…" —Ama H. Vanniarachchy
Esperanza Diaz, a beautiful, deeply "The bond between a mother and her child is the only real and purest bond in the world…" —Ama H. Vanniarachchy
Esperanza Diaz, a beautiful, deeply religious Mexican widow is mourning the unexpected death of daughter Blanca when an apparition of San Judas Tadeo – the patron saint of lost causes – appears in the grease of her oven's glass door. To Esperanza's astonishment, the greasy saint informs her that, despite what the authorities have said, Blanca is very much alive! Furnished with this earth-shattering nugget of information, Esperanza does what any sensible mother would do after listening to their oven door, she sets off for some of the seediest brothels in Mexico, imagining that her sweet Blanca might have been abducted and sold into prostitution.
I cannot begin to tell you how much I enjoyed this captivating escapade. Indomitable Esperanza is as irresistible to the reader as she is to everyone she meets – even her Catholic priest, despite his life of abstinence, falls in love with her. And so will you. Esperanza's one-woman quest is as humorous as it is heroic. The unassailable love she has for her daughter is deeply affecting and transcends any thoughts she has for her own safety. You will find yourself rooting for her every step of the way. The story has a Gabriel García Márquez flavour to it, but I would term it as magical realism-lite, rather than full-blown magical realism. Whereas Márquez turns the leaf of reality upside down, so we can see what's on the other side, author María Amparo Escandón gently sprinkles her pixie dust onto the narrative so that real life becomes more enchanting than it actually is.
Wonderful Esperanza is a walking paradox. On the one hand, she is wide-eyed and innocent; a small-town señora immersing herself into a perilous world that she knows nothing about. On the other, she is nobody's fool and knows how to secure an advantage. Her naivety is endearing, her optimism meritorious.
The story is extravagant, rather than outlandish, and will certainly bring a big smile to your face.
So, if you want a break from the tedium of those humdrum books you've recently wasted your time on, then grab this sparkling story with both hands and get into it without delay. You'll thank me for it. : )...more
"And the thorns fell from the sky into your heart." —Wendy E Slater
Wendy E Slater, a poetess and real-life shaman, seeks the raw truth that exists"And the thorns fell from the sky into your heart." —Wendy E Slater
Wendy E Slater, a poetess and real-life shaman, seeks the raw truth that exists in each of us. Through the song of her words, she encourages us to shed the excess baggage of life's superficiality that we might become enlightened in the process. Slater's own life is one of self-discovery and her spiritual poetry laments all that has turned sour in our world, whether a wounded soldier or our polluted planet. Mother Nature is her beautiful warrior queen, albeit one that sometimes exhibits a spiteful duplicity. But out of decay and natural disaster, there is always regeneration - the circle of life. Through the honesty of her words, the author bears life's scars as if they were medals of honour, yet still retains a universe of love in her heart.
I'm a long-term fan of Wendy Slater. Her poetry takes me somewhere that a novel can't, and this is a delightful, meditative read that might cause readers -even if only for a short while - to question their unmindful lives....more
Zora Neale Hurston was born to write. This 1930s deeply human story of one indefatigable black woman's life, loves and catastrophes dazzled and delightZora Neale Hurston was born to write. This 1930s deeply human story of one indefatigable black woman's life, loves and catastrophes dazzled and delighted me from start to finish. It was apparently written in a hurry and the story does have a breakneck feel to it. Characterful expressions burst from its pages; the syncopated, lively dialogue of the black people of the day is lush and gorgeous to read. But please don't accept my effusive review as a recommendation. This book is not a generic crowd-pleaser and won't suit all tastes. It is dialogue heavy and at times I felt I was reading a theatre script, rather than a novel.
I've seen that some readers weren't able to get to grips with the spoken vernacular, which surprises me no end. This white English/Irish guy had no problem whatsoever and, in fact, the person whose review inspired me to read this (@Lisa) is Swedish and she clearly had no difficulty either! Lisa's review
For me, the writing was irresistible. I do however think it wouldn't be for everyone....more
"I'm not normally a praying man, but if you're up there, please save me, Superman!" —Homer (Simpson)
Following James Joyce's lead, I used Homer’s he"I'm not normally a praying man, but if you're up there, please save me, Superman!" —Homer (Simpson)
Following James Joyce's lead, I used Homer’s heroic story as inspiration for a novel-in-progress. But how can I, a mere mortal, do justice to the most famous epic poem ever written? An encounter with a work of this magnitude should be shared, rather than reviewed. Homer is the great, great, great (recurring) grand-daddy of modern literature and this colossus is as immortal as the gods within it. And what a tale this must have been way back in the 8th century BC. Then, it was sung, rather than read, and I guess the first to bear witness must have been jigging about in their togas with unbridled excitement.
Alas, I didn't read it in ancient Greek, as Homer had intended. My copy was transcribed to a Kindle, rather than papyri, and translated by none other than the genius that was Alexander Pope (yep, I went old school on this).
Odysseus, he of the title, otherwise known in Latin as Ulysses, embarks on a perilous, stop/start, um, odyssey, attempting to get home to Ithaca after fighting in the Trojan War for a decade. Such an amazing story, overflowing with an abundance of adventure. Poor Odysseus, having battled treacherous seas, wrathful gods, enchanting sirens and a Cyclops, then has to put up with big bad Poseidon weighing in with some nautical muscle and shipwrecking his boat!
Plagued by setback after setback, the journey home takes TEN gruelling years to complete! And, as if that wasn’t bad enough, wife Penelope has meanwhile given up hope of him returning home alive and is being courted by one hundred suitors, none of whom are fit to kiss our hero's sandals.
This is by no means a page-turner and some background knowledge is required to appreciate the finer points. Pope has done an amazing job to remain somewhat sympathetic to the timbre of Homer's lyrical story, and his rhyming couplets are a thing to behold:
"But when the star of eve with golden light Adorn'd the matron brow of night."
Beautiful!
Homer (the poet, not the cartoon character) has fuelled the imagination of countless authors throughout the centuries, and therefore it would be sacrilege for me to award anything less than five heroic stars....more
“Lock up your libraries if you like; but there is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind.” ― Virginia Woolf
A fellow“Lock up your libraries if you like; but there is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind.” ― Virginia Woolf
A fellowship of compassionate Canadian authors have banded together to deliver Brought to Light. Author Richard Van Holst, a voracious reader and an enthusiastic member of our Goodreads community, is one of its contributors.
As the title suggests, this enlightening book of short stories salutes noteworthy women whose lives and achievements have been largely overlooked. Rather unfairly, History is often seen through the eyes of men so, unless your name happened to be Cleopatra, Rosa Parks, Eva Perón, Elizabeth I, or Joan of Arc, it was difficult to get a look-in!
Written in the ‘creative non-fiction’ genre, lesser-known historical milestones are given the nobility they richly deserve, each author choosing a trailblazing female whose story has touched their soul. The élan of each of these overlooked, but remarkable, women is decorously brought to life within each one of these eighteen considerate chapters. And, happily, there is no pecking order here; female wet nurses, black slaves, physicians and scientists are all afforded an equal degree of due respect.
Although Richard (being one of life's true gentlemen) wouldn’t want me to, I’ll mention his Awakening at Ajanta, wherein he heralds the painter, Amrita Sher-Gil, also known as “The Indian Frida Kahlo.” With precision prose, Van Holst intuitively aligns himself with the mindset of this free-spirited artist, and we in turn find ourselves peering over her shoulder, as she makes sketches of timeworn murals on the cave walls of a sacred mountain. Immersive stuff.
I applaud each one of these tender-hearted authors for ensuring that the lives of these remarkable women are suitably honoured. A selfless and educative read! ...more
“I would never build a monument in your name, but I will plant a forest in your honor.” -Wendy E Slater.
Spiritual poetry comes easily to shamanic A“I would never build a monument in your name, but I will plant a forest in your honor.” -Wendy E Slater.
Spiritual poetry comes easily to shamanic American poetess, Wendy Slater, who writes from the heart and captures the zeitgeist of the moment. Troubled by our wounded world, she prefaces her book with an invocation for global peace, all persons coming together in acceptance of each other’s diversities and commonalities.
“There are rats maiming doves in the Garden of Eden.”
How relevant!
Symbolism of the four basic elements – fire, water, air and earth, feature heavily in the author’s work, the fifth element being our life force, or prana Slater has a relationship with the divine, and connects with these natural elements in a way that I probably never could; I shouldn’t imagine that she has a secret urge to punch idiots in the face like I do! : ) And there is even a 9½ Weeks-style food porn moment where the author longs for macerated mango and pulped banana to be licked from her body by her lover. Ding, dong!
Her themes are unpretentiously cardinal: love, yearning, cleansing, and escaping. Slater passionately repudiates fakery and duplicity, and her ‘inner tiger’ has no time for despots or egos:
“The rat is gone The owl is fed.”
The author is cathartically keen to upturn metaphorical rocks, in order to expose the parasites that lay beneath. I shan’t repeat it here (you’d need to buy the book), but there is a description of a clown-masked paedophile that is just inspired!
Wendy Slater writes with the energy of a tidal wave and is galvanised by the simple things in life that often go unnoticed. She shoots from the heart And she shoots from the hip.
Nevil Shute's sweeping novel sees privileged Englishwoman, Jean Paget, upended from her expat life in colonial Malaya by the invading Jap
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Nevil Shute's sweeping novel sees privileged Englishwoman, Jean Paget, upended from her expat life in colonial Malaya by the invading Japanese, in WWII. Paget somehow survives the brutality of an enforced death march through a jungle peninsula and eschews the home comforts of post-war England for altruistic work in far-flung climes (Malaya and the Australian outback).
This is a compelling read, despite it seeming a bit dated now, and Shute can be commended for creating a modern, ballsy female character in a time of authorial chauvinism.
...more
"Perfection is a false archetype." - Wendy E. Slater. "Learning to love yourself. It is the greatest love of all." - WhitneyWonderfully life-affirming!
"Perfection is a false archetype." - Wendy E. Slater. "Learning to love yourself. It is the greatest love of all." - Whitney Houston.
Wendy E Slater is an American poet and a real-life shaman who has the ability to connect with nature, spirit guides and angels. Her powerful book is part of a series of spiritual poetry that seeks to awaken us to the Truth within. Slater states that perfection is a false archetype, and that by surrendering who we think we should be, we can move forward to become who we are meant to be. The 'Hearth' of which she speaks is the spiritual home that awaits us if we burn away what doesn't belong: namely, negativity, hatred, blame, self-loathing, selfishness and egotism.
Through the song of her metaphysical poetry, the author takes us on a journey from the drivel of superficial modernity to a jasmine land of stray dogs and humidity - where mornings are "resplendent with a rooster's call." Right there, the sense of freedom and liberation is palpable! Slater isn't afraid to bear her emotional scars and there's a sensuality to her writing; she wants to touch souls with her words. True poetry is intended to make us change the way we look and listen to the world: Slater achieves this with aplomb. Sumptuous and wondrous, her writing forces us to re-evaluate our own outlook on life.
At times, I sensed the spirit of Dylan Thomas, blinging up her writing style: "The rooster with it's twit a twit chitchat." "Whispers, laps, ripples, licking." Wonderful use of auditory effects and visual imagery. Bloody gorgeous! I love it!
I enjoyed a most pleasant Sunday, allowing the author's spectacular poetry to wash over me, while I vaingloriously (and erroneously) interpreted each passage of symbolism.
You really sense that there is a fervid dislike of rules and restraint here; an unassailable truth is underscored that a tiger would rather roar in freedom - and risk a hunter's bullet - than spend its days snarling in a cage. So, as you sit, trapped and aggrieved, in a traffic jam, while Whitney beseeches you from the car radio to "love yourself," Wendy Slater is at one with the universe, and the rain, the clay, the snake, a bee sting.
A beautifully-told story of one woman's journey to spiritual awakening - and a salient lesson to us all....more
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