do youtell storiesabout whatyou know oronly whatyou feel they saythat every poemis truth and every wordis real is that a thingthat’s known or is itjust . . . is it justa comforting a smallconcealto keep you awayfrom harm the risk isto your own heart from solaceat the startto . . . hidingin the darkof words … Continue reading provocation: true stories (where the words are real)
provocation: the drama (of a dying sun) - 30/01/2023 do I write the skybecause it isthereevery day – sunbluecloudbirdstarsmoon ordo I wait for . . . inspiration forsomething new – unique a mooda shapea coloura dramaa lifea death ~ I had neverseena daysuch as this the sunwas born –a firein the sky andthe sundied –extinguishedin … Continue reading provocation: the drama (of a dying sun)
burn away (some dark) - 28/01/2023 I can’t breathetoo hardmy heartis on fire suntake it with you suntake mewith you intothe darkI am falling but I havea hearton fire sun take memy heart’son fire take ittake my heart out of the lightas my eveningfalls I recall the goldof each day out of the lightas my … Continue reading burn away (some dark)
My thanks to the wonderful Sally Cronin and the Smorgasbord Blog Magazine for helping to promote my current new releases, Ida: Searching for The Jazz Baby, and From Volyn to Kherson: Interpretations of the war in Ukraine.
I encourage you to visit the Magazine and take a look around. Sally is one of the great supporters of Indie authors and publishers.
Pleased to share the news of two new free verse collections by Frank Prem – Ida: Searching for The Jazz Baby and From Volyn to Kherson: Interpretations of the war in Ukraine.
About the collection
Who is Ida Pender? Is she the elderly woman – Ida-Spider – rumoured to be resident in a 1970’s Mental Asylum?
Is she Squizzy Taylor’s teenaged gangster moll of the roaring 1920’s in Melbourne? The woman the police declared had shapely legs? She is Ida. The Jazz Baby.
Frank Prem explores the story of Ida Pender, largely forgotten now, but once the notorious associate of a 1920s Melbourne gnagster. From the young girl sneaking out of her bedroom window to go dancing at the Palais de Danse, companion, accomplice, then wife and mother to Squizzy Taylor’s child by her early twenties, Ida is an extraordinary woman and a marvellous story.
a songis not the words it isthe voice the airthat speaks the heartthat cannotbe spoken raise your voicesthen sing ~ Iam nophilosopher althoughI think . . . deeply enough to drownwithout my ropeto shallow waters and you? where do your thoughtslead the rightsand wrongs . . . the did notsand dids the coulds the might … Continue reading Provocation: to stop (is an addiction)
In tootling around Ingram Sparks (IS) new report structure I came across a listing of rankings of book sales against one of the designated categories for the book (Australasian Poetry, True Crime etc). I hadn't been aware this was available. On Amazon it is possible to list a number of different categories for the book … Continue reading A ‘Paperback’ bestseller list on IngramSpark
I've been exploring over at IngramSpark in the last little while, particularly in the aftermath of my dramas with the Ida book's print run (almost resolved). It has given me a chance to look into their new Reports arrangements and information. Some surprises for me there. From Volyn to Kherson - release date27/01/2023 The paperback … Continue reading From Volyn to Kherson. Where is it selling?
What is the role of gender in poetry? The answer to that question, of course, is that it is whatever it needs to be. Most obviously, it is the perspective the writer relies on, based on their own orientation. Their own identification. That is the obvious answer. I am/identify as male, so my work comes … Continue reading Provocations: gender in poetry
***Edit*** It seems an incorrectly formatted file has been uploaded - no idea how or why - not picked up by me at the time, and accepted by Ingrams for print. It's a pretty awful error. Some 14 copies will have been despatched already and will be terrible - the page has been cut in … Continue reading Yikes! A 1 star review for Ida!
Edit (and be damned) It, sometimes, seems more muddle than it is worth. The act of creativity – the initial act of expressing what is in the mind, onto paper via pen or keyboard – is such a simple and sweet thing. Think it, consider it, write it. Done So good. But, no. That is … Continue reading Provocation: Cuts that bleed.
About the collection
Frank Prem Poetry 