Poetry and The Note

Last spring I pulled the six titles I had self- published with Amazon off the Kindle Store to be reworked. By that I mean, they were not very professional in appearance or flow due to poor editing and covers.  I have been working on that and will have The Note to the editor and cover artist soon. I hope to have it finished and uploaded by my birthday, March 14th.

I will also have a collection of poetry called, More Felt Than Heard, up and available once again on the Kindle Store by the end of March. I'm looking forward to the finished product . In the process I've learned something about poetry in America.  It does not sell very well. But, that's OK. More Felt Than Heard was never intended to make on the New York Times best seller list.

For the most part it's a collection of  thoughts written poetically in the narrative, biographic and confessional disciplines. I call it, More Felt Than Heard, because I'm convinced we often communicate in a language of feeling. For example, walk through a shopping center and take careful notice of how people communicate by the expression on their faces. Some are happy, while others appear sad, confused, rushed, and desperate. 

Here is another example, If you have been married for a while you know all about the look. My wife can give me, "The Look." and communication has been established. Unfortunately, there have also been times when my words have caused deep hurt which inflicted serious wounds and though she offered no verbal response, the hurt look on her face told the story.

In The Gospel we read how Peter went out and wept bitterly after having made eye contact with Jesus following the denial.  Though they did not speak, communication happened. These represent only a few examples of how we communicate through expression and feeling. That being said, I elected to call my collection, More Felt Than Heard.  Here are a couple of excerpts:


Broken Melody

He was left to wallow in grief
on the day she walked out of
his now empty life.

She was tired in the worst way.
Her once upon a time had not
yet come; hope had faded.

Though he was a musician
who played notes well. the
lyrics of her song never came.

He could not find the key which
unlocked her heart; the language
of her love was foreign to him.

And without his words, the music
was hollow, the melody was flat
and the dance was over.


Tears on the Table 

I saw your tears on the table today.
Together they stood in fellowship
and formed a pool testifying of
this worlds cruel intention.

It seams life has never been fair.
We learned this truth while at recess
on the first day of school, even
children declare nature's curse.

How well I remember, walking
into that room, on the day your
heart was broken,

The pain on your face spoke
more than words. And as for
words, there was only one.

It came louder than a whisper,
but softer than a cry. Bewildered
and numb, you asked me, "Why?"

While theology can never comfort
a grieving mother, experience tells
us, "His heart is good."

AND

He knows your pain.
He feels your loss.
With every injustice
He offers the Cross.


These represent a couple of sketches from More Felt Than Heard expressing a language of feeling and emotion. There are others. The book will be out soon.

www.camdockery.com
email: cam@camdockery.com


 

The Painful Truth

I worked hard and patiently
Waited, but the dream never
Came true. Do they ever?

For I chased the wind to a
Distant shore and washed
Up on a beach called failure.

Where dragons of this world
Joined demons from my past
And plotted against me.

The painful truth of my sad
Story comes with only one
Disclaimer, “I'm no victim.”

- Cameron Dockery

www.camdockery.com

The Chaos of Living

 I retreated to a bookstore today
and found a refuge from the chaos
of living.

Though I went there alone, I was
not by myself, for the books did
whisper and their voices were clear.

There I sat, drinking coffee
and medicating on poetry, as
the world passed by.

And there I found a fellowship
of mentors, whose stories
were not unlike my own.

Robert Frost walked through
The Dismal Swamp, then spent
his life masking a darker side.

Hart Crane, John Berryman,
Ann Sexton and Sylvia Plath
each committed suicide.

Keats was, “Half in love with
easeful death,” while Shelly’s dance
with the reaper cost him his life.

Joseph Brodsky was banished
to the Far North and finally
exiled from Mother Russia.

But, The Soviet’s loss was
was America’s gain; I wish
I could have met him.

Milosz looked upon darkness
and questioned the value
of ornamental poetry.

And there’s the Psalter.
A collection of laments
written by people of faith.

I understand the world is
broken and life’s not easy,
but- must it be so difficult?

-Cameron Dockery

 

A poet looks at the 20th Century

 I took a few minutes this evening to read, "Encounter" by Czeslaw Milosz and was once again moved by the heart of a young man who looked Evil in the eye and brought a response.  As  a Polish Poet he lived among the most abused people of the twentieth century. It  describes an encroaching darkness that was changing the face of Europe. A darkness referred to as- The Holocaust. The year was 1936 and he was only 25 years old.

Encounter

We were riding through frozen fields in a wagon at dawn.
A red wing rose in the darkness.

And suddenly a hare ran across the road.
One of us pointed to it with his hand.

That was long ago. Today neither of them is alive,
Not the hare, nor the man who made the gesture.

O my love, where are they, where are they going
The flash of a hand, streak of movement, rustle of pebbles.
I ask not out of sorrow, but in wonder.

- Czeslaw Milosz  (1936)

The following link takes you to an excellent lecture by Edward Hirsch about the poets of Post War Poland. 

http://youtu.be/2jcNX3KfM5o

Old Type Writers & Yesterday's Methods.

 Long ago and far away, in a world long forgotten, those who held a passion for the written word labored tirelessly over one of these. For the day it represented quite a leap in technology. Those who depended on it were thankful for innovation and all it represented. During that time most people didn’t earn much money, but that was OK  because things were cheaper then. Gas was a nickel a gallon and movies were only a dime.

While some refer to that era as “The Good Old Day’s” and nostalgia occasionally walks through the yesterdays all of our lives, if given the chance, no one would seriously consider going back. Yesterday is fun to ponder, the memories are sweet, but the fact of the matter remains, as compared, “The Good Old Day’s” left a lot to be desired.

Today’s recent shake up of the publishing industry serves as a point of reference. Those who finally walked away from the gatekeepers of antiquity have found a platform that’s given them a voice, as well as, an opportunity in this digital age. I’ve been tracking the shake up and fall out for a few years now and it appears the tipping point has arrived and the Dominoes are falling.

The detractors will fight until this rising tide eventually shifts and carries the antiquated out into a sea of obscurity, where arrogant cronies of an out dated system deny the facts and lament the losses, while hanging on to yesterday’s methods and still yearning for The Good Old Day’s.

While I’m by no means an authority on the matter, I’m left scratching  my head when considering  the Classic Works of literature that were self-published.  For instance, Charles Dickens Self-Published, A Christmas Carol which has become on of the best selling Holiday Classic’s in the history of print. James Joyce self-published Ulysses, as Beatrix Potter did with The Adventures of Peter Rabbit and Tom Peters with In Search of Excellence.

Did you know Upton Sinclair, Thomas Paine, Edger Allen Poe, Rudyard Kipling, Mark Twain, Walt Whitman, e.e. Cummings, all self published at one time or another? That only represents a short list, there’s many more. It goes with out saying John Gresham got the last laugh when he persevered and pushed through the rejection letters and slush piles of  would be agents only to self- publish A Time to Kill . (Can’t you imagine those agents now? “Dang, I hate it when that happens.”

I love to read and have amassed a considerable library over the years. I enjoy walking into a book store and sitting down with a good read and a hot cup of coffee. I am not naïve enough to believe print will soon be gone, but I do maintain publishing as we know it has, is and shall continue to change. Soon, it will become obvious that  yesterday’s antiquated methods no longer suffice.

The time has never been better for a wannabe writer to throw caution to the wind and go for it. Come along…I’ll see you on the other side!

http://www.camdockery.com

Luck: The place where preperation meets opportunity.

In my last post I shared how during the middle ages The Renaissance was put on a much faster track by Gutenberg's innovation in printing and likened that to what Bezos is doing with Amazon. I also said the current shake up in the publishing industry was nothing less than a revolution.

Hugh Howey has done an extensive study and  posted the numbers.  Follow this link and check the verdict. By every appearance self-published authors are finding themselves on a level playing field. As stated before, "Gone are the days when gate keepers of an antiquated model held writers at bay..." The playing field has been leveled to such a degree that if you have a desire to write and the discipline to get it done you can publish your work and bring it to market.

Those in the know say luck plays a big role in determining who's successful in this business and I believe it. However, Joe Konrath suggest, "Luck favors those who are prepared."  I once heard luck defined as: "The place where preparation meets opportunity."

These are exciting times for all the wannabe's of publishing. I am a wannabe and have been for quite sometime. I made a run at it a couple of years ago and even managed to sell a few hundred dollars worth of my titles on Amazon.

However, last spring I came to a painful conclusion that at best my material was only mediocre and the only way  to improve a dismal performance was to take responsibility and get professional. So with that I pulled all seven titles off Amazon and went on a hiatus.  During the process our family moved to another residence that was in serious need of a remodel and my wife underwent a kidney transplant.

Now the house is about finished and the new kidney's preforming well. Things are looking up and I'm I am back at the keyboard. In a few weeks I'll  have my first title re-uploaded to Amazon and I believe those of you who are familiar with my previous titles will be pleased with the improvements.

When the editing is completed  I'll post a  few excerpts while waiting for the cover art to come in. I'm excited about the opportunity! How about you? Everyone has a story. What epic tale has been germinating in your mind and beating in your heart? Are you up for a challenge?  Write it, have it edited and secure a cover artist.

Who knows? Maybe that place where preparation meets opportunity will collide on the pages of your story and the world will take notice.

www.camdockery.com





  

Renaissance to Revolution

It was in the middle of the 15th century when Johannes Gutenberg brought innovation to the world of printing. Though block printing had been around in Europe for over a hundred years and the Chinese had been printing on cloth since the third century, Gutenberg brought something new to an antiquated and cumbersome process.

The result of his vision changed the nature of communication and became a catalyst during the Protestant  Reformation. It put the Renaissance on a much faster track and moved world toward The Enlightenment.

Today, vision and technology have once again joined hands and the antiquated is challenged. While the tide of yesterday's norm reluctantly recedes a tsunami of something new and digital is crashing the beach!

Leading the day is none other than Steve Bezos and all things Amazon. In just five short years digital publishing is heading toward critical mass as the causalities mount. The Closing of Borders is old news, Barns and Noble is in trouble and the coveted Big 6 of legacy publishing is now reduced to 5.

While some say history repeats it's self  I don't think that's the case here. My opinion of time is that it moves in linear fashion and therefore can not repeat upon it's self. However, it often gives and appearance of repetition and the reason for that phenomena in this case is simple. Human beings are inquisitive and constantly searching for a way of doing it bigger and better.

Technology and creativity will always feed off each other and in the process something like Google  comes along and the world takes notice. It was just a matter time before the computer age produced another venue.

My wife gave me a Kindle for Christmas in 2010 and I quickly saw the possibility for a wannabe writer. I stumbled on a few blogs and learned if you're passionate enough and work hard it's possible to produce a quality product that is easily brought to market.


Joe Konrath and Hugh Howey are big examples of what can happen for indie authors in this digital age. No one saw it coming, but once again technology and creativity linked up and human potential went through the ceiling.

 Konrath earned one million dollars in 2013 and Hugh Howey published the first installment of Wool as a short novella in 2011. Popular demand drove him back to the key board where he turned in four more installments and has since packaged the collection and sold the print rights to a main line house, while retaining digital rights and selling the movie option to Hollywood.

Thousands of others are earning anywhere from a modest supplemental income to a replacement income and while that's become old news the current  trend is growing exponentially.


History suggest there's something familiar about Gutenberg's innovation during the middle ages.  It looked a lot like todays shake up of the publishing industry. Both were and are serious game changers. The former helped ignite the Renaissance and the later... a Revolution.

www.camdockery.com