August 1, 2014

Poetry video for August – Belemnite Soup

Does poetry work better as words on a page, or is it better performed? Is it better to be read, or heard? When I hear a poem read by the poet, often it sounds different than how I hear it in my mind – not only the poet’s syntax, but even their natural accent can make a change to how a poem sounds.

With that in mind, here’s my latest poetry-video-selfie. What do you get if you combine one poet plus one ipad? Depends on the verse! This is a metaphysical one of mine that was first published in Inclement Magazine Summer 2011 Issue.

Posted by on August 1, 2014 in Poetry, Reading and tagged , , .

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July 25, 2014

Event this month – Poets in the Afternoon

DSC02586Poets in the afternoon is a performance event held on the first Thursday of every month at The Poetry Cafe in Covent Garden, London. With so many poetry evenings in London, manager Paul McGrane came up with the idea of holding a poetry afternoon instead; all the better to cater to those poets who can’t otherwise attend evening readings. Since yesterday was the start of my holiday, a spoken word event was an ideal way to kick off my literary summer. Continue reading →

Posted by on July 25, 2014 in Literary Reviews - Leilanie's thoughts, Poetry and tagged , , .

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July 16, 2014

Getting your poetry and fiction published

The thing that seems to be the most daunting to aspiring writers is how to go about getting their work published; where to submit it, how to submit it, what to expect. The first thing to ask yourself is this – what do you consider being published means? For some people being published means simply posting your work on your own blog, website, or on author sharing sites such as Wattpad. For others publishing means a contract and royalties. For me, publishing means having my work reach an audience, whether that is through print and online magazines, anthologies, pamphlets or books – and for me, money isn’t the main objective – exposure is. Over the past few years I have felt connected to a readership and haven’t felt so cut-off… after all, writing can leave a writer feeling isolated at times.

Once you have worked out what you intend to achieve through your writing Continue reading →

Posted by on July 16, 2014 in Fiction, Poetry, Resources and tagged .

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July 4, 2014

Writing for money or writing for fun

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If you ask the majority of writers why we write, the answer will be for pleasure. Why? Probably because for the majority of us, there isn’t much money to be had!

That’s not to put off any aspiring writers out there. Of course, if you’re in it for the money, it’s probably best you start thinking of a different career. There might be one or two out there who will write the next as-of-yet undiscovered bestseller, which will be translated into X-amount of languages and win a few debut writing awards at that. But the odds of that are like winning the lottery. Off to buy a ticket, anyone?

It can take years for writers to see their work in print or online. Writers tend to get more rejections than they do acceptances. Continue reading →

Posted by on July 4, 2014 in Fiction, Poetry, Resources, Short Stories, Writing and tagged , , .

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June 28, 2014

Harvest Art

My poet hubby’s latest poem is published at an apt time… on a rainy London day at the end of June! Long may the fickle rains of fortune fall on poets who not only can’t afford irrigation, but who have to plough their fields by hand, sowing seeds with calloused fingers and hoping against hope that the slugs will stay off the sunflowers. Pimms anyone? Let’s be optimist, poets, a new month is a-coming!

perfectsublimemasters's avatarEunoia Review

Plowing the fields of my farm, my soul, myself
With a ploughshare beaten from sordid words of distemper
Sowing seeds of observation
Into the bullshit-fertilized soil of the medium
I await with patience the fickle rains of fortune
For I have no connection and can’t afford irrigation
But when chance befalls, when conditions are ripe
When those arty sprouts shoot toward a watching heaven
I busy myself chasing off critical crows with violence
And poisoning whinging weevils with kindness
However, I’ve been recently taught about crop rotation
Which means sometimes fields are best left fallow and barren
So that’s my excuse for sitting on the sofa
Staring at the wall, having watched a deadly documentary
On the problems of modern farming

Questions answered about Joseph Robert by Joseph Robert negate themselves more than inform you that he is married to poet and writer Leilanie Stewart.

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Posted by on June 28, 2014 in Writing.

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June 23, 2014

Leilanie Stewart’s round-up of FREE writing competitions – update 3

Here is my latest round-up of FREE poetry and short story competitions for adults for June and July 2014. Be aware that the deadlines for a few of them are coming up, so if you want to enter, better get writing! Full guidelines are on the sites themselves, but I’ve summarised some of the information so you can save yourselves some reading time. Good luck submitting and happy writing!
Continue reading →

Posted by on June 23, 2014 in Competitions, Fiction, Poetry, Resources, Short Stories and tagged , .

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June 19, 2014

Leilanie Stewart

More of my poetry out this month in The Open Mouse….mid-June is turning out to be quite the poetry-fest! Forthcoming debut news, followed by my poet hubby’s publication yesterday and the nights staying light for longer (and warmer too)! Isn’t summer great? 🙂

sunnydunny's avatarThe Open Mouse

New-sense

Hair
clings to a shred of scalp

After death,
it is best,
to crush the skull
into bone powder
and fertilise the plants

What a nuisance
a new-sense
of doom

For skeletons
do not keep growing;
their hair
and nails
fall to the whims
of the velvet casket

The four walls
can only contain
what was a foolish
ego
of a mynah bird
mimicking,
poorly,
a parrot
in the first place

Copyright © Leilanie Stewart 2014

Leilanie Stewart is one half of a writing couple – the other half is poet and writer, Joseph Robert. Her work has appeared in over 30 print and online lit mags in the UK and US. More about her writing can be found at www.leilaniestewart.wordpress.com.

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Posted by on June 19, 2014 in Writing.

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June 18, 2014

Joseph Robert’s poem in Bluepepper

Clouds above the Suicide Forest, seen from Mt. Fuji, Japan

Clouds above the Suicide Forest, seen from Mt. Fuji, Japan

Another of my poet and writer hubby’s poems is published in Bluepepper magazine today. It’s a poem that will cut deep (bad pun, apologies, I’m great at these!). Joseph is published alongside another poet, Michele Seminara, who used inspiration from Ulysses for her poem – appropriate, since Bloomsday was only a couple of days ago on June 16th. Enjoy!

Posted by on June 18, 2014 in Poetry and tagged , .

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June 14, 2014

My debut poetry pamphlet forthcoming from Eyewear Publishing!

Glamour... in the pits!

Glamour… in the pits!

Yesterday I received the news that my debut poetry pamphlet collection, A Model Archaeologist (available from my publisher Eyewear Publishing and from my online store Meandi Books) will be published in mid 2015 by Eyewear Publishing. To say that I am excited is an understatement! After 5 years of publishing my work in print and ezines online and promoting my poems at events in London, I’m delighted that a collection of my work will appear.

Eyewear are a London-based publisher that promote Indie writers and run competitions to find up-and-coming new authors. In this day and age, it’s refreshing to have a traditional publisher who will take on new writers with track records of publishing within the small press scene.

Continue reading →

Posted by on June 14, 2014 in Biography, Chapbooks/pamphlets, Eyewear Publishing, Poetry, Publishing and tagged , , , .

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June 6, 2014

Poetry video for June – Embroidery Soul

Here’s my poetry reading for June. This poem was first published in September 2011 in Graffiti magazine issue 12. Watch for the cameo by the magazine itself… all I can say is that there was no gust of air present on that day. Spooky? Maybe not. Funny, perhaps!

Posted by on June 6, 2014 in Poetry and tagged , , .

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