Showing posts with label poems. Show all posts
Showing posts with label poems. Show all posts

Thursday, 2 May 2019

Member's Book Review: Dancing in the Rain

Review by Jeanette O'Hagan

 



The Book

Dancing in the Rain by inspirational writer Anusha Atukorala. It interlaces poems, stories and life-giving words designed to bring you comfort and hope during life’s stormy seasons. 

"The One who created you knows you by name. He draws near to the broken-hearted. He will gather you in His arms. He will hold you close. He will be with you always.

You will find—
• Comfort for your sadness.
• Peace for your fears.
• Hope for tomorrow.
• Light for the journey.
• And joy through every season."

Published March 1st 2018 by Armour Books
Available here or maybe contact Armour Books or Anusha.


The Author



Anusha delights in many things – life, the love of Jesus, people, the beauty of God’s Creation. She writes mostly for pleasure. She has decided never to grow old in spite of a body that is already defying her intentions! She enjoys the finer things of life including friendship and chocolate! Singing, walking, connecting with people and sharing God’s love are her some of her deepest passions. Like her writing, she is a work in progress!

Anusha lives in Adelaide with her husband Shan and their son, Asela.




My Thoughts



I've been looking forward to reading Anusha's Dancing in the Rain as I'd enjoyed her story in Glimpses of Light and have also been encouraged and inspired by her regular blog of the same name.

The book has a eye-catching cover that entices me to pick it up and read. Inside, it has an interesting structure, broken up into sections such as Oh No! It's Raining; I need an Umbrella; It's OK to grieve; A Rainbow called HOPE; Splashing Through the Puddles; Laughter the Best Medicine; Tall Stories about Rainy Days; Sailing Paper Boats; How Green is my Valley; And Best of All - the progression seeming to follow, at least in part, the progression of emotional journey through difficult times. Each section is filled with reflections from the author (divided into Part 1 and Part 2), Friends' Stories (told in first person), Nuggets (quotes, epigrams, Scripture), My story (from the Anusha's experiences), a poem and a serialised story 'Each Monday'.

It's an interesting mix, with different perspectives and approaches to our feelings, responses and options when facing difficulties and discouragement. The personal stories (both from Anusha and her friends) give testimony to depth of feeling, faith, and God in action in each one's lives. The reflections, nuggets and poems give both comfort, commiseration, as well as inspiration and hope in God's loving presence, spiritual meditations and practical ideas to gain a different perspective on the rain-soaked times, how to survive and even thrive. I think my favourite section is the Each Monday story, as I waited for the next instalment of the narrator's journey.

Overall, it's an easy to read, a part devotional, part inspirational gem that brims with Anusha's gentle and vibrant faith. Worth reading and also an excellent gift for those going through hard times.





Jeanette spun tales in the world of Nardva from the age of eight or nine. She enjoys writing secondary world fiction, poetry, blogging and editing. Her Nardvan stories span continents, time and cultures. Many involve courtly intrigue, adventure, romance and/or shapeshifters and magic. Others, are set in Nardva’s future and include space stations, plasma rifles, bio-tech, and/or cyborgs.


She has published numerous short stories, poems, four novellas in the Under the Mountain series, her debut novel, Akrad's Children and Ruhanna's Flight and other stories.

Her latest release is Shadow Crystals, the penultimate novella in the Under the Mountain series with Caverns of the Deep due in April/May.

Jeanette has practised medicine, studied communication, history, theology and a Master of Arts (Writing). She loves reading, painting, travel, catching up for coffee with friends, pondering the meaning of life. She lives in Brisbane with her husband and children.


Find her on:


Thursday, 20 February 2014

Month of Poetry

by Jeanette O'Hagan

In January, encouraged by Nola and Michelle, I signed up for MoP - Month of Poetry - with some trepidation and a smidgen of excitement. After all, I had dabbled in poetry before but the task was to write one poem a day for the whole month of January - 31 poems.  Still they didn't have to be big and they didn't have to be brilliant and if I got stuck maybe I could bring out one of my poems in progress from the bottom drawer. So I took a risk...

And I'm so glad I did. For one thing, the discipline or expectation that I would write one poem a day meant that I did. I surprised myself. How often did I sit down to a blank page with nary an idea - only to find the words flowing? A lot. By the end of January I had written  ... not 31 poems
but ... 33 :)

Not only did I write poems during this time (and actually a few since then) but people read and commented on them. It was great to get encouraging but honest feedback. And I enjoyed providing feedback to my fellow MoP-anauts.

But just as good was reading everyone else's poems. I've never read so much poetry at one time - and I enjoyed all of it. There was such a wide variety and levels of experience. Some, like me, felt like beginners. Others were obviously much more practiced and confident. There was a huge variety of styles as well - from sonnets, haiku, blank verse, free form, to shaped poems, acrostics & verse novels. I learned new forms - the difference between haiku and senryu, found poems, erasure poems, climbing rhymes, villanelles and trimerics. Best of all, I had fun.

Poems were  posted on a closed website with stated copyright protection for the writer.

It was an exhilarating month and I'm keen to sign up for MoP 2015. In the meantime, here was my effort on Day 29

A long time ago

Once upon a time
when I was five
in the middle of the year
we moved to a new house
in School Road
just a short dreamy amble away
from my new school.

And I was thrilled
to escape
that dragon teacher
I forget her name
her hard face
who breathed fiery
tough-hearted spite
“No you can’t go,
You should have gone
in the break”

But now exchanged
for motherly Mrs Fisher
who enveloped us
in her matronly smiles
and rewarded completed sums
with a sweet rainbow
selection
of tempting, tantalising
jelly beans.

Yet new perils awaited
lurking in the expanses of
bitumen and dust
of the school grounds.
No, not the harsh outback sun
beating down on hatted heads
Or the twirling,
wheeling,
whistling
fork-tailed kites
swooping for lunch scraps
within inches of startled faces
Or even the yellow, thick, three foot ruler
in grade three
whose watchful eye
was more threat than bite.

It was
the
silence
the closed games
and head shakes
acid that etched
corroding self-confidence
as yet again
I trembled “Can I play?”
Averted heads
closed looks
leaving me to wander
and circle
overtures of friendship
rejected
adrift in solitary pursuits
until at the end of the day
I could return to riotous play
and daring adventures with
my brothers

#

But then at School I discovered
26 new friends
to whose game of musical chairs
I was not excluded
as they cheerfully spelled out
“Open Sesame”
and through the wardrobe
I stumbled
encountering a friendly untamed lion
from over the seas
giants, colourful strange lands
princesses and dashing princes
Lilliputians and giant fishes
Tom and Huckle’s adventures
time-fated Mohicans
just as outcaste and lonely
red headed Anne with an “e”
noble horses of great beauty
and loyal lassies
treasures discovered
in the snow of winter
never mind it was
a blistering 40 C
And my heart swelled
and my imagination expanded
and my world was populated
and I was content just to read.

Jeanette O’Hagan © 29 January 2014



Jeanette has practiced medicine, studied communication, history and theology and has taught theology.  She is currently caring for her  children, enjoying post-graduate studies in writing at Swinburne University and writing her Akrad fantasy fiction series.  She is actively involved in a caring Christian community.


You can find her on her Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/JeanetteOHaganAuthorAndSpeaker or webiste  JennysThread.com .


Some other posts by Jeanette:
http://christianwritersdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2013/04/old-tapes.html ;
http://christianwritersdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2013/08/the-world-of-books.html
http://christianwritersdownunder.blogspot.com.au/2013/06/a-thorny-gift.html