Tag Archives: reading

Day 30 — Ann[e] + choices

April is always a challenging month. After a dozen of these NaPoWriMos I think I’m starting to get the hang of it. That said, still incredibly draining churning out X poems a day (even when you’re only working a half day like today). You feel good when you get to the end. You feel better in a fortnight when you reread what you created & realise a lot of it is actually pretty cool. That said said, this year was also perhaps the easiest because of the subject matter. I really love books. I really love reading. And I really loved this assignment. 

She’s already been mentioned 3 times in other poems this month so it won’t be a surprise to read her name because it was at once tough & not that tough to choose. Sure, there might be other books I’ve probably read more often: Tolkien, The Belgariad, Harry Potter, A Christmas Carol, Pride & Prejudice, Bill Bryson’s Shakespeare &/or The English Language, or Blake’s Songs of Innocence, etc — but there’s something about the Green Gables Anne that just sticks. She’s always getting into trouble, but her charm always gets her out of it. Been planning to end with it for several weeks so lines have been popping in & out for days. It was fun to work on. And yes I reread key scenes & yes I cried like a bub-bub just as I have done for over 40 years.

The closing Factoid however I wasn’t sure what to do for that, until it just arrived. Like a full stop at the end of a sentence; a finis at the close of a play.

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Anne with an E

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Day 30 Factoid — Personal Factoid

life choices

of all the multitude 
of glorious things
one chooses to do in life 

so not just breathing 
or eating or sleeping
all kind of compulsory

without question i’ve 
— even more than write —
chosen to read books

day in day out
across decades
a reading life

Day 29 — dirty books + factoid couplets

Almost every poem this month to date has been, in essence, a love poem. To books. To reading. To reading books. This one, breaks that pattern.

The Poetic Factoid is actually a series of Hypertext Factoids with Bactoids — It’s a poem where every line has a hypertext link to verify its claim. About why Reading is good for you. (A familiar theme true, but these are more of the facts I’ve collected along the way as I research. Originally they were just gonna be the text from the articles, but then I realise a couple of them rhymed; then I made the rest do so as well. It was fun.)

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dirty books

do alarm me : a little : i sometimes think : who held this before me : & worse : what did they hold as they held this book : various things have been  ::  in  ::  second hand books i’ve bought : & i don’t just mean : abandoned bookmarks : & forgotten pressed flowers : but other things : have been caught : like muffin crumbs : jam smears : peanut butter blotches : is that tomato sauce : have you been eating Cheezels : or Mac’n’Cheese : squashed mosquitoes : & miscellaneous other bugs : can now tell the difference : i believe : between coffee plops & tea drops : wait is that blood : no i don’t want to know  ::  & sometimes : i think even worse : the things i cannot see : are actually the curse : like getting medical & technical for a sec :  what if the previous reader was sick : germs bacteria fungi microbes : how many of them are still hanging around : did the previous reader : wash their hands : not just after gardening : or emptying the bin : please tell me : i’m not holding microscopic : drips of pee : or for that matter //

// look it doesn’t matter : i think i’ll put the book down : just for a bit : while i go & take  ::  some time out

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Day 29 Factoid Overload — Hypertext Factoids with Bactoids

reading …

reduces stress
aids academic success

boosts brain connectivity
improves your memory

more than one book at a time challenges & improves cognitive flexibility
can be used as a form of therapy

expands your vocabulary
develops empathy

gives your brain a comprehensive workout
causes new neural pathways to sprout

improves concentration a heap
before bed gives a better night’s sleep

to kids supercharges early language acquisition
whereas kids reading to dogs improves their own condition

makes you kinder
protects you from prison (kinda)

even prolongs your life
(which ya gotta admit, is kinda nice)

Day 28 — Thursday Next + Thursday Now

Another Lawrence’s Maxim might come as a shock given I’ve been drip feeding them out on Saturdays up until now — but the truth is I quite enjoy writing them, there’s lots of books on the possible shortlist, & I’m running out of time. Three days only left of this year’s Glo/NaPoWriMo so I figured what they hey (I already have one planned for the final day & there was the special Blue Shakespeare edition Wednesday Last) …

As is often the case, the Factoid became more fun & grew in the telling to be a quirky little thing all its own.

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Thursday Next

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Day 28 Factoid — Thursdays on my mind

7 Thursday week: a Fun Factoid pome told in seven days

That may be must be, love, on Thursday next.
Paris

i.
We all know it’s named after 
Thor (Norse god of thunder)

but after that Thursday 
fun facts tend to dry up

ii.
some folks call it “Friday’s Friday” 
given it heralds Friday
& therefore hurrah!  the weekend

i prefer to think of it more 
as Wednesday’s Thursday
— but it seems less exciting

iii. 
Thanksgiving (a local US custom) 
is always celebrated on November’s 
fourth Thursday

er, iv.
the chemical element Thorium (Th) 
is named after Thor, which means
it’s indirectly connected to Thursday

v.
Richard Osman’s now making tons 
of money after choosing Thursday 
as the day his Murder Club meets

vi.
Thursday is mentioned more times
in Shakespeare than any other day

17 including the phrase “Thursday Next”
uttered by three separate characters:
Paris, Capulet, & Friar Maximillian Laurence (no relation)

vii. 
come this Thursday next
i won’t have to crank out 
three poems daily & can 
                                      finally rest

Day 27 — book sense part 1 + book sense part 5

Been in my head (my nose mainly) for a while. A simple poem about a much beloved part of bookerying. The Poetic Factoid is in fact, a Negative Factoid.

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bibliosmia 

as books age
they begin to break down
the paper breaks down
the ink breaks down
the cloth breaks down
the leather breaks down
the binding breaks down

what break down means
in this situation
is delicious little bits 
of book bit
drift off into the air
& into our noses

these exquisite scents
are special fragrances
capable of forming
spiritual connections
within our brains 
primarily because
i have it on good
authority that — 
old book shops are 
exactly what
heaven smells like

if i could bottle it
& make it a cologne
1. i’d wear it every day
2. i’d make a mint
cos all bibliophiles
love the smell of books

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Day 27 Factoids — thankfully not a word

bibliovore

while we bibliophiles
adore almost everything 
to with books
the way they look
the way they feel
the way they sound
the way they smell
(sweet angels above —
that sublime scent)

thankfully we don’t
get off on eating them

Day 26 — Robin Hood + Will Scarlet 

Today’s poem was always on the shortlist but at the last minute supplanted another book I was considering writing about. It came about given how I spent part of my afternoon — underneath an oak glade as the afternoon sun set. It seemed quite obvious to flip out that other book for this one — or these ones — as there’s no definitive text & multiple versions of the wonderful tales of the Merry Men of Robin Hood. The Factoid is likewise connected to that medieval gang.

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LM #05 — Robin Hood

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Day 26 Factoid — coiffures in the Greenwood 

Will Scarlet and the Hairdresser 

in the earliest ballads 
Will Scarlet was but 
a background character

called Will Scathlock
Middle English sc(e)afan  “to shave” 
& locc meaning “hair” 

in other words 
Will Scarlet was originally
a skinhead

Day 24 — 2024 ten star reads + worst book titles

It’s been a long day. I’ve worked on several poems none of which have made it to completion, hence it’s time for a couple of quick filler pomes. No 1: A poem made up of the titles only of all the books I read which I gave 10 stars to in 2024. (Only 10 of them.) That’s it. No editing or tweaking allowed. That’s it. That’s the exercise. The task in 2 months time is to come along & edit that skeleton pome & see if it can be brought to more/some sense.

No 2: The Factoid is very similarly created. I have chosen 13 of the worst titles ever as voted by Good Reads … & I can concur. Some are pretty shite. Tried to arrange them in at least a pseudo-pome format.

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2024 : ***** *****

The Wood, The Running Hare:
The Secret Life of Farmland
Raising Hare, Under the Stars

The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet
The Galaxy, and the Ground Within
The House in the Cerulean Sea

This Changes Everything
Maybe Next Time
This Changes Everything

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Day 24 Factoid — 13 of the worst book titles ever

Why Geese Don’t Get Obese

Truth, Dare, or Handcuffs or Threeway
Smashed, Squashed, Splattered, Chewed, Chunked and Spewed

How to Poo at Work
How to Shit in the Woods: An Environmentally Sound Approach to a Lost Art
Walter The Farting Dog Farts Again

It’s Not That I’m Bitter . . .: Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying About Visible Panty Lines and Conquered the World
How to Raise Your I.Q. by Eating Gifted Children
Sweet Jesus, I Hate Bill O’Reilly

Porn Again Christian
Birth Control is Sinful in the Christian Marriages and also Robbing God of Priesthood Children!!
Anybody Can Be Cool . . . But Awesome Takes Practice

Abraham Lincoln: Fuck Lord of the Moon (Presidential Fuck Machine, #3)
Uncockblockable

Day 23 — blue Shakespeare + Capital unCanberra

Over the past couple of days I read Shakespeare’s Library: Unlocking the Greatest Mystery in Literature by Stuart Kells [& if books could be considered clickbait, the subtitle is definitely one big troll]. I’d hoped to find something interesting about said library for the basis of a poem. Alas the book is blotchy, all over the shop, often only tangentially or tenuously related to its title. So, I’ve had this idea as a backup as one of the Lawrence’s Maxims series & thought WTH even though it’s not a Saturday (no-one’s probably noticed that’s been a thing) I’m going to be writing about a big old cheap old poor quality book.

Today’s Factoid is one of the few interesting (unknown to me) facts I plucked from Shakespeare’s Library. 

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Day 23 Factoid – Capital Bill

Capital 

Back at the turn of the 20th Century
when Melbourne & Sydney were duking it out
to see who’d be our fair federation captain
some truly godawful names were bandied about*

from mouth manglers like Meladneyperbane & Sydmelperadbrisho (sorry Darwin)

flora & fauna inspired: Acacia, Cookaburra, Kangaremu, Wattleton, & Eucalypta (one I actually quite like)

to the cheeky laconic larrikinesque: Gonebroke, Swindleville, Thirstyville, & Home (surprised Sweet Home wasn’t on the end)

geographically motivated: Austral City, Pacifica, Southern Cross (the fact there already was one in WA existed put the kibosh on this choice toot sweet)

poetically out of place: Aurora, Climax (saucy), Eden, Harmony, Olympus, Paradise, Regina

bureaucratically bland: Captain Cook, Caucus City, Federalia, Frontierland, Hopetoun, Labourville, The National City, New Era, Union City, Unison

& whatever the hell these are: Australville, Aryan City (disturbing), Back Spur, Commonwealth Circular City (huh), Cooksturta, Myola, Wheatwoolgold (you’re just throwing words together now)

As well as — SHAKESPEARE — 

How different might the city of Burley Griffin be with suburbs named Prospero & Capulet & Guildenstern for kidlets to grow up in

*about 700 or 800 reportedly were officially logged & assigned a number
though I’ve been unable to discover the complete list.

Day 22 — conundrums + more conundrums

The idea for this one has been nagging at me for several days & many of the pairs popped (or rather worked their way) into my head as I drove home from work into the setting sun. The Poetic Factoid today is actually many Factoids in one — & picks up where the first poem leaves off (there was so much I couldn’t fit in to the top poem; hence part ii).

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the great moral conundrum of our time

Life gives us choices. Constantly.

From little easy ones like:  boxers or briefs.
Vampires or werewolves. Dogs or cats.
Chips with vinegar or sauce. Autumn or spring.
Reddit or Twitter, iPhone or Android.
Toilet paper over or under. Moon or sun.
Glass half full or half empty. Running marathon
or sitting on the sofa sensibly with a book.

To big hard ones like:  pineapple on pizza
Be rich or be in love. Be talented or popular
(obviously not everyone can be both like me).
Live by the ocean or in the mountains.
Cold pizza for breakfast or hot crumpets 
for dinner. Window or aisle. Sweet or savoury.
Fiction or non-fiction. Venice or Reykjavík.

& here’s where we arrive at the prime conundrum:
Rereading old favourites or trying out new books.

If you’re looking for some wise words of wisdom from me here to guide 
your way forwards, sorry to disappoint — I’ve yet to solve this myself.

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Day 22 Factoid — reading choices

Part ii: more reader-specific conundrums

Buying more books or reading the ones you have.
(Warning: this is a strawman option 
hence why it is first on the list)
Comfy at home or in a cozy cafe.
Morning or evening; day or night.
In bed or on couch. Silence or with music.
One book at a time or many books at once.
Indoors or outdoors. Hardcover or paperback.
Audio or physical. Sci-fi or fantasy. 
Or crime or romance or historical or thriller.
Or history or memoir or nature writing.
Series or standalones. Classics or new releases.

Tea or coffee or hot chocolate while reading
Or Sauv Blanc or whiskey or GnT or even water.

Day 21 — Mycology & mushroom wisdom

This was a scrap of poem from earlier in the month that wasn’t working, I threw away the last two verses & did something cool to the rest. It’s gone from a meh! to a YEH! in my eyes. The Factoid was fun too.

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Mybookcology 

i know : i already own more : than can possibly : be read in the rest : of my lifetime (of several even) — even if : i did nothing else : in the burgeoning biosphere : & despite my relatively brisk : reading speed — yet still they accumulate : like mycelium : threading through : the loam of my life : the soil of my soul : subconsciously : drawing them all into me : gifts from friends moving house : family gifts given : then returned upon ‘completion’ : online orders clicked in the long : insomnia laden : post-midnight hours : (when, i have to admit : they seemed much wiser choices) : intermittent  acquisitions : from those rare impulse buys : when i just happen : to walk into a store : for a few moments : of me time : & interlinking : when a client : wants to go opshopping : i can’t very well say no : microscopic structures : breathed in : breaking me down : enriching my being : there’s a kind of order amongst them : invisible connections : a sense of sorts : thriller : crime : historical : fantasy : sci-fi : paranormal : literary : Australian : & so on : but never enough space : for the system to flourish : windows blocked now : by cases : the gloom : forest floor dark : everything getting less light : small stacks mushrooming : from the floor : spores stretching for the ceiling

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Day 21 Factoid — talking mushrooms

fungigence

fungi : have an electrical language : much like 
what goes on : with our neurons & synapses

they even just might : communicate with 
neighbours : using words : in simple sentences

& this ancient : humous-hugging kingdom : does it all 
without brains (hey, it works for some humans)

Day 18 — my antilibrary + definitions

A word I’ve long liked given I live within one is antilibrary — so today’s poem explores that idea in a magic realism kinda way. The Factoid is presented for those who do not know what an antilibrary is but want to know. Lifted straight from the dictionaries it is.

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My Antilibrary has no End

wake again : from the ancient childhood dream : drifting high above the sea : toward the house on the summit : of a mountain range long gone : our eternal sanctuary : respite : from mortal mistakes : our sempiternal palace : our immutable mansion : our cosy cottage : that scales in size as required : especially for us : where we go : our safe house : between sentences

the home that has held us : healed us : for centuries : millennia : & more

all my books : that endless room beyond my library : where exists every book never written : as well as all the ones that were : including many of my own : past present yet to be : books lost forever : in the fires of Alexandria : in fear driven religious pogroms of every stripe : in rising damp : in neglect : in forgotten buildings falling down quietly return to earth slow soft embrace : lost ledgers from ancient Egypt : Greece : the Xia dynasty : companions to the Bhagavad Gita : biographies of Buddha : Incan glyphs : Mayan & Aztec hieroglyphs : tomes from Timbuktu & Tibet : archives even from Atlantis, Avalon, Tír na nÓg : scrolls from beyond the stars 

wake again : from the room : where once i wandered : nightly : seeking that volume : that would save : my life : from turning away 

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Day 18 Factoid – an actual dictionary definition

antilibrary  / ˈantiˈlʌɪb(rə)ri / 

The [rather impressive] collection of books you own but have not yet read, for whatever reason, but would still like to one day, when they’re needed, all of which keep you intellectually curious & humble. Books which reminds you that there’s still plenty you don’t know (yet). Plenty you don’t even know you don’t know. These innumerable beautiful unread books, should not be viewed as failures, but as sources of inspiration & future learning. & you should not stop buying them, simply because shelf space is getting a little tightish or your mother tells you you should.