About j. lewis' a clear day in october

Before we know it, it will be October again, so I'd like to promote j. lewis' book, a clear day in October.  Let's start with the forward to his book by Laura M. Kaminski.

Forward!

I was stunned and honored when j.lewis invited me to write the foreword for his first full-length collection of poetry, so much so that I agreed without thinking ahead about how exactly I would manage to do that. 

My expectation of a foreword is that it serves as an introduction, something along the lines of Reader, meet Poet. But how do I go about introducing a poet who has written the line: “i never felt i needed describing”? 

Alternatively, a foreword can serve as history and prescription, explain where the poems came from, and what the reader ought to think of them. But I can’t pretend to know either of those things well enough to blithely presume to tell you. Or you. Or you. 

So how do I set your expectations so that you are somehow prepared before you begin to turn the pages? Offer up a pre-departure checklist? Bring your eyes, there are exquisite pictures. Bring your appetite, there’s pizza. Bring your ears, there’s music so loud you can hear it.

Dust off your own memories of childhood desires and disappointments. Open the quiet closet of your experiences as a parent. Find the twins – reverence and irreverence – bring them both. Bring along the bridges you have crossed, bring the ashes of the ones that you have burned.

Clean the surface of whatever device on which you receive the news of grief in other places, other cultures, other nations. You are cleared through security to travel, enter hospitals and prisons. Tuck a handkerchief discretely in your pocket just in case. 

Are you ready to walk past empty rooms, sit in a café, read a recipe for sacrifice and faith? Are you ready for rain, for grief? Are you willing to slop pigs? Are you willing to be torn and mended, blessed? 

Then come, and welcome. You’re invited to make your own contrails across this sky, this clear day in october. 

Forward!

Laura M Kaminski

Here are a few reviews from Amazon:

Very Sherry Terry

5.0 out of 5 stars  Well done, Jim! This book is fantastic!

August 14, 2017

Honestly, I'm not a fan of poetry. Then I met a friend at her job for lunch, and she had a copy of a clear day in october. She thought I might like the pictures as I love photography, so I borrowed it. What an unexpected delight I found in the words. I fell in love with the poetry, and I felt compelled to leave a review.

Jim Lewis has opened my eyes to the world of poetry with a clear Day in october. I loved this book. I give it 5 out of 5 stars. Not only are the pictures worth 5 stars, the poems are exquisite and deserve the highest rating I can give as well.

I loved the poem, Empty. The haunting words struck a chord in my heart and the photograph with it brings the feelings home. It haunts me still. Quietly, for Mother Theresa was a beautiful tribute, and First Lie will speak to everyone.

Jim brought out all of my emotions with his lovely words, and the pictures make me want to do some traveling. He's a fantastic photographer, and the book is worth having on your coffee table just for them.

I highly recommend a clear day in october for anyone who enjoys poetry, photography, and a warm feeling inside.

CJ Clark

5.0 out of 5 stars  Brilliant, heartwarming and thought-provoking

January 18, 2018

You know that feeling after a chilled day of slogging through obligatory tasks, when you come home to your warm house, make a cup of steaming cocoa and settle on a comfy chair to gaze at your Christmas tree and a crackling fireplace fire-that moment when you exhale and your bones settle and the world feels perfect? That feeling is A Clear Day in October. The first poem I opened to was All I Want. I had to dab away a few tears because it is exactly how I feel about my dog. Each poem, each photo feels like unwrapping an eagerly anticipated gift. Brilliant.

James Keane

5.0 out of 5 stars  A natural tour de force

February 1, 2017

“a clear day in october” by j. lewis is not a work of art. It is two works of exquisite art. Stirring, top-quality poems, inspired and driven by a lifetime of experience that lewis has gained in his unflinching embrace of both the joy and pain of human nature. Presented in concert with lewis’s beautiful, professional-quality photographs, his manifold testament to the vibrant presence of physical nature in all its varied, authentic and exhilarating beauty.

If you would like to purchase j. lewis' book, here is the link:

https://www.amazon.com/clear-day-october-j-lewis/dp/168073055X

You can also contact him at his Facebook page about purchasing the book: https://www.facebook.com/poetryontap/

I was just browsing through j. lewis' photographs on Facebook, and they are quite amazing!

Here is Art Pepper's "The Breeze and I," which complements the photographs nicely:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulG_PHqswzs&list=PL1qtoihP8C4lTsnlhYoAXQ69QNOpqEDDn

His "Autumn Leaves" will give you a foretaste of our next season: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Aih33-49dA&list=PL1qtoihP8C4lTsnlhYoAXQ69QNOpqEDDn&index=4

I'll finish with his "Patricia": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXNpG0w_rks

Dustin Pickering's Review of Guitar of Love by Vatsala Radhakeesoon

Vatsala Radhakassoon’s Celebration of Life

Review of Guitar of Love by Vatsala Radhakeesoon

RealVision Inc. Publishing 

Music is as universal as Time itself which is its very basis. Rhythm coalescing with lyrical abandon creates soothing harmonies and genuine reflections in the greatest music. In Guitar of Love, Vatsala Radhakeesoon explores her favorite singers and the buoyant effect of their music. However the poems encompass deeper themes of eternal love, illusion, beauty, romance, and philosophy within the central concept of the splendor of song.

   In “Sing, Sing Dear Singer” Radhakeesoon explores nostalgia for youth brought by her favorite singer. She writes, “for you, I’ve become / the teenager again…” as if addressing the musician personally. Her reflections often float into 2^ndperson, creating an effect of experiencing her emotions as an observer rather than listening to a confession. For instance, the poem “Bach’s Music” tells of a woman’s broken heart. The woman is presumably the poet herself.

  In the tone and imagery of St. John of the Cross, Radhakeesoon pursues spiritual themes comparing God’s love to light, “reality as it is”, the “twin flame”. God’s love is the guitar itself playing throughout Nature. What the poem “The Giant Seashell’s Song” calls “the lyre / of the Oracle” is the music of Time played by God’s hand as He strums the guitar of love. Hints of Rilke’s Sonnets to Orpheus bleed through the work at times. Such is the case with the poem “The Lord and I”:

“Thus keeps turning

the wheel of my life

without any fright

throughout all days

and nights

I relish the golden lyrics

that the Lord writes

with sun rays ink”

The Romantic mysticism present in this poem appears in other verses such as “The Wake Up Song” which contains hints of Shelley’s “The Masque of Anarchy”:

“Recognize your true self

Awaken it

Let go of slumber”

Here, liberation is the formal recognition of Selfhood rather than political liberation from tyranny. In this respect, Radhakeesoon owes her thinking to the Vedas.

         In “The Woman and the Philosopher”, classical themes are employed to illuminate romantic love: “now you’re burning / in mad passion’s flame / like enraged Dido…” The portrayal of Dido as enraged shows a superior understanding of her role in Aeneas’ destiny. Dido refuses to speak to Aeneas in the underworld.

      However, Radhakeesoon advises the reader to “Be the stable charioteer / of your mind” revealing her relationship to the spiritual works that advise patience and charity. Her mystical depth is serenely personal. God is her foundation and his music enraptures her with pleasure. God is like Orpheus or King David with the lyre, a symbol of harmony within Nature and balance of the soul. It is no coincidence that love poems are included. Love can be between a mother and child, two lovers, God and His disciple, and the hearer and music. As the poet writes:

“Music’s eyes 

boldly reveal

the reality 

the truth

as they are…”

Music is characterized and personified as having eyes to observe. Music becomes a beam of light that sees all workings on Earth as a divine Sun. Music is akin to the Holy Spirit—it is wisdom of the Earth and God’s communication.

      The poet makes no secret of her love for music. She even attributes her role as Poet to music. She glorifies Poets as warriors of the age, fighters for compassion. 

          Vatsala Radhakeesoon is a profoundly mystical poet in the tradition of St. John of the Cross. Her poems read like hymnal exclamations of sacred love. In her seeking, she employs classical imagery and Vedic themes. Being no stranger to holy texts, Radhakeesoon writes as a spiritually illumined mystic. The unique culture of Mauritius informs her serene tribute. Guitar of Love is not only a homage to music. It is also a celebration of life. 

 To purchase Vatsala's book, please go to this link: https://www.amazon.com/Guitar-Love-Vatsala-Radhakeesoon/dp/1792065280

Her wonderful book is available in print and on Kindle.

Now to add the music that I had wanted to include on Sunday!

I'll start with "Avant de partir" by Roch Voisine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lw1QYtDxUU4

As one of the trio Forever Gentlemen, he has covered "Fly Me to the Moon":  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxHJHjVVTRI

Here is some jazz from Mauritius, Vatsala's home.  LIB is playing "Night Note":  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_k3xJ74pZ4

Linley Marthe, the bassist of Island Jazz, is from Mauritius: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbrmxOEsV_E

Marthe is featured here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaGD7zUpSU4

Enjoy!

Welcome to Vatsala Radhakeesoon

Tonight I'd like to post some poems from Vatasala Radhakeesoon's book Guitar of Love.  Her book is already drawing positive notice, so I am sure that you will enjoy reading her wonderful poems!  Let's start with the title poem.

Guitar of Love

I’m the swirls

of ecstasy,

I’m the tears

of grief

I’m

your inspiration,

your consolation,

your desolation

O, sensitive singer!

I know each corner of

your heart,

your mind,

your soul

In your world

of songs' creation,

                                    I’ve vowed to be                                   

your life’s companion

O, sensitive singer!

You and I,

bonded by

Music’s immortality

On planet Earth

will forever shower

the songs of Equality.

Vatsala Radhakeesoon

Image by Doreen Sawitza

Divine Song

The soul of the universe vibrates,

Planet Earth opens its third eye,

The learned Acharya

with a meditative look

detached from illusion

with cleansed heart

sings the message of God

A song of unity

A song of morality

A song of Equality

A song for humanity

pulsates in dawn’s wisdom

Convincingly the melodious voice

echoes

up till the morning breeze blissfully

smiles

“ God wants all children

to be merry,

to hold hands in harmony,

to live lives where

thoughts, words and actions shine

like a million golden lotuses

bearing the un-flickering light

of permanent ego-less purity

Vatsala Radhakeesoon

Photograph by XIIIfromTOKYO

Favourite Singer

(for Roch Voisine)

Blessed with uniqueness

is your voice,

To my ears,

it’s the mysticism of cool sea;

Your lyrics

sad, happy, profound, funny

on my musical ladder

shine as first choice.

During my teens,

on my room walls, you smiled,

To my locked girlish diary

you often flew and said

“Hi!”

Your songs in the morning breeze

met my poems shy

and you became

my gentle muse,

my artistic guide.

Swiftly have the years flown

but amidst my Poetry’s sun

to your songs on YouTube

I still turn,

I sing along with you

‘ L’idole’, ‘Bye-Bye’ and ‘Helen’,

I’m all thrilled

with ‘Forever Gentlemen’.


O Favourite singer!

To my mind, soul, heart

will speak your songs forever

Your fan fidèle*

I will be forever.

   

Vatsala Radhakeesoon

Music My Maker

My soul has fallen in love

with your guitar

Your lyrics speak

right to my heart

Shy and scared,

I’m not ready to follow you

but in my world

I silently weave words

I’ve chosen an art

that compliments you

one that is a subset of you

O Music!

Through your love

I’ve discovered

the elegantly written art

O Music!

You have made me

a poet.

Vatsala Radhakeesoon

Jane Seymour and Ian McKellen in a 1980 production of Amadeus. McKellen played Salieri

Mozart and Salieri

(Inspired by the movie Amadeus)

Mozart was gifted

He could turn

all music pieces

into perfection

Salieri got disciplined

a firm believer of God

and worked hard

to produce quality music

Both great composers

but Mozart’s music

proved unbeatable

It touched

each heart

each soul

naturally

“O, God !”

exclaimed Salieri,

Then he asked the Supreme

“Why have you blessed

me with Music

when I’m doomed

to be merely

the second best?

Deep inside

Salieri’s soul

was tormented

by Envy’s pain

Drowning into

useless anger

and Mozart’s popularity

kept diffusing

in all countries

For centuries

ambiguity has prevailed

upon Salieri being

the murderer of

the genius Mozart

Alas!

What a life!

How undignified

is the fire of fatal

Jealousy!

O Human Race!

Learn your lesson

from those composers

If you’re at Art’s service,

be selfless

appreciate colleagues

learn from them

compare yourself

to No one

Run your race!

Thus, the Divine

will surely bless you

with eternal peace,

eternal wisdom.

Vatsala Radhakeesoon

I Let You Go

Each of my songs

sung under the sun

of the magical guitar

has the imprints

of your love

Oh, I did love you

Maybe I still do

We’ve met in this life

and as a twin flame

I’ve recognised you

But since you have

some karmic debts

towards your own

creation

your kin,

the Lord has entrusted me

the most painful duty

the toughest task

to let you go

With invisible tears

in my artistic heart

and an Amazonian smile

on my determined face

I let you go

My logic rarely fails

My intuition often wins

So in this life once again

I let you fly, dive

to your daily duties

to some unfulfilled

past lives’ karmas

Please complete

the practical circle

Leave no blanks

Skip no question marks

And once many cycles

of seasons for aeons

they got are complete

then again, the Lord

himself will guide us

and with all his blessings

joyfully he’ll unite us.

Vatsala Radhakeesoon