Live on Amazon – Building Sandcastles: A Book of Short Poems by C.X. Turner and James Welsh

Dear Readers,

I am thrilled to let you know that Building Sandcastles: A Book of Short Poems by C.X. Turner and James Welsh is now live on Amazon. A publication of Literary Revelations, Building Sandcastles is a superb collection of haiku and senryu. I am proud to be the publisher of this book. Thank you everyone for the love and the support I received.

Amazon Description

Building Sandcastles: A Book of Short Poems by C.X. Turner and James Welsh is a spectacular collection. From every page the beauty of haiku and senryu poetry jumps, inscribing itself in the soul of the reader with color, sonority, melancholy, grief, and love. Water, clouds, memories, do not only mark chapters. They become the real soul of the book. The transitory nature of haiku and senryu – with their delicate and ethereal qualities – is magically transformed by the authors into permanence. That is no easy thing to do. C.X. Turner and James Welsh create a world of splendor and depth that will forever mark those who read the book.

The book showcases seven wonderful sketches done by C.X. Turner. You will find beauty and great substance in them.

Building Sandcastleshas received plenty of advanced praise:

Bryan Rickert, Editor: Failed Haiku Journal of Senryu, President: The Haiku Society of America writes: “With both broad brushstrokes and intimate details, these two poets paint the beautiful experience of their haiku worlds.”

Joe Woodhouse, Editor: Wales Haiku Journal states that: “In one breath tender and poignant, in the next stark and arresting, this collection of short poems is a journey of discovery through an evocative series of moments in nature. It is an exploration of that yearning to glean meaning from the chaotic lives we all lead.”

Roberta Beach JacobsonEditor, Cold Moon Journal and Five Fleas (Itchy Poetry) tells us: “Building Sandcastles: A Book of Short Poems, the stunning new collection by C.X. Turner and James Welsh, is a must-have for your shelves. These thought-provoking haiku and senryu left me breathless.”

Literary Revelations is proud to publish this unbelievable poetry collection.

Gabriela Marie Milton
2022 Pushcart Prize Nominee
Publisher, Editor, Award Winning & #1 Amazon Bestselling Author
Books:

Hidden in Childhood: A Poetry Anthology (ed.), Literary Revelations, 2023
Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women (ed.), Experiments in Fiction, 2022.
Woman: Splendor and Sorrow :I Love Poems and Poetic Prose, Vita Brevis Press, 2021.
Passions: Love Poems and Other Writings, Vita Brevis Press, 2020

I am thrilled to let you know that Literary Revelations will publish Building Sandcastles: A Book of Short Poems by C.X. Turner and James Welsh on August 11. The book is a splendid collection of haiku and senryu. It contains seven sketches done by C.X. Turner. Literary Revelations hired a highly professional formatter who vectorized C.X. Turner’s sketches and worked on every image to make sure that no pixelation will occur on page. The authors choose the have 3 haiku per page beautifully positioned. The formatter made sure that no matter what devise you may use to read the eBook the integrity of the pagination will be kept. A lot of work went into getting this book ready for publication. I am proud to be its publisher.

The book has received plenty of advanced praise some of which can be found HERE. Below please find one of the sketches from the book entitled Water and the foreword I wrote.

Water by C.X. Turner

Building Sandcastles: A book of Short Poems by C.X. Turner and James Welsh

There has never been a collection of short poems and haiku that stirred so much beauty and so many emotions in my soul like Building Sandcastles: A Book of Short Poems by C.X.Turner and James Welsh. I want to be clear from the beginning. There is always a certain degree of disparity between the consciousness of a poet and reality. C.X.Turner and James Welsh fill that gap with intricate feelings, fragrances, colors, flowers, birds, and memories, until we do not understand anymore where dreams stop, and reality emerges. The delicacy of their word and sound impregnates every poem.

around a bend
on a woodland path
the chime of bluebells

river walk—
the gentle weeping
of white peony petals

Make no mistake. Their poems are not only delicate and breathtaking in imagery. They are also philosophical. Moreover, the authors steer clear of “fixing” feelings. They live the good and the bad, a remarkable move in a world in which commercialism and slogans bombard us every day; a world that denies an entire repertoire of human feelings to replace it with the today’s socially engineered state of “happiness.”

weeping cloud
I don’t try to fix
melancholy

a grieving friend
love, blown from a candle
in the wind

C.X.Turner and James Welsh transform the impossible into possible. They transmute the physical world into a world of magnificent beauty and depth that will forever mark those who read them.

Gabriela Marie Milton
author, editor, publisher

Afterword

As I mentioned in the ABOUT section of Literary Revelations we value quality, not quantity. We strive to make sure that our books are high quality and our talented authors get the best publicity. We are proud of who we are. We are deeply grateful to everyone who supports us.

Gabriela Marie Milton
2022 Pushcart Prize Nominee
Publisher, Editor, Award Winning & #1 Amazon Bestselling Author
Books:

I am deeply grateful to the Italian poet Flavio Almerighi – a poet whose work I admire – for translating my poem French Symbolism into Italian and for the feature in Gioielli Rubati 257.

French Symbolism in English

It’s still July mon amour
hot sands and old lovers torment my dreams
the waters are frantic
the flowers are dying
smell of fresh tombs and heavy perfumes.

Whispering tongues of burned summers
wrap around a verse from Rimbaud
A Season in Hell and another in heaven
tell me my bones and my blood
breathe only for you.

A Chinoise cup falls on the floor
the cats too lazy to move or to purr
my bras are too tight
the kisses too cool
your decadence
runs my past tense in gerund.

Translated in Italian by Flavio Almerighi

Simbolismo francese

È ancora luglio mon amour
sabbie calde e vecchi amanti tormentano i miei sogni
le acque sono frenetiche
i fiori stanno morendo
odorano di tombe fresche e profumi pesanti.

Lingue sussurrate di estati bruciate
avvolgono un verso di Rimbaud
Una stagione all’inferno e un’altra in paradiso
dimmi che le mie ossa e il mio sangue
respirano solo per te….

…

Read further HERE. Gioielli Rubati 257 features several other wonderful poets.

A quick reminder: Literary Revelations will release Building Sandcastles: A Book of Short Poems by C.X. Turner and James Welsh in late July/early August. Please stay tuned for more updates.

Thank you everyone.

Featured art: Pierre-Auguste Renoir – Sleeping Cat, Public Domain

Gabriela Marie Milton
2022 Pushcart Prize Nominee
Publisher, Editor, Award Winning & #1 Amazon Bestselling Author
Books:

French Symbolism – poem

It’s still July mon amour
hot sands and old lovers torment my dreams
the waters are frantic
the flowers are dying
smell of fresh tombs and heavy perfumes.

Whispering tongues of burned summers
wrap around a verse from Rimbaud
A Season in Hell and another in heaven
tell me my bones and my blood
breathe only for you.

A Chinoise cup falls on the floor
the cats too lazy to move or to purr
my bras are too tight
the kisses too cool
your decadence
runs my past tense in gerund.

Featured Image: Edmond Aman-Jean, Woman with the Blue Vase, Public Domain.

Updates on Literary Revelations

Literary Revelations will release Building Sandcastles: A Book of Short Poems by C.X. Turner and James Welsh end of July/beginning of August. Please stay tuned for more news.

You can read the advanced praise for this wonderful collection HERE.

Gabriela Marie Milton
2022 Pushcart Prize Nominee
Publisher, Editor, Award Winning & #1 Amazon Bestselling Author
Books:

Hello everyone and welcome to my blog. Late July/early August my publishing house Literary Revelations will release a superb book of haiku and senyru co-authored by C.X. Turner and James Welsh and entitled Building Sandcastles: A Book of Short Poems.

I am thrilled to share with you two beautiful poems from the book and the advanced praise we received. I hope you enyoy reading them.

Advanced Praise

“Back in my art teacher days, I used to remind students when they were having difficulties that art was fundamentally an act of play. This artistic playfulness is just what we find in Building Sandcastles: A Book of Short Poems. Turner and Welsh dive deep into their subjects. Exploring every angle and defining every tint and shade along the way. With both broad brushstrokes and intimate details, these two poets paint the beautiful experience of their haiku worlds.”

Bryan Rickert
Editor: Failed Haiku Journal of Senryu
President: The Haiku Society of America

“In one breath tender and poignant, in the next stark and arresting, this collection of short poems is a journey of discovery through an evocative series of moments in nature. It is an exploration of that yearning to glean meaning from the chaotic lives we all lead.

There is a deftness to the poems in this selection, a lightness of touch that beckons the reader inside, leading them gently to the deep meditations and thoughts waiting behind the words.”

Joe Woodhouse
Editor: Wales Haiku Journal

“Building Sandcastles: A Book of Short Poems, the stunning new collection by C.X. Turner and James Welsh, is a must-have for your shelves. These thought-provoking haiku and senryu left me breathless.”

Roberta Beach Jacobson
Editor, Cold Moon Journal and Five Fleas (Itchy Poetry)

Poems

I look out to sea
and see an ancient story
told in shades of blue

unsure of direction
I float my dreams
downstream

Please stay tuned for more news.

Literary Revelations Spanish Feature

Read Here

Building Sandcastles – Front Cover Reveal

Click Here

Gabriela Marie Milton
2022 Pushcart Prize Nominee
Publisher, Editor, Award Winning & #1 Amazon Bestselling Author
Books:

Waltz – poem

I waltz into an empty ballroom
yesterday the ghost of Maja haunted Goya in the streets
hungry demons haunted you
effervescence, the molecules of those who’ll never be,
a door gets slammed
a key gets turned
the breath of earth is choked
initiation
I buried our wedding bands
inside the mist of that which never is
I snow on you white flowers from the one forbidden tree
I jump like a wild lynx
I look for prey
you make pianos sneeze old rhapsodies
stop
it is too late to understand
who’s me

featured image – Goya, La Maja Vestida, Public Domain

Literary Revelations is getting ready to publish a new poetry collection Building Sandcastles: A Book of Short Poems by C.X. Turner and James Welsh.

You can read the advanced praise for Building Sandcastles from the President of the Haiku Society of America Bryan Rickert HERE.

Gabriela Marie Milton
2022 Pushcart Prize Nominee
Publisher, Editor, Award Winning & #1 Amazon Bestselling Author
Books:

I Wanted to Love You – poem by Gabriela Marie Milton

each word I write cries on the tunes of spring,
a spring that ends in graveyards and in dreams
the night I abandoned you on that bench and left
snows in my mind the syllable of hell
I bought one ticket from a shaman dressed in red
and flew towards the island of nowhere
and now between the mighty heaven and the hell
I love you and I hate you are the same
and I return to find the pardon of the sands
to kiss your dust left on your mother’s hand
I dress in colored ashes and I speak
the language of the prophets with no tongues
on a new bench, I sit alone at funerals
and wait until the sea closes its eyes
to resurrect the ghost of love that you inscribed
on the red bridge between your spring and mine
I wanted to return
I wanted to love you

Explore

Visit Literary Revelations for more poetry and art

Explore

Gabriela Marie Milton
2022 Pushcart Prize Nominee
Publisher, Editor, Award Winning & #1 Amazon Bestselling Author
Books:

The Hour of Sunsets – first published in 2019 by Heretics, Lovers, and Madmen

frontiers of my being
the hour of sunsets has come
with bare hands I drown you in the coldest seas
red lilies burn you in the hidden valley
birds delight on carnal straps
I run barefoot through streets of no return
I knock on doors
a piece of bread
for my entire heart

oh, it’s midnight
I step into the land of fantasies that are not mine
I play with dreams like children play with kites
fires taller than the sky burst from my pregnant heart
nocturnal marigolds crawl on my skin like ants
I interrupt the voice of number Pi
from the clouds
I rain on you, my love, the silence of the prophets without tongues

was that a ray of light?
skyscrapers yawn
destinies melt in the taste of coffee and mistrust
car cough
the day confines me to the sick banality of its own land
my hands, aquatic pillars of forgotten fantasies
wait like thieves on corners of the streets

for yet another night

Featured Image: A gift for me from Tasmania

Reminder

From Literary Revelations: Coming this summer – Building Sandcastles: A Book of Short Poems by C.X.Turner and James Welsh

Watch this space for more news and read Literary Revelations Journal.

Gabriela Marie Milton
2022 Pushcart Prize Nominee
Publisher, Editor, Award Winning & #1 Amazon Bestselling Author
Books:

Follow me on Twitter

Tweets by shortprose1

My Dear Readers,

In everyone’s life there are unforgettable moments filled with magic and light on which our names are engraved forever. I lived one of these moments when Vasiliki Petroudi sent me two of my poems she translated into Greek.

Vasiliki Petroudi lives in Greece. Greece is the land where the ancients took every characteristic of the human soul and intellect and made it into a god. A land where we are not assisting to a simple typonomy of name-place. We are assisting to an associative relationship between us and the projection of us into gods; a projection that for the ancients constituted reality. They embedded it into their daily lives; into weddings and funerals, into the cooking of the meals and into mathematical equations.

Every look at the Parthenon transforms the group image of gods into individual psychology. Our beginning and our end are born at the intersection of the Greek interpretations of notions such as eros, beauty, power, and introspection. Look into a mirror and you will see Greece even if you’ve never visited it.

My favorite novelist – Lawrence Durrell – once wrote:

Other countries may offer you discoveries in manners or lore or landscape; Greece offers you something harder—the discovery of yourself.

Vasiliki Petroudi is a wonderful Greek poet who, among other things, translates poetry from English into Greek. She is working on an incredible project that Literary Revelations will present in June. Until then you can read more about Vasiliki HERE.

I am humbled beyond words that Vasiliki translated two of my English poems into Greek. These translations are part of the project she is working on.

Vasiliki, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Below you can find my English poems and Vasiliki’s translations.

Samos, perhaps Crete by Gabriela Marie Milton

[included in Passions: Love Poems and Other Writings, Vita Brevis Press, 2020]

on the barren shore
you play your mandolin
I conjugate “to leave” in the voice of trees
the air reverberates expressions of old gods
the space changes its mind
maybe it is Samos, perhaps it is just Crete
traces of death, glimpses of the future
your thoughts are cut in marble
scratches turn to yellow
delineations, conquerors of islands
the shore melts in the waters
your eyes tell prophesies
the time changes its mind
perhaps it was just Samos, maybe it was Crete
the dying mandolin, the smell of ripened olives
an unmade wooden bed
solemnity, delirium
the names of I,
You
We

The Easter of Roses by Gabriela Marie Milton

[included in Women: Splendor and Sorrow I: Love Poems and Poetic Prose, Vita Brevis Press, 2021]

my love
you know that spring will come
peaches will grow on one side of the moon
injured lambs will scream on the other
taste of strawberries
my hair freshly cut
possessed by new ghosts will look for each other
steps on the asphalt heard from cafes
the baptism of rain and thin yellow candles
a verse from Seferis hangs on your lips
the Easter of Roses with its cold morning showers
never to sin your hands nailed in white marble
the rode of your anchor
my love
it’s spring
it’s me
free your hands from the marble

Traslations by Vasiliki Petroudi

From my translation project on Facebook two wonderful poems by @shortprose1 I want to thank Gabriela from the bottom of my heart for trusting her amazing verses to me
I wish you all a beautiful new month🤍@shortprose1 #poetry #poetrycommunity #poetrytwitter #translation pic.twitter.com/ZX19A56jid
— Vasiliki Petroudi (@VPetroudi) May 1, 2023

Gabriela Marie Milton
2022 Pushcart Prize Nominee
Publisher, Editor, Award Winning & #1 Amazon Bestselling Author
Books:

In the mood for you – poem by Gabriela Marie Milton

The richness of the butterscotch sunsets, heated bodies, eyes pregnant with desires, incandescent spaces between the skin & white shirts stiffed with starch, heads turned toward the sea, a rose between your teeth, doors undone, amor, the judgement day is not here, let’s die on the petals of the wind.

featured painting: In the mood for love – MM Ciciovan