Bread and Circuses: A Book of Poems Published on 3rd, May 2009 by Tartan Moon and now available at http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bread-and-Circuses-ebook/dp/B0038JESQ2/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1341328214&sr=1-6
‘Bread and Circuses’ is my first anthology and the experience of publishing it is like giving birth to my third child. The poems are from around 1970 onwards. The subject matter is the human condition, the state of society, relationships, war, death etc. But it’s not a doom and gloom book! There are also playful poems and poems full of joy. ‘Bread and Circuses’ is ultimately an optimistic statement. There are also tributes to some of my heroes.
Most poets, I suspect, write only from personal experience or a personal perspective. I think that I am unusual in that some of the poems are written as a short story with fictional characters. Some poems are a mixture of autobiography with fictional elements. Of course, other poems are 100% pure experience. The narrative mode does not indicate which is which.
I want ‘Bread and Circuses’ to hold up a mirror. It reflects the world and its flaws and it’s OK to be angry. We should be angry. It also reflects my soul and it’s OK to be happy. We all operate from within our own bubble. If the book is a mirror for anyone else, that’s another reason to be happy.
We are seashells that have forgotten the sound of the sea,
We are driftwood searching for where we want to be,
We are starlight, too distant to see.