10.29.09
The Significance of Poetry
After a busy night listening to Eddie Benitez being interviewed by Olivia Wilder, writing, and doing miscellaneous other things (ah! the exciting life of a night owl!), I came to reflect on a topic that is very dear to my heart: poetry and its significance in this world. A few months ago, I had been asked a similar question about music, and my answer had been published in “The Spiritual Significance of Music”, an online magazine.
It is only when I started writing poetry that I came to realize its meaning. When you study it in school or at university, it is honestly very dull and boring. I still remember one of the essays I had to write for the national examinations I was taking at the time to become a teacher (the most difficult exams teachers have to take in France). The topic was John Donne’s poetry. I recall stopping in the middle of my 10-page essay and thinking: “This cannot be happening! Poetry is awful!” Never could have I imagined that I would be typing this blog article seven years later! The truth of the matter is that poetry stalked me until I was finally ready to give it a try. 
A few weeks ago, one of my friends called me a “motivational poet” in a conversation. After almost five years in the poetic world, I thought I knew exactly what poetry was about. But sometimes, we need others to remind us that nothing should be taken for granted. As Krishnamurti says, “Life has to be discovered from moment to moment, from day to day; it has to be discovered, it cannot be taken for granted.” And it cannot be truer with poetry. We all have so many preconceived ideas about what it stands for, what it seems to mean, how we are supposed to read it, etc. In fact, human beings like to imagine that words and ideas have a life of their own, when all they do is create them and then put them in small boxes.
So, I started to reflect on the meaning of “motivational”, “inspirational”, and “spiritual”. I did a bit of research in my etymological dictionaries, and this is what I found:
1) “Motivational”
“Motive” comes from the Latin word for “move”. A motive is what causes/has power to cause motion; it is what moves or excites to action, inducement, reason. The verb “motivate” means: to provide with a motive; to induce. ”Motivation”/”motivity” are nouns describing what has the power of moving or producing motion.
2) “Inspirational” and “Spiritual”
These two words are closely related. “Inspirational” comes from “inspire” and “spirit”. “Inspire” means: to breathe or blow (into); to draw or inhale into the lungs; to instruct by divine influence; to instruct or affect with a superior influence; to animate (a person with feelings, thoughts). “Inspiration” is the act of inspiring or breathing in; a breath; instruction or stimulation by a divinity; an inspired condition/thought.
Here are a few synonyms of the word “spirit”: vital principle; the soul; actuating emotion, disposition, frame of mind; animation, verve; courage; cheerful/exuberant vivacity; the real meaning, intent; etc.
So, if we pay careful attention to these three words, they have a lot in common! What causes motion will affect and animate the spirit, hence the soul, mind, and body.
The Merriam-Webster’s Online Dictionary defines “poetry” as such: “1 a: metrical writing; b: the productions of a poet; 2 writing that formulates a concentrated imaginative awareness of experience in language chosen and arranged to create a specific emotional response through meaning, sound, and rhythm; 3 a something likened to poetry especially in beauty of expression b: poetic quality or aspect <the poetry of dance>” Source: http://cougar.eb.com/dictionary/poetry
Since I started writing poetry, my definition of the art form had always been “the language of the soul”. My friend helped me to understand that when poetry truly comes from a deep place within us (heart, mind, and soul, what I also consider as the trinity), it becomes more than a language. It becomes motivation, inspiration, pure spirituality, and true beauty for the poet as well as the reader/listener. And in that sense, it has the power to excite/move/animate us to action and reflections. And that’s exactly what the definitions of all the above words are!
Poetry is much more than simply writing words on a page, as well. It has rules and forms, and they were created for a reason: to help the reader see underlying messages that words alone may never be able to convey.
Great poetry is not hard to write. The important ingredients are: some basic knowledge of the written language and poetic forms (and it doesn’t mean rhyming or following the same pattern all the time); the willingness to study one’s own soul and listen to what God has to say (or whatever one truly believes in); and the desire to use one’s own positive energy to create messages that will leave a lasting impression on people, and probably help a lot of individuals in the process.
And speaking of poetic forms, here are some cool resources for you!
1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Poetic_form
Now, go write some poetry! 
07.28.09
Celebrating Great Minds – Part II
Two or three years ago, on a plane back to Canada, as I was reading one of Alphonse de Lamartine’s numerous poems, I noticed that one of the flight attendants was smiling at me. I closed my book and we started talking.
“I notice that you are reading Alphonse de Lamartine.”
“Yes, I am. Have you ever heard of him?”
“I am a huge fan. However, I had never met anyone before who actually reads him.”
What the flight attendant said did not surprise me. Alphonse de Lamartine is one of the most amazing writers in the history of French literature, and yet, most people have barely heard of him. I want to celebrate this great soul today.
Alphonse Marie Louis de Prat de Lamartine (October 21, 1790 – February 28, 1869) was a French writer, poet and politician. He is considered as the first French romantic poet.
A passionate man, he had an unequalled way with words. The only writers that touch him are Khalil Gibran, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Victor Hugo. The timeless messages in his novels and poems are the deepest that I have ever read.
Below are a few quotes taken from http://thinkexist.com/quotes/alphonse_de_lamartine/:
- “Sometimes only one person is missing and the whole world seems depopulated.” (his most famous quote)
- “To love for the sake of being loved is human, but to love for the sake of loving is angelic.”
- “There is a woman at the beginning of all the great things.”
- “Limited in his nature, infinite in his desires, man is a fallen god who remembers the heavens.”
If you ever talk to fans of his body of work, they will tell you about The Lake. This poem recalls a brief but intense love affair between Lamartine and Julie Charles, who died before they could meet again.
Source: http://blog.luciolepress.com/2008/02/23/alphonse-de-lamartine-17901869-and-the-lake.aspx
The Lake
And thus, forever driven towards new shores,
Swept into eternal night without return,
Will we never, for even one day, drop anchor
On time’s vast ocean?
O Lake! Only a year has now gone by,
And to these dear waves she would have seen again,
Look! I’m returning alone to rest on the very work
Where you saw her rest!
Then as now, you rumbled under these great rocks;
Then as now, you broke against their torn flanks;
The wind hurling the foam from your waves
Onto her adored feet.
One evening, you recall? We drifted in silence;
Far off on the water and under the stars hearing
Only the rhythmic sound of oars striking
Your melodious waves.
Suddenly strains unknown on earth
Echoed from the enchanted shore;
The water paid heed, and the voice so dear
To me spoke these words:
“O time, suspend your flight! and you, blessed hours,
Suspend your swift passage.
Allow us to savor the fleeting delights,
Of our most happy days!
So many wrteched people beseech you:
Flow, flow quickly for them;
Take away the cares devouring them;
Overlook the happy.
But I ask in vain for just a few more moments,
Time escaping me flees;
While I beg the night: ‘Slow down,’ already
It fades into dawn.
Then let us love, let us love! And the fleeting hours
Let us hasten to enjoy.
We have no port, time itself has no shore;
It glides, and we pass away.”
Jealous time, will these moments of such intoxication,
Love flooding us with overwhelming bliss,
Fly past us with the same speed
As dark and painful days?
What! will we not keep at least the trace of them?
What! They are gone forever? Totally lost?
This time that gave them and is obliterating them,
Will it never return them to us?
Eternity, nothingness, past, somber abysses,
What are you doing with the days you swallow up?
Speak: will you ever give back the sublime bliss
You stole from us?
O lake! silent rocks! shaded grottoes! dark forest!
You whom time can spare or even rejuvenate,
Preserve, noble nature, preserve from this night
At least the memory!
May it live in your peace, may it be in your storms,
Beautiful lake, and in the light of your glad slopes,
And in these tall dark firs and in these savage rocks,
Overhanging your waves.
May it be in the trembling zephyr passing by,
In the endless sounds that carry from shore to shore
In the silver faced star that whitens your surface
With its softened brilliance.
May the moaning wind and sighing reed,
May the delicate scent of your frangrant breeze,
May everything that we hear and see and breathe,
Awaken the memory of — their love!
(Editor K.’s note: I transcribed this out of The Norton Anthology of World Literature, Volume E. This translated version is by Andrea Moorhead)
If you google “Alphonse de Lamartine”, you will find hundreds of websites. So, get enlightened right now!
07.05.09
5 minutes, 5 questions with… Cendrine Marrouat, author of Project: Heartbeats and Elevation
JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Cendrine Marrouat, author of Project: Heartbeats and Elevation (Lulu)
Project: Heartbeats And Elevation is not your regular collection of poetry. It is a celebration of Life, Love and Spirituality. Word after word, line after line, poem after poem, let your heart and soul commune with God…
Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the idea and inspiration to write Project: Heartbeats and Elevation?
Cendrine Marrouat: God is my main inspiration in everything I do. I wanted to write about my belief in him and how it helps me to see Life and Death as a continuum of the same process.
I always pen my best poetry at night. But, before I can actually start writing anything, I need to find a title. Otherwise, inspiration will not come. So, one night, while finishing a poem, the title Project: Heartbeats and Elevation popped out without warning. I wrote it on a piece of paper and thought: “Wow! That would make an awesome poem!”
I set about writing something and, before I knew it, I had ten poems. They were short but powerful. The next day, I showed what I had done to a friend, and they were ecstatic: “You absolutely have to write a book. The message will give hope to many.” That is how the book was born…
JP: What sets Project: Heartbeats and Elevation apart from you other collection of poetry?
CM: When I wrote my other books, I was three years younger and in a different frame of mind. My belief in God was already strong, but not as strong as it is today. I have grown a lot since then.
As a translator, I love to translate what I write in French, my mother tongue. Sometimes, I do the same in English, with my French poems. I find this to be a very good exercise, as it forces me to detach myself from my work.
Hence, I can say that what sets Project: Heartbeats and Elevation apart from my other collections of poetry is the sense of joy and hope that emerges. I am confident that those who will read it will agree.
JP: As an author, what are the keys to your success that lead to Project: Heartbeats and Elevation getting out to the public?
CM: God as a motivating force is the key to my success. I was given a wonderful gift through him: poetry. As such, monetary gain is of secondary importance. It is the reason why I chose self-publishing. Although this process takes time, patience and dedication, it also gives me enough freedom to go at my own pace and promote my books the way I want.
I just want people to see that Spirituality and God are not some vain words. They can actually help you to overcome the greatest hurdles and make you a better individual. If I can reach one person and have them realize that, then my job is done!
JP: As an author, what is your writing process? How long did it take for you to start and finish Project: Heartbeats and Elevation?
CM: I do not write often. Sometimes, I will spend weeks without penning anything. And when I work on a poem, I like to take my time. I choose my words carefully, making sure that they reflect the person I am deep inside.
In the case of Project: Heartbeats and Elevation, I started sometime in the middle of 2008. Then, I took a long break and resumed work in February 2009. A month later, I had it proofread. In April, the book was ready for release… Voilà!
JP: What’s next for Cendrine Marrouat?
CM: I want to continue writing, of course. I plan on releasing my two plays in book format through Lulu or other means. Also, I have just started working on a poetry CD/DVD project.
My objective is to release it within a year. I have created three videos so far, and they can be watched here: http://www.youtube.com/soulpoetrysite. They are also downloadable for free on Itunes. Obviously, I need to improve their quality, but they are good examples of what the poetry CD/DVD will be about.
http://www.soulpoetrysite.com/
http://www.myspace.com/cendrinem
Facebook: search “Cendrine”
http://twitter.com/soulpoetrysite
P.S. Join the Joey Reviews Newsletter at http://joeypinkney.com/joey-reviews-newsletter.html
P.S.S. If you want to be feature in a 5 Minutes, 5 Questions With… series, email me at joey.pinkney@gmail.com or myspace.com/joeyreviews
06.30.09
And the winner is…
In March 2009, I started making videos of myself reciting poetry over music and photographs. The comments I received were so positive that I was encouraged to make a CD.
I love Spoken Word poetry. However, my goal was to create a unique concept, or something that was very different from what I was used to hearing.
At the end of April, I released my fourth collection of poetry, entitled Project: Heartbeats and Elevation. This book is very important to me, because it sums up the core of my beliefs in God. While writing it, I came to realize that my purpose in life was to write poetry (and maybe lyrics, eventually). I know I can reach people that way. I am not good at writing novels or short stories. I wrote two plays, and I loved it. But, poetry is really my thing.
I wanted to title my CD Poetic Presence. These two words made sense to me. I loved this title! Nonetheless, I found that someone had already used it for another purpose. So, copyrights being what they are, I decided to go for something different: This Is Poetry. I wanted to find something that did not have a spiritual taste to it. That second title sounded good to me.
Then, at the beginning of June, my friend Shelton Elkins, the author of A Mile in My Shoes, suffered a heart attack, fell in a coma, and passed away two weeks later. During one of our first online conversations, he had sent me a story called Rizen. When I read it, I was dumbfounded. It was a masterpiece! I found myself thinking: “This guy is the most amazing writer you have ever talked to.” Shortly after, we started collaborating on poems, and our ultimate goal was to work on a common body of work.
So, when Shelton died, it made sense to me that a tribute should be paid him. Rizen – The CD was the title that I chose. And the more I listen to the tracks, the more fitting it is.
I had started working on the CD in May, and had run into miscellaneous difficulties. When you have no studio, no experience and no way to really soundproof the room you work in, the challenge is HUGE! I am a perfectionist and I spent hours recording each of the sixteen poems. If I found one word or one syllable that did not sound good, I had to start again. I worked 6 days a week, and ten hours a day for over a month and a half.
It was an exhausting but enriching experience. I can honestly say that I enjoyed it tremendously. I am very proud of my achievement, and I hope you will be able to feel that if you ever listen to the album.
If you are interested in checking out Rizen – The CD, visit the following link: http://www.wix.com/cendrine/Rizen—The-CD. You will be able to listen to the first two tracks for free. Or you can access the page from my website at http://www.soulpoetrysite.com. I have posted promotional videos in my channel on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoXvUMsGFtc and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3OdoLRkMNk
The CD will be available from Lulu.com in about a week. You will be able to purchase the album in MP3 format in a couple of days.
So, stay tuned!
