I found this little paragraph in one of my old school exercise books. I think I was about ten years old when I wrote it. ..and this summer my book, all the long gone queens, is going to be published by Eyewear. Even though life sometimes took me on a different path I never gave up my dream of being a writer.
My queen poems are going to be published by EYEWEAR next year….how brilliant is that?! I am so pleased I did a happy little dance! This collection means so much to me and I am looking forward to working with Todd Swift during the editing process, something I am interested in finding out about because this is my first collection! Now you can understand my excitement!
The poems loosely use the poetry from the relevant period to give the experience of moving through different poetic styles as well as the changing role of a queen/consort. Some poems are instantly recognisable as they mimic a familiar form; others are free verse or epistle. The aim was always to give each queen/consort a voice and capture the feeling of the historical period. This quote by Susan Howe highlights what I was aiming to do with the poems as I was writing them: ‘I wish I could tenderly lift from the dark side of history, voices that are anonymous, slighted-inarticulate.’
Verily,
I swear, ’tis better to be lowly born,
And range with humble livers in content,
Than to be perk’d up in a glistering grief,
And wear a golden sorrow.
King Henry VIII Act II Scene III
