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"Tales for The Ones in Love"

An international blog about literature, nature and hope. Here I include lyrics by Rui M. and the work of others. From 4th to 24th each month, new contributions sent to blogsnat@gmail.com are evaluated. Periodical Art contests and Critics. Thanks. Arigatou

"Tales for The Ones in Love"

An international blog about literature, nature and hope. Here I include lyrics by Rui M. and the work of others. From 4th to 24th each month, new contributions sent to blogsnat@gmail.com are evaluated. Periodical Art contests and Critics. Thanks. Arigatou

03
Mar24

A poem and News about floods in Brazil

talesforlove

Today we share the recent news about floods in Brazil:

https://reliefweb.int/report/brazil/brazil-severe-weather-and-floods-update-media-inmet-echo-daily-flash-01-march-2024

 

Also, we share a poem translated from Portuguese to English.

 

"I'm a hodgepodge of nothing" by Diogo Esteves (Portugal)

 

I'm a hodgepodge of nothing
You are my root
my very torso
you, my continent
dissatisfied
my origin
the birthing land,
that never had two pennies to rub together,
a starting point
of a little evolved evolution
of one life
that enslaves me by a colour,
devours, demonizes
and at the farewell time
of the big road of the existence
only you, my great mother
take me hand in hand out of the garden
where I sinned.
I am black, I'm blue
I am red
I am a mirror of who I am
I am your fruit
that since childhood
wants to return to the womb
made with tribal music
within the bowels
of omnipresent blackness
that dyes my blood.
I am Africa
or I am nothing!

 

Original in Portuguese:

Sou uma miscelânea de nada
És a minha raiz
o meu tronco
tu, meu continente
descontente
minha origem
terra parideira
sem eira nem beira
ponto de partida
de uma evolução pouco evoluída
de uma vida
que pela cor me escraviza
devora, demoniza
e na hora da despedida
da avenida da existência
só tu, grande mãe
me levas pela mão para fora do jardim
onde pequei.
Sou negro, sou azul
sou vermelho
sou um espelho do que sou
sou teu fruto
que desde puto
quer regressar ao útero
de tribal música
nas entranhas
da omnipresente negrura
que me tinge o sangue.
Sou África
ou não sou nada!

 

 

Enjoy.

 

11
Jan24

A new poem

talesforlove

Today we leave here a short story by Liselle P. (Trinidad and Tobago)

 

”A Paradise in the Caribbean”

 

Lay nestled in the Caribbean an island that’s surrounded by water that is so clear,
it speaks to us as the fishes dance like mermaids, and the waves roars
and crashes on rocks creating sounds of melodious harmony, with a welcoming spirit.
“Buccoo Reef” in Tobago a tourism paradise with the coral reefs
like hill tops where they dwell in all shapes and sizes.
The view is magnificent from the glass bottom of the fishing boats
that bring fresh fish to the shore.
The best cold medicine is “Fish Broth” well-seasoned
with all spices from the mother land.
Just drink it like soup and enjoy the zesty taste,
as the flavor mesmerized and mingle in your mouth, saying AHHH!!!
Snorkeling is another nature activity to make friends
with the underworld of fishes of different shapes, sizes
and colors and all other sea creatures bringing joy and fellowship to life.
But let’s not forget Trinidad as the bird sanctuary is filled with exotic birds,
all shapes and sizes especially the Scarlet Ibis with their bright red color
as they spread their wings and fly over wetlands of swamps,
where mangrove trees tall and strong, that their roots cry to mother earth for strength.
Another part of nature is to the south land of Trinidad
where the pride and joy of the “Pitch Lake.” The black gold glistens in the tropical sun
as it radiance of pure earth captures the ancestors, forefathers and slaves
that toiled to keep the black. gold sacred.
The footprints that crossed the black gold is embedded
into the crust of the black pitch, which signifies history,
tradition, birth, and a cherished heritage.
Mother earth has spoken, and nature has answered

as the golden sun shines, reflecting peace, love, and care
to different places that found their spaces,
in the Caribbean Isles of Trinidad and Tobago.

 

We also inform that:

(i) the Anthology is available in paper;

(ii) we do literary criticism.

Here the contact: blogsnat@gmail.com

 

Enjoy.

 

01
Dez23

COP 28 and Two poems

talesforlove

Today we share some information about the conference COP28 at:

https://unfccc.int/

This might be a very important oppotunity to fight climate change and nature's destruction. We hope so.

Finally, it was possible to finalize the Anthology Nature 2022-2023.

Two poems of the Anthology are shared today.

 

”A Paradise in the Caribbean”, by Liselle P. (Trinidad and Tobago)

Lay nestled in the Caribbean an island that’s surrounded by water that is so clear,
it speaks to us as the fishes dance like mermaids, and the waves roars
and crashes on rocks creating sounds of melodious harmony, with a welcoming spirit.
“Buccoo Reef” in Tobago a tourism paradise with the coral reefs
like hill tops where they dwell in all shapes and sizes.
The view is magnificent from the glass bottom of the fishing boats
that bring fresh fish to the shore.
The best cold medicine is “Fish Broth” well-seasoned
with all spices from the mother land.
Just drink it like soup and enjoy the zesty taste,
as the flavor mesmerized and mingle in your mouth, saying AHHH!!!
Snorkeling is another nature activity to make friends
with the underworld of fishes of different shapes, sizes
and colors and all other sea creatures bringing joy and fellowship to life.
But let’s not forget Trinidad as the bird sanctuary is filled with exotic birds,
all shapes and sizes especially the Scarlet Ibis with their bright red color
as they spread their wings and fly over wetlands of swamps,
where mangrove trees tall and strong, that their roots cry to mother earth for strength.
Another part of nature is to the south land of Trinidad
where the pride and joy of the “Pitch Lake.” The black gold glistens in the tropical sun
as it radiance of pure earth captures the ancestors, forefathers and slaves
that toiled to keep the black. gold sacred.
The footprints that crossed the black gold is embedded
into the crust of the black pitch, which signifies history,
tradition, birth, and a cherished heritage.
Mother earth has spoken, and nature has answered

as the golden sun shines, reflecting peace, love, and care
to different places that found their spaces,
in the Caribbean Isles of Trinidad and Tobago.

 

“Embers of loss”, by Eliza S. (Poland)
Translated by Ula de B.

It won’t help anymore
the conjuring of actuality.
Perhaps prudence, wisdom?
Has come the fraught, the endangered
time of awaiting.
The clocks don’t stand motionless!

Apiaries evanesce,
skyscrapers grow,
in which the overworked residents
don’t have time,
to think about the planet’s future.
They find it then, when
they arise their own needs.

Until all has not died out,
but is already dying out
got to resurrect reason.
To open oneself
to a new march
into a being rebuilt,
a not being contaminated world.
Today, not tomorrow,
let’s open up to the flames of life,
close up to the embers of loss of all.

 

Enjoy.

 

30
Jul23

Interview 2023 with Shmavon Azatyan

talesforlove

After the Nature Poetry Contest 2023, the literary magazine Tales for Love takes an interview with the writer Shmavon Azatyan who judged the poetry contest.

Interview by Rui M.

1 How do you judge a poem? Do you use specific criteria?
Poetry judging is probably the most difficult, compared to other art forms, such as fiction, music, sculpture. Of course, poetry has a structure and I can look at that and say, well, something doesn’t sound that convincing. But the structure is so flexible. In a short story, you must have a conflict, but a poem can be 4 lines and … really nothing is a MUST. I use the criterion of logic, first of all - is there any kind of logic in the poem in question? It can be nonsensical, that’s a logic, too. Is there an axis, around which the ideas in the poem develop? Other criteria are – how is that logic developed? Specific? Expressed? Does it excite me? Scare me? Surprise me? How do I feel? So, I look at the expression as well – ideas and feelings. Is there a new way of expressing these in the poem? Use of language in poetry is very important, so that’s yet another criterion. Finally, I look for a revelation, discovery and understanding of something that I may gain from the poem.

2 What is a good poem? If this is a good question to ask. Or what kind of poem should win a contest?
I try not to think of poems as good or bad. Any poem deserves to be read. Of course, this doesn’t mean whatever you write will be a poem. There are unwritten rules, also there are structures for a piece to be considered a poem. A good poem must speak to you, evoke images and tickle your senses. It must have a certain organic interrelation between form and content, sound and idea or feeling, structure and concept. It must say something new, whatever you can think of new means. Originality is subjective and varies from reader to reader. A poem must try to say more with fewer words. Still, there are difficulties in evaluating a poem. I’d use the word successful. There are poems that are hard to understand, very intellectual, political, and, or philosophical. And if you don’t understand a poem, it’s hard to say if it’s a successful piece or not.
Sometimes when it’s a difficult decision, because two or more poems are so equally well-crafted, the judge will have to be subjective and use intuition and idiosyncratic attitude to poetry. That’s why if your poem came so close to being number one or two, then you can easily think your poem could have been number one, if another judge was in charge. If your poem is not lucky to get one of the top ten, you can read those poems that got there and see how your work is different. Thinking of the next contest, keep this difference in mind. It’s possible you notice some weak points in your expression, your use of structure, your tone and handling of the theme.

3 You’re a writer yourself, and you write poems and you have been published. Do you consider the poems you judge as inferior?
No, I don’t think my poems are better than the ones I am judging. I mean, I don’t approach judging this way, that the contestants are still learning to write. Actually, I don’t know them. I understand it’s hard not to look down on these pieces, especially, I come across poems that have nothing in them to interest me as a reader. These are just ideas, jotted down on paper, they don’t have depth and associations, the constituents don’t interact with each other, and the language doesn’t evoke feelings and ideas. There’s truth in it, that when you’re judging a poem, you have this feeling that… you have gone a level higher and this is why you’re judging the poems. But if I allow these thoughts to divert my attention, that will affect my decision. Won’t be fair. So instead, I am learning – yes, I am learning from any poem, and believe it or not, some give me very good ideas about what to write and how to write.

4 How do you evaluate a poem, if you don’t understand it? Does it happen?
Yes. Writing a poem doesn’t mean you also can understand any poem. Some poems are strange to me, but I can’t say they’re not good. It’s me, not the poem. I must, then, judge this particular poem as much as I can understand. When I teach poetry writing, I ask my students to clarify what they mean by this or that phrase; when they answer, their answer doesn’t always make sense, because many times, in their mind, the beginner poets are writing an essay, but on the paper, they’re writing a poem. It takes time and work to learn to express yourself poetically.

5 Are poetry contests useful? What is a poetry contest’s goal?
Yeah, they can be. They are fun, first of all, and shouldn’t be taken too seriously. We are not building a building; we are writing poems. But this doesn’t mean that we are not serious about writing poetry. Poetry, like any art, is a way to explore reality, our emotions and feelings, our ideas and perceptions, how we understand the world we live in. It can also be a discovery, when you’re writing about an idea, but then during the process you find out other ideas. Contest is a kind of a standard by which you test your skills. It’s not just sending a poem to a contest, but also reading other poems, also getting feedback sometimes, and most important, you see where your poem is after the results are announced. Now, you should think and decide what you make of where your poem has ended up. If it hasn’t won the first prize, but it came very close, then maybe you work a bit more on this poem and send to another contest or publisher. Or don’t do anything, just send to another contest because you know it’s a success.

6 In any contest, there are very few winners and so many participants who don’t win. What is your message to those who don’t win?

I’d say, don’t take it to your heart – ever. Winning a poetry contest is not a life goal, doesn’t mean you’re a good or bad poet. It can never be a qualification. You can have three different judges; each will give you a different comment. It’s very subjective. If you don’t win, make a point to win by understanding the poem that has won. Try to see what it is in it that earned it the first place. Look at other winners in other contests. Study these poems and you will have an idea why they win. If you want, and you feel comfortable, try write a poem in that spirit, style, and along those conceptual lines. If not, not a big deal, write more, workshop your poem with somebody else, learn from your own writing. And read more poetry. You can’t make winning a contest your goal, if you want to be a good poet. Consider this: there are hundreds of millions, if not billions, of people who write poems. How many poetry contests can we count? Whatever their number is, it’s impossible that they reflect the poetry writing demand. You don’t win, but I’m sure there are lots of people who read your work and tell you that’s great, and they really enjoyed it. So, you make them happy, that’s what matters.

 

Other news:

The tragedy in Greece

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/28/greece-fires-arsonists-extreme-weather

 

World Youth Day 2023 in Portugal

With an ecological approach.

https://www.lisboa2023.org/en/the-program

 

Enjoy.

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