admin, Author at Elizabeth Barton

A Poetry Revelation

Sunset over Te Aroha as an accompaniment to my poem Desert Song.

‘The Wonderful Poetry of Elizabeth Barton’

Two new poems, Recognition and Desert Song, adorn the mighty Literary Revelations Journal and are available to read online. It’s a tremendous honour for Literary Revelations to include my work; to meet expectations was a challenge. To quote the editor, Gabriela Milton, in her mission statement: ‘We expect work that dazzles the intellect and delights the soul; work that makes feelings blossom into symphonies of love, beauty and sorrow. Interpret the silence… Be the voice of prophets. Be the soft whisper of Sakura.’ Wow, that is a calling! What a tall order. And the paraphrasing of Virgil was equally challenging: ‘Literary Revelations favours the bold and the talented.’

The soft whisper of Sakura intrigued me. Who is, or was, Sakura? After an online search, I knew it wasn’t an Anime character or the American crayon company. I concluded Sakura must be the iconic cherry blossom tree of Japan. I had imagined Sakura was some ancient goddess or great poet steeped in the mysticism of Japan.

The Journal is the online arm of Literary Revelations publishing house, which released its debut anthology, Hidden in Childhood, in January. I have two poems featured, The Moon is a Time Traveller and Nineveh. There’s more about Hidden in Childhood and Hidden in Childhood a Poetry Anthology.

Inspiration Came Like Lightning

Recognition and Desert Song are my latest poems to appear in published form. I had sent them fresh from the creative forge.

I don’t recall what inspired Recognition, but I do remember what prompted Desert Song. The poet can also be a Muse, and that is true of Gabriela Milton. I have a copy of her book, Passions: Love Poems and Other Writings. While immersed in her transcendent work, I saw myself as a desert traveller reuniting with an old lover – I was a man, perhaps Baudelaire, writing a poem to his Creole mistress. The poem then came to me in a cloud, as if dictated from some celestial source. Inspiration is a mystery and can strike like lightning. The human mind is a time machine, able to travel to past and future worlds simultaneously. Other ancient spirits can likewise converse with the mind – which is why the Greeks so valued the Muse and built a pantheon of ideals around her.

A Poetry Revelation Read More »

The Summer Stickleback

Th Summer Stickleback from Hedgehog Poetry Press

The Summer Stickleback is here! Continuing with Seasons in Poetry, Hedgehog Poetry Press has released its Summer Stickleback as a free download. It is the second anthology in a series of four. My poem Spring Day featured in the first of Seasons in Poetry.

The poem Inflorescent is among my favourites and graces the Summer edition. Never before published, it features among a select gathering of works from stellar poets worldwide. The Collection contains nine works from authors to create a shoal of poetic outpourings about all aspects of Summer. It initially appeared on Hedgehog Poetry’s website at the Solstice, in our midwinter when I was dreaming or busy creating elsewhere. For the reader who wants to feast their eyes, here it is.

The Inspiration for Inflorescent

The poem came after spending time in the Coromandel, when, on our last day, I saw a lone pohutukawa on a hillside still ablaze with flowers when all other trees had faded in the dry, parched summer. The pohutukawa is an iconic tree native to New Zealand and flourishes along the Coromandel coastlines. Many cheap reproductions of pohutukawa trees crowd the walls of beach baches for the delight of visitors. Naturally, one might shy away from an overused subject, but there is no escaping the unique beauty of the flame-red trees edging turquoise blue coastlines in high summer. I have composed a number of poems after visiting the magical wilds of Coromandel, and the mood and atmosphere linger in the words whenever I read them. Two of them, Relic and Orchard Vignette, haunt the collection in All Revolutions Begin This Way.

The Poet’s Hideaway

The secret summer hideaway in the wilds of Coromandel.

The Coromandel is rich in history and legend and was the centre of New Zealand’s Gold Rush in the 1860s. The real attractions are the Waitaha Dream Paths which lace vast tracts of hill and valley. As a poet, I have discovered two of them. But their secret remains with me!

The Summer Stickleback Read More »

They Have Arrived!

One of the most cherished occasions in an author’s life is the arrival of newly published books, especially their first. It is a moment to savour, releasing freshly printed books from the confines of their secure packaging. (In truth, All Revolutions Begin This Way is not my first collection – that accolade belongs to Mirrored Time, conceived in 2020).

I waited an age for the consignment to appear after the publisher sent the order to Amazon. The books’ arrival was like a thunderclap, with a last-minute announcement from DHL by email – and synchronously coincided with the delivery of a T-Shirt I had ordered from Alien Buddha Press much later. The timing was uncanny. Both were celebrated at once.

The T-Shirt was irresistible. A friend, who purchased a copy of my book, commented the Alien Buddha smile is ‘gathering’ – warmly welcoming and inviting. It speaks of the idea of a Starseed behind the publishing company, disseminating the creative Word freely into the world. Her observations are likely spot on.

A Revolution from My Keyboard

So far, the chapbook has attracted 5-star ratings and a review.

All the books featured as part of my art exhibition Waiting for the Golden Age, held at the Whitaker Gallery, have sold. But they are available to buy at Piako Stationers in Whitaker Street and at the i-Site in Te Aroha.

Fittingly, the local i-Site proudly displays a lot of information about the Waiorongomai Valley, being a place of historical interest and looms large in my collection – naturally, my books were welcomed at the office and adorn their shelves.

My book was also available at an unlikely but attractive venue – Gayles Fashion in Thames Street, Morrinsville. Gayle has known me for a while and encourages any creative endeavour. She had offered to take a few of the poetry books just to see how customers might react. That is the way to spread the love of poetry!

Copies of All Revolutions Begin This Way were available at the Whitaker Gallery during the exhibition Waiting for the Golden Age. Every one of them sold.

Signed copies are available directly from me. My email address is on the Contacts page. I post anywhere in the world, within the bounds of reason. One thing; you’ll get them cheaper than online elsewhere, which will offset postage costs. My collection awaits the pleasure of all poetry lovers!

All Revolutions Begin This Way has arrived!

They Have Arrived! Read More »

The Stickleback Experience

The Stickleback is a bijou pamphlet unique to Hedgehog Poetry Press. I have wanted forever to see my poetry in a Stickleback collection.

The Stickleback pamphlet is a bijou creation unique to Hedgehog Poetry Press. I have wanted forever to showcase my poetry in a Stickleback collection. At last, I have my wish. Over the years, individual poets have tantalised readers with four flagship poems for the Hedgehog pamphlets, bound in an aesthetically appealing format. As usual with Hedgehog publications, the booklets come with watermarked endpapers and beautifully hued covers to create an immediate impression featuring the iconic fish on the front cover. Each of the colours used on the covers represents the shade of a classic car, perhaps revealing the editor’s passion! The collection is an attractive introduction to any poet’s work.

Stickleback Anthology: Four Seasons in Poetry – The Poetry of Spring

For this Collection, Hedgehog Poetry has produced an anthology on the theme of Spring, as part of a Four Seasons series published in 2023. I am delighted that my poem Spring Day features among the works of 14 other poets for this issue. Its release coincided with the Vernal Equinox of the Northern Hemisphere. You may download it here.

My only reservation is that it is available exclusively in PDF form. The culmination of my dream wish is to see the Spring Stickleback as a printed leaflet. There is nothing quite like holding a book in your hands, being able to smell the subtle imprint of ink and feel the freshness of the pages. Perhaps a genie may grant that wish in the nearish future.

The Stickleback Experience Read More »

The Alien Buddha Gets Rejected 2

An Original and Witty Collection

A new anthology from Alien Buddha Press gently subverts the genre of rejected work. Unloved poetry and flash fiction find a happy home in an exciting and witty collection, with rejection letters included. The juxtaposition of published work alongside letters explaining the reasons for rejection is both telling and entertaining. Much of the work is highly original and brings to mind a busy workshop of inventors and engineers working on a new experimental flying machine. Readers will find wings for their pleasure; poets and writers will find new ideas to fly in a wind tunnel of creative design.

The anthology earned a #1 New Release in Literary Letters on Amazon. It has also attracted two five-star reviews. I wonder what some editors who rejected the pieces would think now?

Tatuanui Roundabout finds a home

My poem Tatuanui Roundabout found a welcome place among works from everywhere else on the globe other than a small town in the Waikato. Preceding the poem is a rejection letter from a prominent NZ literary magazine. All identifying information is carefully redacted from rejection letters. It was challenging to conceal the shape and size of the magazine’s trade name – and it’s possible to see a faint impression of their logo! But who reads NZ poetry anyway? The Alien Buddha Gets Rejected is full of subtle humour – the picture of the smiling buddha bannered on all 2023 publications is perfectly apt here

Iconoclastic Poetry

Rejection is so prone to subjective judgment. A gem of a poem, How a Poet Dies, written by Cait O’Neill McCullagh, took my breath. Divinely crafted and inspired by the discovery of tombs in some obscure location, I cannot see how it failed to see immediate publication. Perhaps its iconoclastic beauty, that rows of dead poets honoured with golden tongues pressed into their mouths could all have been female, roused renunciation in modern eyes. Rather than the poem’s literary merit, it was perhaps the idea, which drew repeated rebuffs. But not all editors are myopic. The author may triumph and we may admire her work.

I love publishing projects that devote attention to ‘rejected’ works.

The Alien Buddha Gets Rejected 2 Read More »

Hidden in Childhood: a Unique Anthology

Why is Hidden in Childhood so special? It is an attractively original concept and possibly never conceived in such a form. Generously filled with works from poets worldwide, Hidden in Childhood is a bumper crop of some 450 pages. Many books cover the topic of childhood, but this is a dedicated collection in which myriad experiences and memories encompass the spectrum of human experience. From the most painful and tragic to exquisite memories of pinnacled joy, the book cannot fail to elicit powerful emotion.

The editor, Gabriela Marie Milton, invited contributors to share their thoughts on what the anthology meant to them. I wrote: ‘I knew at once this book would tremendously impact our society and the literary world – it is a unique concept. It is an honour to have my poems in the collection alongside many great talents.’

**The Moon is a Time Traveller in rough draft.**

The Editor describes her work as a lovingly crafted Collection. Emerging poets share their outpourings with well-known authors. A monumental anthology in which ‘every poem sends shivers down your spine’. Childhood’s joy and trauma expressed – with stunning talent and sincerity – by over 150 poets in more than 280 poems’. … ‘Over 150 voices call you to read this book’. … ‘You will be reminded of the beauty of the seraphim …’

I foresaw that the book would be a huge success. It quickly reached #1 on Amazon Poetry Anthologies on the first day of publication.

It was a joy to return to some of my childhood haunts to relive the recollections that wove a delicate tapestry for my poems.

The poet reads Nineveh from Hidden in Childhood

Find out where to buy Hidden in Childhood here.

Hidden in Childhood: a Unique Anthology Read More »

The Quantum Self

Everyone has a quantum self.

The quantum self operates in a quantum field of consciousness unbound by time or space. Everyone has a quantum self, and more will increasingly become aware of this as we progress into the Age of Aquarius. Knowledge of the astral body and the ‘seven sheaths’ of the subtle bodies are part of centuries-old knowledge. But what I call the quantum self is a living, dynamic part of waking life, immediate and accessible.

Becoming aware of it can be as spontaneous as a dream. When I flew and was training pilots, my experiences with them opened my eyes. Some students pictured me quite differently from how I saw myself – that I was a petrolhead, for example, and drove a grunty sportscar in a red one-piece outfit! The costume came up again in another student’s mind, only in black lycra. They only ever saw me at work in standard pilot’s garb; white shirt, black tie, navy trousers. Others saw me as some kind of white witch, able to manipulate the weather to create any condition tailored to the flying lesson! At the time, I didn’t drive and certainly never entertained witchcraft. Some might say it was a projection of an archetype, or past lives active in my energetic field – but none of them contained the imagery described.

These pilots intuited a dynamic within me or described an unknown aspect of myself. So I decided to explore further. Over time, I formed the idea of a quantum self – or it trickled into my consciousness. This field of consciousness will interact with our environment on many more levels than previously imagined. I already had a taste of it when I discovered while learning to fly that the aircraft could ‘obey’ my thought commands or intentions before I even touched the controls. There is no doubt others who flew with me picked up on some level my ability to operate in a quantum interface and used symbolic imagery to map their perceptions. It is not necessary to insert a chip into the brain! The brain is a quantum field already and works holographically.

Pay attention to how those who interact with you perceive you – positive, challenging perceptions. What do they tell you? It may open a world of discovery.

The future is going to be very interesting.

The Quantum Self Read More »

All Revolutions Begin This Way

My new collection, All Revolutions Begin This Way, is published by Alien Buddha Press. The release date is the 19th of February 2023.

An opportunity not to miss

Emboldened by the submissions open window, I sent the collection to the editor of ABP. Within three
days he returned to me with a resounding ‘Yes!’ and moved like the wind. Aptly nicknamed Red, the
editor made the process a joyful and easy experience. Communications ping-ponged back and forth,
and among the emails, he had sent six book cover suggestions. After trawling through hundreds of my
photographs or artworks, I preferred one of his suggestions and settled on the image for the book cover.
It perfectly evokes the poem of the book’s title.

All Revolutions had already existed in a different version when I had sent it to a poetry competition
back in 2022, which garnered ‘highly commended’ from among the shortlisted poets. I was optimistic it
would come up trumps soon enough. After adding new poems, quite a few fresh from the creative
forge, carefully collating and rearranging the collection to strengthen the story telling, I sent it and left
it in the lap of the gods.

The synopsis

“All Revolutions Begin This Way is a journey of the imagination through past and future landscapes,
featuring the Author’s childhood home in the Waikato region of New Zealand’s North Island. Many
poems are reminiscences and spiritual experiences—a suite of poems centres on an abandoned mining
town, Waiorongomai, with sweeping explorations of history and myth. The journey becomes more
introverted and existential in mood, beginning with the title poem as a curtain raiser. Reflective and
quietly defiant, this collection is a distillation of observations and joyful affirmation of the sacredness
of individuality.”

**Rough drafts of poems which feature in All Revolutions Begin This Way**

Signed copies of the the Collection are available to purchase via my contact page.

All Revolutions is also available from Amazon.

All Revolutions Begin This Way Read More »

Poetry At Cow Milking Time

The launch of Hidden in Childhood is the inaugural anthology from Literary Revelations, a new publishing house established by poet Gabriela Milton. I became acquainted with Milton’s poetry on Spillwords. Entranced by her originality and mastery, I followed her work with interest.
When she announced the launch of Literary Revelations, I was curious and excited, especially when she
invited me to send her work. As a result, I have two poems in the Collection, amongst some
scorchingly beautiful pieces. I’m honoured to take my place among poets of stature and shining talent.

Last weekend, the 22 of January, Gabriela staged a Zoom meeting to celebrate the launch of Hidden in Childhood. Some
27 poets from around the world joined in, reading their work. It was a feast of accents and outpouring
of ideas and recollections, some joyful, some painful, altogether producing a cathartic and elevating
experience. The meeting took place at 10:00 am Central Time, which meant I had to be at my laptop for
5:00 am! Luckily – magically, even, I awoke at 4:30 am, allowing me enough time to flick on the router
and PC and get settled with a piping hot mug of coffee.

No one noticed me in my pyjamas, I hoped! 4:30 am was the time my father used to get up to milk the
cows on our small dairy farm in the heart of the Waikato – who would have thought I would continue
in his footsteps just to read my poetry?

Poetry At Cow Milking Time Read More »

2023 is the Year

January 2023 augured significant changes, and I am not disappointed so far. January arrived like the gust front of a thunderstorm. My life was put-putting along for a long time like the Model T Ford my father drove when he was young. Then, suddenly, I’m driving a hypersonic car with an exciting future in view. What a perfect moment to launch my poetry website and start a blog.

When I was 17, I dreamt about a civilisation in New Zealand some 50 to 100 thousand years ago. Flying cars zipped through the air in multiple vertical lanes, all stopping dead at some high-rise floating ‘traffic lights’ before proceeding at mind-boggling speed. This dream was long before the film The Fifth Element, by some 20 years. I have never forgotten the dream and often speculate whether it was about a hidden past – and the future. I’m not alone in my musings. About a year ago, I spotted a car in Te Aroha with a beautiful futuristic painting depicted on its side. It summed up perfectly my vision of the future, and here it is with the blog.

Such a world hasn’t arrived literally, but I can feel its formation figuratively in the first stirrings, a sense of elation, movement, and increasing spiritual and intellectual freedom. Where thought goes, energy flows.

Welcome to my new Poetry Website and my blog, The Nest.

2023 is the Year Read More »

admin