Have you ever been working on something for so long that you have these moments of feeling like you have gone full circle with it, to then discover that you actually hadn't? Perhaps this is just another one of those times, however, this time it really feels like I have gone full circle.
I have been working on my poetry anthology 'The Evolution of a Soul' since the latter stages of 2020. In the beginning, it was an idea that formualted after my dear friend Niki had encouraged me to start working towards getting my poetry published. Sitting down with all of my material was the first thing I did. I then had to decide what it was that I wanted to share, of course I knew that I wanted to share the poetry, but there had to be something else, something beyond the poetry, something profound.
It was in these moments of contemplation that the patterns emerged, I noticed how the poetry had written itself over time, and consequently healed me from traumas in the process. It was after this recognition that I realised my poetry had defined my own evolution, starting with reflection, moving through restoration and reconnection and leading to regeneration, yet written in a way that invited others along with me. This, along with a reason I allude to in the acknowledgments, was how the tile was born, 'The Evolution of a Soul'. I decided on choosing thirty-three pieces for two reasons, humour, and it was the age Jesus was when he was crucified.
I then selected the pieces that were to go in the anthology, and began putting them together in one document. Once this document was completed I felt like the book wasn't ever going to be complete with out some level of visual art to accompany the pieces, this is when I discovered Stella Perrett. Admittedly, Stella was not my first choice of illustrator, I had asked Nick Hayes, the author of The Book of Trespass, although he was too occupied by his own writing and artistic creations. This, I now beleive was destiny unfolding as collaborating with stella has been a serious joy and the way my poetry and her illustrations meet is mystical.
Once I had commisioned Stella, I began my walk through Cornwall and the beginnings of my next writing project, Regenerating Cornwall. Whilst I walked, I continued to receive the incredible illustrations that matched the poetry in the most profound ways. The anthology was shaping itself in ways I never could have imagined back in 2020. By the time my two-month long walk had come to an end I had received all the illustrations and sat down to write a preface and acknowledgements.
With all of this done, The first draft of the anthology was still feeling incomplete. After much patience and perserverance with this project, I knew the book needed a foreword. there was only one man I could have hoped would complete the anthology having been a source of inspiration for the poetry towards the end of the evolutionary journey the book follows, this man was Satish Kumar. Having met him in the June of 2021, I contacted him with the request and sent him the manuscript along with it. To my amazement he replied with vigour and support.
After a winter spent writing and creating, I relocated back to my home town Rugby for a soft launch of the book. Once this was over and my time in Rugby was coming to an end, it was time to go walking through Wales which meant I had to initiate self-publication through a print-on-demand service. This I thought would be a simple case of hiring a freelance book designer to re-format my oringinal creation and the job be done. I was wrong, very wrong. After spending money and not getting the results I wanted, I knew it was something I was going to have to do myself.
I finished my walk through Wales and hopped over to All About Love festival where I met a beautiful young woman, Metta-Angel. She invited me back to Cornwall to live with her uncle Lester. It was certainly the base I needed, and a little serendipitous, as I had told myself walking through Cornwall that it would be great to come and live here to do some writing.
This new dimension to my life certainly grounded me in a way I have never known, with the support of Metta I was able to get my head down and focus on getting the book finsihed. I taught myself how to use Adobe Indesign and fine tuned my abilities on Canva to keep producing draft after draft of the book. This was a real test of patience. Over time, the book evolved and became the cosmic creation that it is today, a well-deserved reward for the patience I have practiced.
With the book being complete, having trasformed it into a work of art, I know it is the beginning of the next chapter in my already accomplished life. As I take these first steps into an unknown future, the books completion suggests, and feels like I have gone full circle. Although, I have to admit, part of me feels like that isnt true. Perhaps these next stages of my life, as with all of the others I have lived through before, is the creation and compilation of many circles that I cosmically collect to formulate the ultimate piece of sacred geometry that my life is destined to be.
