Thursday 18 March 2010

Introducing one of my favourite poems…

L'AMOUREUSE, Paul Eluard

Elle est debout sur mes paupières
Et ses cheveux sont dans les miens,
Elle a la forme de mes mains,
Elle a la couleur de mes yeux,
Elle s'engloutit dans mon ombre
Comme une pierre sur le ciel.

Elle a toujours les yeux ouverts
Et ne me laisse pas dormir.
Ses rêves en pleine lumière
Font s'évaporer les soleils
Me font rire, pleurer et rire,
Parler sans avoir rien à dire.

(Translated by Samuel Beckett).

She is standing on my lids
And her hair is in my hair
She has the colour of my eye
She has the body of my hand
In my shade she is engulfed
As a stone against the sky

She will never close her eyes
And she does not let me sleep
And her dreams in the bright day
Make the suns evaporate
And me laugh cry and laugh
Speak when I have nothing to say.

Leading up to Bologna - an ever-so-nice-review

Today had this ever so nice review of my book from a book blogger.
check out her blog: (http://5minutespeace.wordpress.com/)

Wednesday of Whimsy #1- Curd the Lion
Posted on March 17, 2010 by 5minutespeace

The first to feature in ‘Wednesday of Whimsy’ and in competition for one of the longest titles in children’s literature is The Amazing Adventures of Curd the Lion (and us) in the Land at the Back of Beyond by Alan Gilliland (author and illustrator) …sound confused? Yes I was too.

ISBN.9780955548611 published by Raven’s Quill

I think if I explained the story to you, it’s safe to assume you would still be confused but I will tell you this. This is a fantastic book where you really can escape into another world with pets Curd the lion, Pilgrim crow, Sweeney the heenie and O’flattery the snake. I bet you can’t offer any better pet names.

The tale follows twins Henry and Henrietta who live in a cottage near the land at the back of beyond…the sort of place you know nothing about yet stop and stare at everytime you go near it. This place is a place where dodongs and emporors live and promises to offer a wealth of dreams to the children who enter it through Gilliland’s illustrations.

I truly believe the illustrations really sets this story apart from others. Because Gilliland is the author and illustrator he has the scope of understanding what needs to be shown through his drawings. His illustrations fill every page and make it a joy to turn the page. A most wonderful, inspiring book. The kids will dream for days about far away lands with talking insects and things with two heads.