poetry boot camp – Angele Toomey Poetry

Poetry Boot Camp Day 8: Delayed reaction to conference attendance

In my ‘day job’ I usually attend a couple of conferences a year. Obviously last year was an extreme exception. New Zealand is operating at 95% usual settings. The only visible differences in my life are wearing masks on public transport and scanning QCodes when I go somewhere. Definitely a tiny tiny price to payContinue reading “Poetry Boot Camp Day 8: Delayed reaction to conference attendance”

Poetry Boot Camp Day 6: Words and Ideas

Today I have two poems – not because I am boastful or greedy – they arrived in quick succession on the same page, so it felt wrong to separate them. They also didn’t have names until I realised that they were about words and ideas – how they are formed and what we do withContinue reading “Poetry Boot Camp Day 6: Words and Ideas”

Boot Camp Day 4: Nature from another perspective

I am one of the rare people who won’t watch David Attenborough documentaries. It’s not that I have anything against Sir David, I love the sound of his voice, and his obvious passion for the environment. The documentaries are beautifully filmed and scripted. They are works of art. I don’t like watching the realities ofContinue reading “Boot Camp Day 4: Nature from another perspective”

Boot Camp Day 3: The Katherine Effect

This poem was inspired by a sculpture of renown Wellington/New Zealand writer Katherine Mansfiled. The sculpture is located on the corner of Midland Park on Lambton Quay. Katherine was born in Wellington in the late 1800s, the houses where she lived in the suburbs of Thorndon and Eastbourne are local landmarks. Her short stories, poemsContinue reading “Boot Camp Day 3: The Katherine Effect”

Boot Camp Day 2: Untangling knots

I sometimes feel that I spend half my life trying to escape the tangles I’ve created for myself…like setting a huge goal of a poem a day when I’ve managed to make very little time for writing in over a month. Perhaps the application of a little strategic pressure is just what I need. AsContinue reading “Boot Camp Day 2: Untangling knots”

History and destiny calling my name?

This is poem #1 of my self-imposed “2 week boot camp”. The aim is to post a poem every day for two weeks! I had a very close relationship with my maternal grandmother, she taught me how to crotchet and how to put food on the table when surprise visitors drop in. Her lavender scentedContinue reading “History and destiny calling my name?”