Tag: inspiration

The PoArtMo Anthology Series: Focus on Cendrine Marrouat

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On July 18, 2024

In Inspirational Artist Series

Hello everyone!

Welcome to our PoArtMo Anthology Series, which celebrates the artists whose work appears in The Auroras & Blossoms PoArtMo Anthology: Volume 5.

Today’s guest is Cendrine Marrouat, co-founder of Auroras & Blossoms, who has contributed a very unique set of poems. She explains what inspired her pieces.

Those who know me are aware that I love challenging myself as an artist. I believe that it is one of the most effective ways of getting rid of writer’s block.

Over the years, I have created several poetry forms, which are all inspired by the Haiku: the Hemingku, Kindku, Pareiku, Sixku, Sepigram, and Vardhaku. (Three of them have also involved David Ellis.) I invented my own type of flash fiction, called the Flashku, too. So, I wanted to share a few examples of those in this year’s volume, as well as a short story that reinvents the myth behind sunsets and sunrises.

I have been passionate about the Haiku for two decades. Its minimalistic approach makes it a very challenging form to master. I also consider it one of the greatest poetry forms ever created. To be impactful, the Haiku requires a deep dive into the exploration of one’s emotions. It is not something I have experienced with other forms—at least not as strongly.

That is exactly what the forms I (co-)created are all about.

Whenever I start working on a piece, I want to do more than just entertain readers. My biggest goal is to inspire them to sit and think about the world around them, and (re-)learn to enjoy the little things.

Of course, not everyone will relate to my message. But writing from a place of self-worth and self-understanding has helped me remain grounded. I would not be the artist and person I am today without it.

Bio:

Cendrine Marrouat is a French-born Canadian photographer, writer, poet, painter, digital artist, podcaster, and the multi-genre author of 50 books. In 2019, she co-founded Auroras & Blossoms and PoArtMo with David Ellis. She is also the (co-)creator of several poetry forms and a type of digital image.

Cendrine writes both in French and English and has worked in many different fields in her 21-year career, including translation, language instruction, journalism, art reviews, and social media.

Website: https://creativeramblings.com

Cendrine, thank you for supporting Auroras & Blossoms! We know that people will love your work as much as we all do!

That’s it for this year’s series! See you in 2025 for the next volume of our PoArtMo Anthology. In the meantime, don’t forget to purchase your copy of Volume 5! See below for more information.

The Auroras & Blossoms PoArtMo Anthology: Volume 5 is available! Click here to purchase your copy.

The PoArtMo Anthology Series: Focus on David Ellis

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On July 11, 2024

In Inspirational Artist Series

Hello everyone!

Welcome to our PoArtMo Anthology Series, which celebrates the artists whose work appears in The Auroras & Blossoms PoArtMo Anthology: Volume 5.

Today’s guest is David Ellis, co-founder of Auroras & Blossoms, who has contributed a very unique set of poems. He explains what has inspired his creative journey for the pieces he has included in the anthology.

For this anthology, I wanted to provide a variety of found poetry creations that showcase all of the different places that you can find deep insight when looking for ways to motivate your muse. In this case, I have been influenced by catchy songs, other incredible poems, non-fiction literature and sumptuous photography/paintings.

Found poetry is a very rich passion of mine, I seem to be able to unearth endless permutations when playing around with the format. It is truly fascinating how it helps me to craft poetry in such a way that I would not have originally thought of, if I had written freeform poetry. There is something about being restricted with word choice and word placement that stimulates my brain, it generates a puzzle that must be solved! Having to think of innovative ways to phrase something that uses the resources available, along with it sounding nothing like the source material and having it make sense too is truly thrilling to me when I manage to finish the piece.

When it comes to subject matter, this is uncovered to me a bit like I am an archeologist. I start off trying to find the corners, along with the beginning, middle and end. Sometimes the pieces can be back to front or in the wrong place/order, so I gently fiddle with them until they fit better as a whole. Then the rest reveals itself piece by piece until I am completely satisfied that I have uncovered all of its secrets buried within.

My two longest poetry pieces in the anthology originally started out as attempts at “Cadralore” poetry (for more information on this wonderful and intricate form, check out GLEAM: Journal of the Cadralor). I mention this because although I was not successful this time in writing Cadralore poems (the plural of Cadralor), it still resulted in poems that to me feel extremely unique in the way they were crafted and I think the sentiment in them still shines through to the reader.

I would encourage fellow writers to be fearless when trying new ways to write/create because you never know what you will end up with, even if it does not come out exactly as you originally planned, you too could end up with something special for your audience!

Bio:

David Ellis lives in Tunbridge Wells, Kent in the UK. He is an award-winning poet, author of poetry, marketing workbooks/journals, humorous fiction and music lyrics. He is also the co-founder of Auroras & Blossoms, and the co-creator of PoArtMo (Positive Actions Rally Thoughts & Momentum) and the Kindku.

David’s debut poetry collection (Life, Sex & Death) won an International Award in the Readers’ Favorite Book Awards 2016 for Inspirational Poetry Books.

David is extremely fond of tea, classic and contemporary poetry, cats, and dogs but not snakes. Indiana Jones is his spirit animal.

Website: https://toofulltowrite.com

David, thank you for supporting Auroras & Blossoms! We know that people will love your work as much as we all do!

The Auroras & Blossoms PoArtMo Anthology: Volume 5 is available! Click here to purchase your copy.

Announcing the Flashku!

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On April 1, 2021

In Announcements

The Flashku

Hello folks!

Cendrine recently created a new literary genre that fits perfectly what we do at Auroras & Blossoms. We believe that its uniqueness will appeal to many of you! It’s called the Flashku.

The flashku is a short flash fiction piece that borrows elements from the sixku, the kindku, and the haiku. So, basically, it’s poetic prose!

How does it work? The rules are very simple:

  1. 50-100 words only.
  2. 7 words must be taken from another piece (credits mandatory)
  3. Inspired by an image (permission and credits mandatory)
  4. Minimal descriptions
  5. Climax at about 80% through the piece (not a hard rule, just a way to guide your writing)
  6. Positive / inspirational twist or resolution at the end

That’s it!

Here is an example of flashku

The Puddle

When they greeted each other, she asked herself if it was love. 

Suddenly, the reflection in the puddle was disturbed. “Pitter-patter,” said the rain. They smiled. 

“The garden is not far. Just at the end of the road,” he said, gently inviting her to follow him. Their wanderings together always were a unique source of comfort. So, she jumped over the puddle… 

Mesmerized by the crackling fire, she remembered the silence of their first kiss. 

And now, a lifetime later, as they looked at each other, she finally knew. 

———–

© 2021 Cendrine Marrouat

Flashku inspired by Kahlil Gibran’s The Wanderer

Image credits: Cendrine Marrouat

We hope that you will enjoy experimenting with this very unique literary genre. We can’t wait to see what you come up with!

Thanks for reading and as always, happy writing!

Cendrine & David

Announcing the Pareiku

By

On December 17, 2020

In Announcements

Hello folks!

If you have followed us for a while, you know how much we like inspiring you to write and create. The success of our Kindku prompted us to continue coming up with unique ideas.

This time, we wanted to appeal to a broader audience of artists with a form that mixes the written and visual elements. Cendrine had already started with her Sixku, a tribute to the Haiku and photography. But we wanted to take things up a notch.

The result is the Pareiku! (Cool name, right? 😉 )

The word “pareiku” combines two concepts:

  • ‘pareidolia’ – the tendency to perceive a specific, often meaningful image in a random or ambiguous visual pattern.
  • ‘-ku’ – a tribute to Japanese poetry forms like the haiku and tanka.

The rules are quite simple:

  1. Link together two seemingly unrelated images as one via a 19-syllable poem.
  2. The poem must have a title and follow the 7-5-7 syllable pattern. Punctuation is optional.
  3. The two images can feature the same or different types of visual art. But you must own copyrights / have permission from the artist(s) to use those images. And credits are required at the end of your piece.
  4. Pareiku are meant to be positive / inspirational and family-friendly. So no erotica and no swear words allowed.

We have created some examples for you on the official page of the Pareiku. Click here to view them.

We hope that you will enjoy experimenting with this very unique art form. We can’t wait to see what you come up with!

Thanks for reading and as always, happy writing!

Cendrine & David

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