I am delighted to welcome Patricia Furstenberg as my guest on the blog today
A very warm welcome to Jaffareadstoo, Patricia. Thank you so much for spending time with us today and for sharing your thoughts about Why Poetry and Dogs are As Good as Gold...
There are few things that cheer me up as much as seeing a dog’s tail wag! The first cup of coffee in the morning, spending time with my children and husband, writing and reading top my list.
I want you to remember the last time you saw a dog wagging its tail. Close your eyes and place yourself in the moment. Where were you? Was it sunny? How were you feeling? Were your worries forgotten? Were you by any chance smiling? Watching a dog wagging its tail is pressing “pause” on the life’s play button.
Poetry is very much like a dog wagging its tail. It gets us to live in the moment. You can read just a stanza and, for a mere few seconds, it will transport you out of this world and into a time and space where daily issues and life’s burdens are irrelevant. Where the light shines inside you, revealing forgotten emotions, long lost excitement and new horizons.
Very much like our pets, poetry is as good as gold for our souls.
Forget ALL you’ve learned in school about poetry. It doesn’t matter what the author wanted to say. Embrace the joy of reading, find your own interpretation and allow the feelings to erupt, the smile to spread over your mouth or the question to shoot upwards and forward and linger in your mind and over your face long after you closed that book.
Forget all you’ve learned in school about poetry, because poetry can be easy to follow, it can be funny and, without any doubt, it can and should mean different thing to different readers.
The benefits of owning a pet and taking joy out of it are well known. Perhaps if one would look at poems from a health benefit perspective, we would give poetry one more chance into our lives. Very much like our beloved pets, poetry allows us to slow down and escape the everyday digital whirlwind; poems can boost our mood, fighting off the occasional state of loneliness, giving words to those untamed feelings; poetry even allows us to travel within our mind, transporting us on a cool mountain path or half way across the world.
Poetry may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I am sure there is a poem to match every mood and suit each one of us.
Celebrating the simple things in life as seen through the eyes of our old time favorite furry friends, “As Good as Gold” is a volume of poetry revealing the talent and humor we always knew our dogs possessed.
Dogs are full of questions, yet they are famed sellers of innocence especially when it comes to explaining their mishaps and often foolish effervescence through such pondering as “Why IS a Cat Not Like a Dog”, “As Brown as Chocolate”, “Silver Stars and Puppy Tail” or, best yet, “Dog or Book?”
A book with an enormous heart for readers of all ages, it includes 35 poems and haiku accompanied by expressive portraits of our canine friends. The poems are grouped in: Questions, Colors, Musings and Haiku.
My thoughts about As Good as Gold..
There's something quite charming about a set of verse, particularly one that involves animals. Even though it's quite obvious that our household is ruled by feline companionship rather than canine, nevertheless, the kitties and I found much to enjoy in reading As Good As Gold. From the delightful illustrations which highlight the joy of this book, right through to the actual content itself, the whole thing made me smile. It is obvious that the author has had a great deal of fun in writing the poems and haiku which are primarily aimed at children but which are also rather soothing for grown up readers too. Either reading to a sleepy child or just enjoying the beauty of the words on a busy commute, there is something within As Good As Gold for everyone to enjoy.
Patricia Furstenberg came to writing through reading.
With a medical degree behind her, Patricia is passionate about mind, brain, education and the psychology behind it. Using her knowledge she crafts stories and poems that are great fun, as well as teaching empathy. What fuels her is her fascination for writing and… coffee.
She is the author of the beloved Joyful Trouble, The Cheetah and the Dog, Puppy, 12 Months of Rhymes and Smiles and many more, all available through Amazon. She has personal work and educational articles published on Huffington Post SA, MyPuppyClub.net and ITSI_SA. She blogs extensively at http://alluringcreations.co.za/wp/
She now works on a novel about the lives of military working dogs in Afghanistan as well as three more poetry books about Africa’s bravest creatures. Patricia lives with her husband, children and their dogs in sunny South Africa.
Twitter @PatFurstenberg #AsGoodAsGold
How beautiful, JO! Thank you for welcoming As Good as Gold on your blog and for being such a gracious host. I love your book review, so happy there was something in it that you could relate to :)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Pat, for being such a lovely guest and for sharing your love of writing ...and your book with me and the kitties :)
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