Thursday, December 26, 2013

Diotima, Battery, Electric Personality

At last, my third and now personal favorite book of poetry and philosophy, Diotima, Battery, Electric Personality, is complete and published. After reflecting on all three books, the other two being Salomé: In Every Inch In Every Mile and Venus in Arms, it appears that the installment of Diotima completed a sort of subtle trilogy. Salomé was my 1st published book, released in 2011, Venus in Arms my 2nd, released in 2012, and Diotima my 3rd, released in 2013.

I am also quite pleased with the name consistency for the books - the ancient female characters, Salome, Venus, and Diotima. Poetry is often the artistic, accessible side of philosophy, hence I chose these characters as a method of symbolism. As Isaac D'Israeli put it, "Philosophy becomes poetry, and science imagination, in the enthusiasm of genius." Many people have a difficult time relating to philosophy: there have been very few recorded female philosophers throughout history, so I feel that the symbolism of the iconic female names is an introduction to the best of both worlds. The phrase in the title, "Battery, Electric Personality", is also a poem in Diotima. I chose it as the title poem because it encompasses much of the nature of the work, as Lydia M. Child said, "Genius hath electric power which earth can never tame." So, the work ultimately works together in considering the fact that the name "Diotima" means "honored by Zeus" (the god of sky and thunder).

In my opinion, Diotima contains some of my most complex and advanced works thus far. In it, where the poetry seems otherworldly, the philosophy is practical. And what I really like about the direction of the lyrics is the iridescence of it all - potentially, one is able to interpret something different and receive a fresh new meaning with each and every read. The often multi-headed puns aim to give interpreting the poems a mentally interactive venture, and because of this, the nickname "the infinite book" has stuck with me when referring to it. As far as the mechanics go, it takes the endless discomforts of a perfectionist to a whole new level, hence providing the perspective of a universe that never wants to stop expanding. I personally consider it a rhythmic adventure executed as a literary musical. Similar to J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings being a collection of high-fantasy novels, Diotima, Battery, Electric Personality, at times, reads like a role-playing game in the universe of otherworldly poetry books.

Sunday, December 15, 2013

Burning Thoughts and Flooding Ideas

Burning Thoughts and Flooding Ideas, released in early 2013, is my third anthology collaboration with comrade and fellow author Luke Wood as well as several other young authors. Each time he has been the frontman in compiling the anthologies and bringing them to life, and out of the 3, the other 2 being Yesterday and Tomorrow (2011) and More than a Million Words (2012), this one is most definitely my favorite. Thoughts are like burning stars, and ideas, they flood, they stretch the universe. Content-wise, it is evident that all of the authors included have improved in their own writing skills and literary execution thus raising the bar for poetry, lyrics, and short stories not only for themselves but also for everyone else. It includes 7 of my works, which at the time of its development, were among my latest: Cel-Shaded Gold, Certifiable Kiss, Mobile, Shell from Sawed-Off, Sgt. Griffin, Code Red (Army of Gods), and Battery, Electric Personality. Like More than a Million Words and his own essay/short story book Veering Straight Ahead (2012), Luke was yet again gracious enough to allow me to design the cover. The following link is to the Amazon edition of the book: Burning Thoughts and Flooding Ideas.

http://www.amazon.com/Burning-Thoughts-Flooding-Ideas-Luke/dp/1479333174