Lots of you who read this will have already bought a copy of Cornflakes and Gravy, and for that I am extremely grateful. Some of you have bought more than one!
But my little poetry ‘bookling’ (not really a chapbook, and besides, that term is just so grown up), was never meant to be sold via Twitter. A well-known, wise, and much-published children’s poet (oh, and brilliant, of course!) told me that he used to make his own books, to sell at events and school visits, before he had a published book of his own. I was already sticking poems into a notebook, to use as a poetry bank, for visits, but hadn’t given any thought to having something for the children to keep.
So, I planned my National Poetry Day visits and events, got bookings, and made booklings. There was swearing (mostly contained to the writing shed), and there was a fair bit of raging at inanimate objects. Eventually I was happy with how the bookling was looking and felt excited about selling it for just a few pocket-money pounds.
Then some personal stuff happened. Then some more, and then some more. After a lot of thought, I decided to postpone/cancel all the immediate visits and events and focus on myself and my family.
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The bookling waited for me. It said it was ready to be read, ready to be shared. It said What was the point of buying a long-armed stapler if you’re never going to use it? It flirted with the notion of flaunting itself on Twitter. I listened, set up a Ko-fi account, and you lovely people have actually been buying it! I am so grateful, especially when I know that it has been shared with children.
This is not a sob story (I am not a fan of X-Factor-style teary backstories), it is Thank You, and (full disclosure) I-still-have-some-copies -left. I am now re-booking events and visits with a festive spin, and Cornflakes and Gravy will be coming along for the ride. Hopefully I will sell a few copies, but more than that, it might introduce some children to the fun side of poetry, and show them what can be achieved with a passion for what you do, a home printer, and a long-armed stapler.