Healing poems: Off the wall by Bethany Rivers from Indigo Dreams Publishing

The poems give voice to various paintings and works of art, telling the stories of the characters in the paintings, or the story of the observer / narrator. Despite the family tragedy of the loss of a dear father, and the grief over broken relationships (explored through the story of Ophelia (from Hamlet)), there is hope to be found, the feeling of home, laughter, and a deep revelation when coming face to face with a statue of the Buddha in Nepal.

In Textures of Love we can touch Georgia O’Keeffe’s ‘silky drink of the calla lily’ and the edges of New York smoothed ‘into ice pillars’.

A Modern Ophelia is depicted ‘falling / between the gaps /of words... sentences fading / across the sky’.

When the robin stopped singing makes reference to the famous Millais painting of Ophelia, but actually goes on to talk about a painting that exists only for the narrator, ‘the layers and layers / of snow upon ice’, which ‘Visitors don’t notice’ showing the scream of Ophelia, unheard, unseen.

Barred, inspired by the Black Cot exhibition of Shani Rhys James, relates a disturbing tale from childhood where ‘cot black bars rectangle my cries’.

Other paintings included in this pamphlet range from classics like Picasso, Constable, Lizzie Siddal to the contemporary works of Catherine Hyde and Paula Rego.

The collection culminates in the revelations of coming face to face with a statue of Buddha in Nepal, and the Buddha offering solace in a voice that is ‘clear in my head, clear as a singing bowl / and true as the horizon’.

THE BOOK

These ekphrastic poems explore silences, the stories within them and what it means to search for and discover your own voice. The inspiration is derived from classics such as Picasso and The Hay Wain to the contemporary art of Georgia O’Keeffe, Catherine Hyde and Shani Rhys-James. This collection is a celebration of art and how it expresses the inner-landscape, the pain of Ophelia, the empowerment of Persephone, the illumination of Buddha, the textures of love and the ultimate comfort of Home.

THE AUTHOR

Bethany Rivers has had many poems published in the UK and the USA including: Sarasvati, Envoi, Blithe Spirit, Bare Fiction, Amgydala, Scintilla (USA), Fair Acre Press, Three drops from a cauldron, I am not a silent poet, The Lampeter Review, Cinnamon Press, Clear Poetry, The Ofi Press and The Fat Damsel. She has an MA in Creative Writing from Cardiff University and has been teaching creative writing for ten years. Her biggest passions in life are writing and enabling others to write. She runs poetry inspiration and poetry healing courses: www.writingyourvoice.org.uk

“Like many artists, Bethany Rivers has long been fascinated by Ophelia and these poems, like Shakespeare’s character, embody beauty and tragedy, madness and goodness and will merit reading and rereading.” Victoria Field

“Rivers has produced an intensely personal collection that proclaims the vitality of art in women’s lives: a remarkable first collection.” Graham Hartill

“Rivers, like the Philomela of Greek mythology, weaves her sadness and disappointment into a beautiful tapestry.” Deborah Alma – the Emergency Poet