-Patricia M Osborne

Spirit Mother can be purchased here: https://whitewingsbooks.com/shop/

The Interview

Q:1. How did you decide on the order of the poems in Spirit Mother?

It took me quite a long time to be honest. I spent days checking the lengths and topics in order to create variation throughout the book. I opened with White Lily as it was short but strong enough to keep the reader turning the page.

Q:2. Why Trees?

Well, I love trees. I find them spiritual, a place where you can relax or meditate, and they have so many interesting stories to tell. Although, Spirit Mother, unlike my debut collection, Taxus Baccata, extends the myths to other things in nature, such as birds, dragonflies, flowers. The reader discovers folklore about mistletoe, legends around lavender, white lily and amaryllis. They learn a myth about how the nightingale got its sweet voice and one about the devil tricking a fisherman when he turned himself into a dragonfly.

Q:3. What fascinates you about myths and folktales?

Gosh I’m not quite sure how to answer this. I suppose because I’m stepping into an enchanting, magical worlds. I never know what I’m going to discover. I decide on a subject and then set about exploring through my numerous mythology books or the internet to see what myths I can discover.  More than once Mike Powell’s blog has inspired me. For instance, Mike frequently posts photos of dragonflies so I set about to see if there were any myths or legends around them – and guess what? – there was. There seems to be at least one myth, if not several, around all things in nature.

Q:4. Why do you want to step into an enchanting, magical world?

This question is easy for me to answer. I love the escape it offers me. I can go anywhere I like and be anything I like. I frequently take on the personification of a tree or bird.

Q:5. How do you become the tree or the bird?

I suppose its just like anything else in writing. You get to know your character and become them.

Q:6. How important is form to you in this book?

Form is important as I wouldn’t go for closed form as the content needs freedom rather than being restricted to a specific syllable count, or end rhyme so opt for free verse. Again, using the freedom option, I like to experiment with white space using visual poetry.

Q:7. Once they have read the book what do you want your reader to leave with?

I hope the reader has learned some mythical tales. That when the reader closes the book, they feel like they’ve experienced the myth.

Thank you so much for your fabulous questions, Paul. It’s been fun answering them.

Limited edition copies of Spirit Mother can be ordered via my website shop.

: https://whitewingsbooks.com/shop/