D.M. Denton's Blog, page 35

An Artist Revealed

By my mom, June ©

The secrets of your heart

are stacked against the wall,

canvases for your art

of hiding what you missed.
No mistaking your style,

a freedom out of hand

that kept you all the while

believing as you wished.
A world that long was yours

before it was revealed—

imagination soars

with courage its master.
 Flowers filling a place

left bereft of your own,

a portrait in a vase

found by me, your daughter.
Landscapes take you afar,

cats and soup bring you home

to settle for who you are:

the author of this poem.

By my mom, June ©

Happy Birthday, Mom,

my dearest friend and mentor!
And I know it is Mothering Sunday in the UK today, so loving wishes to all who are mothers (to human and animal children). It is all about nurturing the gift of life!

©Artwork and writing, unless otherwise indicated, are the property of Diane M Denton. Please request permission to reproduce or post elsewhere with a link back to bardessdmdenton . Thank you.

Nerdy Girl and Rock Star – 17th Century Genoese Style

New Five Star Review of A House Near Luccoli
by Marina Julia Neary
Imagine a nerdy cat lady and a rakish, self-destructive rock star. Now throw

this scenario back to 17th century Genoa, and you get “A House Near Luccoli”.

Music history is filled with stories of composers who were dismissed by their

contemporaries only to be rediscovered deified decades, sometimes centuries

later. Alessandro Stradella’s story is the opposite. He was quite an emblem in

his day and had since faded into relative obscurity. My mother is a classical

musician, and when I asked her about Stradella’s status in the musical pantheon,

she looked puzzled. “He doesn’t get played much these days”, she said. For this

very reason I applaud the author, DM Denton for pulling this composer from

obscurity. His personal life makes for a great plot for a picaresque novel. And

yet, “A House Near Luccoli” is not a traditional picaresque. It’s a

psychologically authentic study of ambition, polarization of gender roles in a

Catholic country, where men, especially those endowed with musical talent, were

excused from the conventions imposed upon women. It’s about the position of a

star in the society and the perilous liberties it implies.

 

I owe much to finally being a published author to Marina. She is an accomplished writer, exhibiting edgy wit, sublime intelligence, and an engaging sense of theater! You can check out her work here.
See my review of her novel, Martyrs and Traitors, A Tale of 1916 about another obscure figure in history, Bulmer Hopson, a misunderstood antihero involved in the ill-fated Irish Easter rebellion.
And more happy news: A House Near Luccoli is now in production to be an audio book which should be available mid-April. Thanks to Deb and Phil, my lovely publishers for believing in me and submitting to ACX (Audiobook Creation Exchange)! It will be available through amazon, audible.com, and iTunes.

                     




©Artwork and writing, unless otherwise indicated, are the property of Diane M Denton. Please request permission to reproduce or post elsewhere with a link back to bardessdmdenton . Thank you.

A Friendship with Flowers (New Publication)

I have a new publication
incorporating poetic musings
and flower illustrations.

This journal was originally created by hand while I was living in Oxfordshire, England in the 1980′s, during the year or so after my father suddenly passed away. I spent a month in the States with my mom, and came back to a time that proved more difficult than I expected.
One of the things that helped was the TV series “The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady” (also an exquisite book) that was airing on the BBC . I unashamedly admit that it inspired my undertaking of this work.
The book was done with gratefulness for the flowers that graced and healed me with their beauty, wisdom, and playfulness.
At this time, it is available through lulu.com,

where you can also see a preview.

The Original Journal

I hope that it will bring a few others the soothing joy it offered me while making it once … and then again.
A special thank you to my mom and D. Bennison for continuing to encourage me to get this done!
Blessings to you all. 

©Artwork and writing, unless otherwise indicated, are the property of Diane M Denton. Please request permission to reproduce or post elsewhere with a link back to bardessdmdenton . Thank you.

Migration

It is almost spring

and I have just come home,

having just been there,

like those black-necked geese

flying home to home.

There the robin had arrived

clumsy and bold-breasted

on the last snow

that came

like the first.

Here the robin stayed

small and poised

to see the winter through—

this bare, green winter

that would’ve been even longer

without it.

The doves welcomed me back,

side by side in the open sway of the lilac.

The blackbird teased with its company;

so often my only company.

This is some old writing, the opening pages of a journal I did while living in England, written after returning from a visit to the States. I offer it for all those who have, at some time, experienced being transplanted in one way or another.




©Artwork and writing, unless otherwise indicated, are the property of Diane M Denton. Please request permission to reproduce or post elsewhere with a link back to bardessdmdenton . Thank you.

The Oak Forest

Reblogged from margaretgriffin:

I look up through the layers of leaves and branches to the clear blue dome overhead,

An interplay of sunlight and shadow bewitch the eye as the leaves flutter,

The sun is gently warm on my skin,

I listen to the breeze, buzzing insects and birdcalls,

A butterfly hovers over dry leaves,

Peace.

The Oak Forest, Mt Alexander, near Harcourt.

Read more… 16 more words

Margaret is an art therapist and reiki practitioner, and a wonderful artist and writer, with a unique style and voice. I share one of her recent posts that so beautifully captures the magic, the comfort, the peace of being in nature. Enjoy!

Repost: Winter Flowering

Copyright 2012 by DM Denton

By the window

there’s a pot

of Paperwhites

as sweet

to the scent as

they are

to the sight;

one then two,

three,

even four

and five of a kind

with their eyes

so bright,

some looking out

and

some looking in.




Hope this brings a little brightness and sweet flowering to you day.

As well as being a repost from last February, this is also a sampling from my book ’A Friendship with Flowers’ that will be available in the near future.

©Artwork and writing, unless otherwise indicated, are the property of Diane M Denton. Please request permission to reproduce or post elsewhere with a link back to bardessdmdenton. Thank you.

A Valentine Imagined

Copyright 2013 by DM Denton

Daffodils like music can court the heart into stories that begin without end.

I followed the trail through mud and dust to walk mainly alone; the affairs of this life and others better recalled with imagination than regret.

When I stopped looking, love stopped leaving.

Everywhere is an embrace; the place I find myself is full of possibilities for engagement.

I cannot look at the moon and believe I am unloved, sense a breeze and be unmoved, know the birds’ song and feel forgotten.

There are flowers enough to romance me, even in winter I can paint them into view.

There are words enough to convince me that what I create is the only lover I need.

And so I am foolish still.







©Artwork and writing, unless otherwise indicated, are the property of Diane M Denton. Please request permission to reproduce or post elsewhere with a link back to bardessdmdenton. Thank you.

Repost: A Friend Indeed

I have been considering reposting this one for a while, but thought the snowy painting was past its season. Until yesterday – the snow has returned in depth!

A Friend Indeed

O, the wild constancy

of the brave chickadee

simply changing his tune

like the man in the moon

for the tilt of the sky

as the seasons pass by.

Fitting a snug black cap

feathers all in a flap

it would seem for bad news

like everything to lose

with a cat prowling low

and the winds biting so.

But let’s have no real grief

bother this welcome thief

who’s scolding and chuckling

while squirrels are ducking

aerobatics for need

not insatiable greed.

Taking one sweet kernel

to task with a gurgle

pounding out on a limb

for cracking it open

and easy digestion

enjoyed without question.

I hold out my warm hand

in wonder not command

indeed only hoping

my offer he’s scoping

instead berries so bright

seeming more a delight.

Ah, then he’s looking back

at what I do not lack

listening for his voice

and smiling for his choice

so the touch of his trust

makes our friendship a must.

I have a precious little bird book from 1909 that includes the following description of the Black-Capped Chickadee (native to the Eastern US):

‘The Chickadees are one of the most popular birds that we have, owing to their uniform good nature even in the coldest weather, and their confiding disposition.’

What a lovely characterization of this sociable songbird!

A glimpse of my home (log cabin) in the snow

©Artwork, writing and photography unless otherwise indicated, are the property of Diane M Denton. Please request permission to reproduce or post elsewhere with a link back to bardessdmdenton. Thank you.

A House Near Luccoli by D.M. Denton | Review | Historical Novels Review

Historical Novel Society Review of my novel, A House Near Luccoli
Published by All Thing That Matter Press

A House Near Luccoli by D.M. Denton | Review | Historical Novels Review.

The remarkable Baroque composer Alessandro Stradella stands at the center of Denton’s bright, sparkling novel A House Near Luccoli. Unmarried, mid-thirties Genoan woman Donatella encounters the volatile, slightly disreputable genius and at first is appalled by his manners and eccentric ways, but she and others are also gradually taken by his undeniable charm.
Denton is an unapologetically enthusiastic writer (exclamation points abound), imbuing even her minor secondary characters with three-dimensional life. Her research into all aspects of the period is thorough but not wooden; this is foremost a book of characters and character-study, ultimately in many ways a book about how friendships form. Stradella’s life came to a very abrupt end, and this book does too, a bit – but it’s all immensely enjoyable just the same. Highly recommended.
Stephen Donoghue

I invite you to read additional reviews
and
more about the novel.
As always, thank you so much for your visit!

©Artwork and writing, unless otherwise indicated, are the property of Diane M Denton. Please request permission to reproduce or post elsewhere with a link back to bardessdmdenton . Thank you.

Once Upon A Timeless Journey

It was wonderful to hear from a dear friend a few days ago. Sasha Raykov is one of the most entertaining and elusive of the very talented musicians who performed with Owain Phyfe, a unique and charismatic singer of songs who died far too soon in September of last year. The music they made together was, for me, haunting long before it actually was.

Sasha sent me a mix of a concert he had done with Owain at the Bloomington Early Music Festival (Indiana – Sasha’s son, Alex, was studying music there) in May 2002 with the permission to share.

Owain Phyfe

I invite you to treat yourself to some beautiful music.  To listen to the concert click below:
‘Once Upon A Timeless Journey’ Part I
‘Once Upon A Timeless Journey’ Part II

Review of the concert from the Bloomington Herold-Times:

Owain Phyfe … served as guide, as conductor, as driver, as magician, really as singer and guitarist and story teller. Phyfe’s “Once Upon A Timeless Journey” proved a delightful pleasure. With his inviting, craftily used light tenor, he negotiated his time capsule to show that folk traditions have remained constant, that the catchy melodies of close to 1,000 years ago – or 400 – are just as winning today, and that no matter what language they’re sung in – English or French or Welsh or Latin or German or Italian or Spanish or Hungarian or Russian or what have you – they translate musically and thematically so that they can be easily understood.

Sasha Raykov

The tenor/story teller was not alone in his performance space. He had a partner, verbally silent but very much a presence, the provider of accompaniment, a bearded bear of a man named Sasha Raykov. And, it was Raykov who had the genius to make the bass viola da gamba an interesting instrument, far from the bland, personality-less sound-maker it more normally is. He bowed. He strummed. He made those strings dance and sing and laugh and cry. His was a virtuosic exhibition, at every moment completing partner Phyfe’s front-and-center showmanship. Their unusual program, part of the Bloomington Early Music Festival, cast a different light on music of Medieval and Renaissance times. But though the expressions were old, the messages were ageless. At one point, in joyous, bouncing manner, Phyfe sang: “Winter is coming with all its unpleasantness, but here in this valley, the flowers will still bloom and the birds sing.” He called it a 21st century message. It was nice to be reminded.” Read in full and see photos from the concert.

It is strange that only last week I came upon—buried in the bottom of a cabinet whose doors ‘spontaneously’ flew opened and scattered its contents across the floor—a poem I had written and some precious photographs of Owain, Sasha, and other special friends. When I received the email from Sasha, I thought how perfect to share all in one post.

Here is the poem I wrote many many years ago (I have fought off my compulsion to revise):

Diane at Renaissance Faire

It happened quite by chance;

a flutist made the notes to dance,

and the birds to echo song after song

(they thought he was echoing theirs);

a little more of heaven came along,

her harp held close to her heart

as if caught by cupid’s dart,

music loved so constantly there;

then the fiddler with an easy air,

no matter how difficult to play

his soul’s strings must have their say.

One by one and altogether

they entertained the summer weather

(a gamba, lute, any dream joining in)

the hours passing like a sigh

with those, like me, who happened by;

a little sojourn in the past

for some, like me, had come at last.

(Nothing missing until something was)

Suddenly a voice as it was needed

in melodies of words so gladly heeded

by the hopes of mind and heart

because the two should never part;

on bended knee it found me there,

another stranger at the fair.

Cantiga at Sterling (NY) Renaissance Faire

With Cantiga and The New World Band

the past and present went hand in hand

into a future that promised so much more

of the sweetness of song that had come before,

(the memory as much a vision)

of those instruments of old,

and ageless stories to be told

by all those writers of such choice

who needed a fresh voice

to keep their gentle, thoughtful spirits alive

so beauty and reason could survive.

Thus I was complete—

I found my music in the shaded heat;

and even as I had to go

I knew that I would always know

when life was at its best for me

(with the magic of its sound)

in early music to live and dream equally.

DM Denton July 1996

Copyright 2012 by DM Denton

 ©Artwork, writing, and photography, unless otherwise indicated, are the property of Diane M Denton. Please request permission to reproduce or post elsewhere with a link back to bardessdmdenton. Thank you.