Ashe Vernon's Blog, page 157

Hi, Ashe! I'm really interested in buying one of your books, but I've only read some of the poems you posted on tumblr so far and I wondered, would you recommend buying Belly of the Beast (because it's your first book) or would you say it doesn't really ma

Hi!! First of all, thank you so much!!

To answer your question, there’s certainly not a specific order you /need/ to read the books in. They aren’t related to one another so you won’t be missing anything if you start with my second one.

The books are largely about the same thing–they both tackle recovery and self-discovery, but from very different angles. Belly of the Beast is about weaponizing femininity and making friends with your dark parts and becoming sharp around the edges. Wrong Side of a Fistfight is kind of the opposite of that–it’s about seeing all the places where you made yourself hard for the sake of survival and learning to unclench your fist.

I’m very proud of both books and there is a lot of my heart in each of them.
Wrong Side of a Fistfight is probably a little more polished because I learned soooo much in putting together my first book that I got to capitalize on in my second one. Belly of the Beast is older [about a year, now, since I submitted the manuscript for publishing] so my style has changed since then. So Wrong Side of a Fistfight will probably look more like the poetry that you’re reading on the blog, now.

Anyway, I’m rambling! It’s really up to you!

Hey! If you emailed me about getting a signed copy of Belly of the Beast don’t forget that you need...

Hey! If you emailed me about getting a signed copy of Belly of the Beast don’t forget that you need to send the payment before I can mail you the book!

I have a whole stack of books with names on them that I would really love to send out to you but I can’t do that until I’ve got confirmation of payment!

Thanks, babes.

Hey guys! Do you want to know something sUPER easy that helps us small authors out A...

Hey guys! Do you want to know something sUPER easy that helps us small authors out A LOT?

Reviews!!!!

I know it seems like a simply/irrelevant thing, but actually reviews are a HUGE help to our book sales, especially with something like poetry! People buying a book of poetry [especially if they don’t follow my blog or aren’t already familiar with my work] want to know that this book of poems is going to make them FEEL something–good or bad, big or small.

That’s where you guys come in! Your thoughts matter! To me, and to future readers. So taking a couple minutes to write up a review on Goodreads or Amazon makes a WORLD of difference!

[[or, if you haven’t read Wrong Side of a Fistfight yet, you could use that Amazon link to go buy yourself a copy! ((and then review it! <3))]]

Thanks, guys! It really helps soooooo much.

latenightcornerstore:lagomrf:latenightcornerstore thank you,...

latenightcornerstore:

lagomrf:

latenightcornerstore thank you, beautiful soul. This means the world.

I hope my little book keeps you company. I hope it keeps you warm

If anyone is interested in a signed copy of Belly of the Beast, email me at ashevernonpoetry@yahoo.com

"I don’t know how to tell youThat IAm tiredOf talking.Bone-weary and wild-eyed—I am heavy in my..."

“I don’t know how to tell you

That I

Am tired

Of talking.

Bone-weary and wild-eyed—

I am heavy in my own skin.

.

What they don’t tell you

About standing up for what you believe in

Is that your feet will bruise

And your legs will ache.

You will go sleepless

And hungry.

You will find yourself wading

Knee-deep

Through judgment and disdain.

They will try to push you down in the waters

And you will be afraid to drown.

.

You will not open your mouth.

You will not let the water in.

You will spit the poison out.

.

Your body will be crippled

With a thousand phantom aches and pains

Broken hearts like broken bones.

Your throat will be raw from screaming, even

(especially)

When no one hears you.

You will keep standing

Even when you want nothing more

Than to lay down

And sleep.

.

There are bags under my eyes.

There is sorrow festering between my ribs.

There is rage in my mouth.

I am not your wilting, fair-weather flower.

I am the marble statue pulled up from the ground.

.

I will not be moved.”

- Foundations, by Ashe Vernon

Just had a listen to your digital album while the sun floods into my bedroom and I am the happiest I have been in a long time. Am I able to buy this all the way from South Africa? I need to listen to this always, everyday ❤

Oh wow, this message made me feel so warm, thank you. Yes! The album is digital content so it’s available to anyone all over the world!

"I thought getting over you would be hard.And it was.It was months of spitting out wordslike..."

“I thought getting over you would be hard.

And it was.

It was months of spitting out words

like scarves in a magic act:

all those things you taught me to say

that I never really believed.

I was such a good rabbit, wasn’t I?

You could keep me tucked under your hat

the entire show.

.

I thought I would love you forever:

that your name would follow me

like a criminal record.

I thought everyone who ever touched me

would be able to to feel you breathing

just beneath my skin.

.

I thought I had been scarred by you,

never realizing that it was a still open wound

I kept picking the scab off of.

.

These days, I don’t think about you for months at a time.

You mean nothing more than a bad time in my life,

and I got better.

.

See, you were the one who fucked me up,

but I was the one who put myself together.”

- I Don’t Owe Anything To You, by Ashe Vernon

HEY GUYS, so here’s a cool thing: I recorded a spoken word album...

HEY GUYS, so here’s a cool thing: I recorded a spoken word album a few months ago (click here).

The album is called Keeping Warm and it’s a collection of poems taken from both of my books. All of the tracks were recorded in a REAL SOUND BOOTH which means that they’re PROFESSIONAL QUALITY SOUND [pretty cool, right?]

The album is ‘pay what you can’ with a five dollar minimum, and you get 15 poems recorded by yours truly.

It would mean a lot to me if you guys could check it out! I put a lot of love into this little word-baby

"Oh god, give me girl poems–that raw hunger on the edge of adulthoodwhere heartbreak always hurts..."

“Oh god, give me girl poems–

that raw hunger on the edge of adulthood

where heartbreak always hurts the most.

Give me the battered, broken toothed words

of the ones who were spoon-fed fairy tales

until they felt sick with them.

I want the ones whose bellies were bloated

with too many happily-ever-afters,

but who didn’t know anything different:

the ones rewriting themselves into

the knight

or the dragon

trying so desperately to turn that story

into something they could still relate to.

Give me the ones who became

princesses on their own terms–

less pomp and circumstance, more

heir to the throne.

Good god, give me something

I can sink my teeth into.”

- GIRL POEMS by Ashe Vernon (via latenightcornerstore)

sext: I am starving and you are the city at night. I am all hands and hard edges–you are the...

sext: I am starving and you are the city at night. I am all hands and hard edges–you are the safe way home. I am hungry. I am hungry. You left the door unlocked, the whole time.