"After The Fires Of Day" WordCrafter Book Blog Tour, Day 5 + My #Review

 

Today is day five of the  "After The Fires Of Day" WordCrafter book blog tour, and I have a guest post for you from the author, Cendrine Marrouat, as well as a short book extract, and my review of this title.

 

So, over to  you, Cendrine.

 

 

 

‘After the Fires of Day’: The Inspiration Behind the Title and Book Cover by Cendrine Marrouat

 

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I was 19 when one of my aunts put a copy of Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophetin my hand. She promised that this book and Gibran’s words would change my life. She was right.

When I read Alphonse de Lamartine’s The Lakea few years later, something clicked within me. It was as if I could walk on water.

I had always wanted to pay homage to Gibran and Lamartine. I had many options, including writing an entire book on the reasons why they have been such inspirations in my writing career. But it would have been a boring read. I also thought of using Found Poetry. Having tried to emulate Gibran's and Lamartine's styles a long time ago, I knew that I would fail miserably.

I wanted to do something personal, yet respectful, at the same time.

In the late 2010s, I had an idea: Why not “borrow” the energy behind their beautiful words and go from there? My long break from writing was suddenly over. As I started penning haiku again, everything came together beautifully.

The only problem was that I did not have a title before completing the project. This was totally new for me—but so was the concept behind the book. Initially, I wanted to release After the Fires of Day: Haiku Inspired by Kahlil Gibran & Alphonse de Lamartinein two volumes. Volume 1 would be about Lamartine and volume 2 would be about Gibran.

After the Fires of Day was an instant choice for the first volume. The words translate as “après les feux du jours” in French and appear in Alphonse de Lamartine’s poem “Le soir” (Evening). Let Us Speak of Beauty, which is taken from the chapter on beauty in The Prophet, popped up in my mind shortly after. Finding fitting titles had never been easier and faster!

Once I was done formatting the first volume, I realized that one book made more sense. I went for After the Fires of Day because the words sum up the essence of the haiku — short, impactful and conjuring up images that go beyond nature. Plus, they make the title look like a mini-haiku!

The cover, though, required a little more work.

Whenever I read Gibran or Lamartine, three words come to mind: 'boundlessness', 'peace' and 'nature'. Their poems and stories inspire me, uplift my soul, and transport my mind to places of deep comfort.

I have designed my own book covers for years. Except for a couple of them, they feature my own photography. For After the Fires of Day, I needed an image that conjured up the three aforementioned words; it took me a while to find the one you see. But when I did, it made complete sense. I took it at Pine Point Rapids, Manitoba, Canada, a few years ago.

Still, there was something missing. And I found it in one of Lamartine’s poems: "Le papillon (The Butterfly)". A butterfly added a lovely layer to the design. That was it!

Working on After the Fires of Day was one of the highlights of my writing career. I will treasure this book for a long time.

Thank you for reading! I look forward to your comments.

 

 *~*

 

BOOK EXTRACT

Chapter 1: Kahlil Gibran

Among the leaves,

raindrops gather slowly

in my hands

.

Chapter 2: Alphonse de Lamartine

Morning glory

from the blue-green lake

two butterflies.

 

*~*

 

        
 

AUTHOR BIO

Cendrine Marrouat is a French-born Canadian photographer, poet, and the multi-genre author of more than 30 books. In 2019, she founded the PoArtMo Collective and co-founded Auroras & Blossoms with David Ellis. A year later, they launched PoArtMo (Positive Art Month and Positive Art Moves) and created the Kindku and Pareiku, two forms of poetry.

Cendrine is also the creator of the Sixku, the Flashku, and the Reminigram. Cendrine writes both in French and English and has worked in many different fields in her 17-year career, including translation, language instruction, journalism, art reviews, and social media.

 

Books:  - Songs in Our Paths: Haiku & Photography (Volume 2) (2021)

- Seizing the Bygone Light: A Tribute to Early Photography (2021) (Co-author)

 - 30 Creative Prompts to Take Your Art to the Next Level (2021) (Co-author)

 - Rhythm Flourishing: A Collection of Kindku and Sixku (2020) (Co-author)

 - The Auroras & Blossoms PoArtMo Anthology: 2020 Edition (Co-editor)

 - The Auroras & Blossoms NaPoWriMo Anthology: 2020 Edition (Co-editor)

 - The Little Big eBook on Social Media Audiences: Build Yours, Keep It, and Win (2014 - Second edition 2020)

 - Blog Your Way to Success: 35+ No-Nonsense Tips for Authors and Writers (2020)

 - Walks: A Collection of Haiku (All the Volumes and More!) (2020)

 - Photography of Life and Living: The Black and White Book (2020) (Co-author)

 - Songs in Our Paths: Haiku & Photography (Volume 1) (2020)

 - Bad. Pitches. Period. 30 Flavors of Spammy Emails (2020)

 - The Heart of Space (2020) - My Twitter Workbook: 20 Tips to Get Noticed and Followed (2020) (Co-author)

  - My Positivity Journal: 100 Action Verbs and Affirmations for Daily Inspiration (2020) (Co-author)

  - My Poetry Workbook: 20 Tips to Write Great Poems (2020) (Co-author)

  - My Creative Journal: 40 Prompts to Take Your Writing to the Next Level! (2020) (Co-author)

  - My Marketing Workbook: Promotional Tips For Poets (2020) (Co-author)

  - Dans le silence des mots: Une pièce en trois actes (2019) - Walks: A Collection of Haiku (Volume 3) (2019)

  - Walks: A Collection of Haiku (Volume 2) (2019)

  - Walks: A Collection of Haiku (Volume 1) (2019)

  - In the Silence of Words: A Three-Act Play (2018)

  - Life’s Little Things: The Quotes (2017)

  - Life’s Little Things - Les petites choses de la vie (2016)

  - When the Mind Travels: A Poetic Journey into Photography (2015)

  - The Little Big eBook on Blogging: 40 Traffic Generation Tips (2012)

  - Five Years and Counting: A Journey into the Mind of Soul Poetry (2010)

  - Project: Heartbeats and Elevation (2009) - Short Poetry for Those Who Fear Death (2006)

  - And They All Rejoiced! Soul-Stirring Poetry (2006)

  - Sortons des chemins battus (2006)

 

CONTACT INFORMATION

Website: https://www.cendrinemedia.com

Blog: https://creativeramblings.com

Books: https://creativeramblings.com/books

Email: cendrine@creativeramblings.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cendrinephotography/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/cendrineartist

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/cendrinemarrouat

*~*

And here's my review:

 

 

After The Fires Of Day: Haiku Inspired by Kahlil Gibran and Alphonse de Lamartine by Cendrine Marrouat
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is an excellent collection of haiku, which evoke all kinds of images. I'm really not sure what more I can say about this book, except that I recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading haiku poetry.

*NOTE: I was given a free advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This fact has in no way influenced either my opinion of this book or the contents of my review, and all opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

View all my reviews 

*~*

Did you miss the other stops on this blog tour? Then check them out using the links below:

Day 1: https://writingtoberead.com/2021/09/06/welcome-to-the-wordcrafter-after-the-fires-of-day-book-blog-tour/

Day 2: https://theshowersofblessings.com/2021/09/06/blog-tour-after-the-fires-of-day-haiku-inspired-by-kahlil-gibran-alphonse-de-lamartine-by-cendrine-marrouat/

 Day 3: https://robbiesinspiration.wordpress.com/2021/09/08/robbies-inspiration-after-the-fires-of-day-wordcrafter-book-tour/

Day 4: https://robertawrites235681907.wordpress.com/2021/09/09/roberta-writes-after-the-fires-of-day-wordcrafter-book-tour/