Treasuring Poetry – Welcome Nolcha Fox, poet and editor of Chewers by Masticadores and reviews #treasuringpoetry #poetry #bookreviews

Today, I am delighted to welcome Nolcha Fox as my Treasuring Poetry guest. Nolcha is an accomplished poet and also the editor of Chewers by Masticadores. You can find out more about Chewers by Masticadores here: https://chewersmasticadores.wordpress.com/

Nolcha is also the co-poetry editor of LatinosUSA which you can read more about here: https://latinosenglishedition.wordpress.com/

Take it away, Nolcha:

What is your favourite style of poetry to read i.e. haiku, ballad, epic, freestyle, etc.?

I don’t have a favorite style. What I enjoy is poetry with unexpected twists, poetry I want to continue past the end. I enjoy poetry I can dance to because of the rhythmic quality of the words. My favorite books are still “Alice and Wonderland” and “The Cat in the Hat.” 

What is your favourite poem in your favourite style to read?

I’ve always loved Robert Frost, especially “The Road Not Taken.”

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Every time I read this poem, I find something new.

What is your favourite style of poetry to write? 

It’s a toss-up between freestyle and pantoum. I don’t like to write rhyming poetry (funny because I enjoy reading it, when well-written). Needless to say, I break many poetry form rules.

I enjoy writing poems with a strong rhythm. Internal rhymes happen accidentally. As I write, I internally feel the bum-bum-bum-bum-bum.

What is your favourite of your own poems?

Robbie, almost every poem is my favorite when I write it. Until the next poem. This is my latest favorite (published in Medusa’s Kitchen), even though I have no idea what I wrote:

Sunflowers in My Hair

I can’t untangle flowers

from the memories of youth.

They are the knots I can’t brush out

until the withering winter.

If it’s not a favorite after I write it, I hit it on the head with a shovel and bury it in the backyard. I’ve learned to run my unfavorite poems past a poet friend (or two). Many poems have been allowed to live because of the feedback I received.

My favorite poems are included in two books, if you want to check them out:

“Memory is that raccoon” (favorites through 2023): Memory is that raccoon

Picture caption: cover of Memory is that raccoon

Here is my favorite poem in “Memory is that raccoon:”
Stay as long as you want

but pay by the hour

at the Underbelly Motel.

VACANCY is a bat

blinking at your headlights.

Your room is reserved.

The spider in the corner

grants absolution 

for a bottle of gin.

Your lust lays on stained sheets

with her legs wide open.

Leave your pants on the floor

and your conscience in the fridge.

“My Pelvis Wants to Be Elvis” (favorites through 2024): My Pelvis Wants to Be Elvis

Here is my favorite poem in “My Pelvis Wants to Be Elvis:”

My pelvis wants to be Elvis

on The Ed Sullivan Show, you know,

I want to be that cutie who shakes her booty

while Elvis bumps and grinds. Who minds

gyrating hips and snarling lips?

The truth be said, my darling Ed,

the rest of me wants to be

in bed.

Please tell us about your poetry book, Finger Painting with Words. How did this book come about? What would you like readers to take away from this collection?

“Finger Painting with Words” is a collection of short poems written to inspire readers to see the world with refreshed eyes — through imagination, through the senses, through the emotions. Not through a cell phone (although that could be a different book).

I also wrote this book to thrill my mother. She loved that her daughter was an author. Unfortunately, she died before this book was published.

Book reviewsSeesaw: Quirky Poems by Ken Tomaro and Nolcha Fox Picture caption: Cover of Seesaw: Quirky Poems

This poetry collaboration between Nolcha Fox and Ken Tomaro is darkly humorous and most entertaining. The poems celebrate daily life in all its boring ordinariness and, by demonstrating how much worse it could be if these chores and activities were not undertaken, highlight the charm of ordinary life. They also ‘take the mick’ out of people’s ridiculous obsession with social media and watching life being lived by others. These poems made me smile and reminded me of the poetic works of Roald Dahl.

Two short extracts that highlight the style and content of the poems:

“Debris that hurries by
becomes a melody and why
aren’t we taking cover
instead of videoing
this hurricane
on our phones?

Aluminum siding
and a trampoline whiz by.
So, I’ll snap a pic
for all the wandering eyes,
just to break the monotony
of cat photos
on my phone.”

“I come to a door
I open it.
Not because it is easy,
or because I’m curious,
or because I’m bored,
but because it is the only one
that will open.
I take weak little steps.
Not because I am unsure,
but because I am tired.
I follow the same path.
Not because it is worn,
but because all paths are the same.

The only door that opens
is to dirty dishes, unmade beds,
laundry someone left behind.
By the time I clean this house,
I’ll be too weak
to find a pathway out of here.”

A book that will give your spirits a lift as you laugh at yourself and life.

Purchase Seesaw: Quirky Poems from Amazon US here: https://www.amazon.com/Seesaw-Quirky-Poems-Ken-Tomaro-ebook/dp/B0F22N2D5T

Finger Painting with Words by Nolcha Fox Picture caption: Finger Paining with Words

This is a relatively short collection of fascinating and different poems and the first collection I’ve read by this poet. I have read a lot of classic books and poems written by British authors and poets and have only recently started exploring American writers and poets. The difference in style and content is intriguing to me and I have developed a real appreciation for the boundaryless thought processes and unstructured writing styles of American writers.

For me as a reader, Nolcha Fox’s poetry is a wonderful example of thinking and writing outside the ‘box’ and I enjoyed each poem in this collection a great deal.

An example of this freedom in writing is her poem, Catch Them, as follows:
“In morning dark, the stars are blinding white,
rampaging fireflies on steroids.
Hollyhocks defy gravity and aphids
to kiss the sky before the weight of
summer
tilts them to kiss the ground.
Heat bakes the sidewalk
into squares of peanut butter fudge,
sweet sludge from oven top.
Each second a butterfly
I scoop with net of tangled words
before it flies pastward to cocoon.”

This is an interesting and thought provoking short collection of poems designed to make you think. I must also mention the lovely cover which I found very attractive.

Purchase Finger Painting with Words by Nolcha Fox from Amazon US here: https://www.amazon.com/Finger-Painting-Words-Nolcha-Fox-ebook/dp/B0DBNZ7WR9

About Nolcha Fox Picture caption: Author picture of Nolcha Fox

Nolcha Fox’s poems have been curated in print and online journals. A best-selling author, her poetry books are available on Amazon and Dancing Girl Press. Nominee for Best Of The Net and Pushcart Prize. Editor of Chewers by Masticadores. 

Website: https://writingaddiction2.wordpress.com/ and https://nolchafox2.wixsite.com/nolcha-s-written-wor/blog 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nolcha.fox/ 

About Robbie Cheadle Picture caption: Robbie Cheadle author picture

South African author and illustrator, Robbie Cheadle, has written and illustrated sixteen children’s books, illustrated a further three children’s books, and written and illustrated three poetry books. Her work has also appeared in poetry and short story anthologies.

Robbie also has two novels and a collection of short stories published under the name of Roberta Eaton Cheadle and has horror, paranormal, and fantasy short stories featured in several anthologies under this name.

You can find Robbie Cheadle’s artwork, fondant and cake artwork, and all her books on her website here: https://www.robbiecheadle.co.za/

________________________

Did you know you can sponsor your favorite blog series or even a single post with an advertisement for your book? Stop by the WtbR Sponsor Page and let me advertise your book, or you can make a donation to Writing to be Read for as little as a cup of coffee, If you’d like to show your support for this author and WordCrafter Press.

__________________________

This segment of “Treasuring Poetry” is sponsored by  WordCrafter Press  and the Poetry Treasures series.

Get Your Copy Today!

Poetry Treasures: https://books2read.com/PoetryTreasures

Poetry Treasures 2: Relationships: https://books2read.com/PT2-Relationships

Poetry Treasures 3: Passions: https://books2read.com/u/b5qnBR

Poetry Treasures 4:In Touch With Nature: https://books2read.com/PT4-Nature