Remastering Old Poem Videos

I'm sorry it's been very quiet here the last month or two, but once again I've managed to become distracted. This time the cause is related to my YouTube channel, and centers on video editions of some of my older poems.

When I first started uploading video versions of my poems to YouTube, I would read the poem and add audio of my reading to a video to create an audio/visual version of what was on the page. However, after a couple of tries at this I decided to opt for the silent format, whereby I would reproduce the text on the screen with the same pictures and music by no reading from me. Now looking back on those old videos, I've decided that this style doesn't really work for poetry, so I'm going through the list and remastering those old videos. Only my silent animal poems won't be remastered.

So far I have remastered versions of "Night of the Dhole", "Rudraprayag", "Kalua", "Ghosts of Sariska", "The Tiger and Me" and "Red Duke" up and running. There are many more still waiting to be finished, but I will have those up and running in due course. In the meantime, there's still a lot to look forward to over the next few weeks, including my analysis of Harry Baker's "Paper People", and an update on my long-gestating Mametz Wood project. All this and more will be on the way soon - he says.

'Kalua' Video and Other Updates

Hi guys. It gives me great satisfaction to announce that the video version of 'Kalua' has finally been finished and uploaded. You can view it from the link below.

http://youtu.be/k9X6ftWsOno

In other news, I'm working on a couple of new articles which will arrive on this blog soon, including that one about the First World War I mentioned at the end of last year. The Silent Animal Poetry series will continue as usual, and a few other poems are on their way.

Hope you're all having a good February.

Trailer for 'Kalua'

Hi. Hope everyone's having a great Christmas. With just a day to go until Christmas Eve, I thought I'd share with you some good news. A trailer for the audio version of 'Kalua' has been posted to the YouTube channel.

The actual recording will hopefully be up at some point before New Year's Eve, but if not it will be in early January 2015.

In the meantime, feel free to check out the trailer here: http://youtu.be/rL_izsJCGNs.

See you on Christmas Day.

Kalua

His father was a king,
his grandfather too,
and his great grandfather greater still.

The tiger cub hid in the thickets,
waiting for Mother to return
from her hunt in the meadows.
Would it be a chital, a sambar deer,
or a langur monkey?
Monkeys were his favourite.

Mother and Brother,
the only familiar things
in a perilous forest.
Monitor lizards and peacocks
startled him at first.
When he grew bigger
they fled as he approached.

His teeth and claws became blades,
and his prey's hide was no longer tough.
He sharpened his claws for battle
and flexed his tail and whiskers,
his eyes fixed on Father's domain.

Father had ruled the forest
with scars to remind others
of those who dared contest him.
His son refined his weaponry,
and his roar, but in his heart
he was still a cub.

Father and Son met on the ridge,
silhouetted in the amber glare.
Son emerged with scars of his own,
to remind him of Father's supremacy.
Maybe the forest beyond the meadows
would have a kingdom waiting for him.

The Tiger Poet

(This poem is a tribute to the tiger known as Kalua, the Prince of Bandhavgarh, who I encountered four years ago. A reading will be available on my YouTube channel soon.)