Saturday, February 5, 2022

NEALL'S BLOG: PART 22





The WRITING & EDITING
TESTIMONIALS, and
the Published Photo Art
and POETRY

of

Neall Calvert

C a m p b e l l  R i v e r ,  V a n c o u v e r  I s l a n d , 
B C ,  C a n a d a


 [ * There are 16 pieces of writing on the mystical
path in this blog: essays, articles and poems.
The 'blog archive' or Table of Contents
is located below the tall, narrow image at left.
Click on a white triangle to open it. * ]

One-World Jewel  © 2022 by Neall Calvert



 
 
 
 
* In March 2019, Neall was accepted into
  the League of Canadian Poets as 
an associate member. *
 
 
 
*
 

Links to Poems, etc. Published Online:
 
 
 
 
 My article "When Jet Streams Guide," on Nature and
mystical consciousness, appears in Changing Skies, Vol. III,
an annual environmental journal published both in hard copy
and online by the University of Colorado, Boulder. Here I am
reading an excerpt at the official launch on November 15, 2024
[begins at 1:22:28]: www.youtube.com/watch?v=cdk-KjAU7_Y&ab_channel=HindsightJournal


 
 
 *
 
 
 
My poem "Last Day With My Dad" was published (under its 
former title) in the online journal Amethyst Review, 
from England, on September 15, 2023:  
 
 
 
 
 *
 
 


My healing and recovery poem "Descent" appears as 
the League of Canadian Poets' daily Poetry Pause selection
for May 15, 2023 [1300 subscribers]. Read the poem,
 and several others that have appeared in Poetry Pause 
since 2019, here: poets.ca/?s=neall+calvert
 
 
 
 
 *
 
 
 
My first humorous poem, "Those Unrepaired Thrones," whose words
call for attention to a scourge of loose toilet seats in gas stations and 
coffee shops, appears in Laugh Lines, a book published in 
June 2023 by Repartee Press of Ladysmith, Vancouver Island, 
BC, Canada.



*



My concrete / visual poem "What Floats My Boat" appears as 
the League of Canadian Poets' daily Poetry Pause selection for
 March 3, 2023 [1300 subscribers]. Read the poem, and 
earlier poems that have appeared in Poetry Pause 
since 2019, here: poets.ca/?s=neall+calvert





*


 
 
 Three poems—"Back Road Bonanza," "Solstice Ceremony" and
"Raining Glory"—appear in the Summer 2022 edition of Sea & Cedar
literature and art magazine out of Nanaimo, Vancouver Island, BC.
(Third publication of "Raining Glory"—see below.) See
www.flipsnack.com/viregionallibrary/sea-cedar-summer-summer-2022-edition/full-view.html
 
 
 

*
 
 
 
 
Two poems—"River Love" and "You Mountains There!"—
appear in the full-colour magazine Strathcona Collective 
Vol. 5, Summer 2022, published out of Campbell River, 
BC, in both print and online editions. They earlier appeared 
in the art-filled book Vistas of the West: Poems and Visuals 
of Nature (Calgary: Durvile, 2019). See:
 
See (or order) the Calgary book at: durvile.com/books/Vistas.html
 
Comments on "River Love":
 
* A lovely theme. I like the relationship with nature
that you express, especially her response to you.  — C.M.

* It’s like an orphan rediscovering his long-lost loving 
parent (mother) and experiencing her embrace.  — J.S.

* I like this treatment of a very spiritual moment.  — G.W.

 
 
 

*
 
 
 
One of the first poems I wrote, "Raining Glory," appears
as the daily Poetry Pause selection for June 1, 2022 by
the League of Canadian Poets (1,300 subscribers):
 
"Raining Glory" was also chosen as Podcast #60 (July 30, 2022)
by Eh Poetry, a site where Canadian poems are read three times
in a row by Jason E. Coombs. See 
 
 
 
 
*  
 
 
 
At my Neall Calvert, Poet Facebook site: See my poem
"The Whole Forest" and a link to a positive review of the 2022 
Caitlin Press book Worth More Standing: Poets and Activists 
Pay Homage to Trees in which this poem appears (page 151):
 
 
* We waited all day for your poem to arrive. — D.L.
 

Comment above is by someone who, at a poetry reading, asked for 
a copy of “The Whole Forest.” It has also been published by the 
Cobourg, ON poet laureate in the online eChapbook  
Lessons from the Earth on Earth Day, April 22, 2021. See:  
 





Nurse Stump (above) and Blowdown Roots,
Beaver Lodge Forest Lands, Campbell River, BC       (c) 2022 by N.C.


 
 
 
*
 
 
  
 
 My poem "No Dilemma—Dalai Lama" appears in Enlightened 
Times, newsletter of the Buddhist Society of Western Australia. 
(Download 2021 Issue 01 at https://bswa.org/news/newsletters/)
BSWA's spiritual director, Ajahn Brahm, is one of my teachers. 


 
 
*
 
 
 
 
 Three poems, "The Man Outside My Door," "The Day Words
Didn't Fail Me" and "Poem Long in the Making," published
by Dreamers Creative Writing, appear here: 
 
 
 
 
 
A poem on hummingbirds, "Learning Humming," appears 
as the League of Canadian Poets' January 28, 2021 
Poetry Pause daily selection. See: 
 
 
 
 
The poem "Meditation on a Washing Line" appears as the League
of Canadian Poets' March 29, 2021 Poetry Pause daily selection:

. . . and also in Open Minds Quarterly 21/2, Summer 2019.
Commented editor Ella Jane Myers: "Your poem was a 
striking piece that stuck with me for days after I read it. 
The purity of emotion captured in just a few lines is 
the perfect combination of literary science and art."




 
 The poem "Circling," which was previously published in  
The Men's Journal in California and Thunder Stick 
in Vancouver, appears as the League of Canadian Poets' 
January 25, 2022 Poetry Pause daily selection. See
 
 
 
 
 
The poem "Middle-Aged Man Meets His Inner Feminine" 
appears in Issue #1 of The Flying Saucer Poetry 
Review, out of Austin, TX. See: 
 
 
 
 
 
A poem on crows, "Natural Monarchy," appears in the League of
Canadian Poets' Fresh Voices online journal #16 (last poem
in the collection): poets.ca/npm19-fresh-voices-16/
 
 
 
 
 
The poem "Against Coffee as the Holy Grail" appears in
Borrowed Solace Vol. 1.2, print edition, which can be
purchased for US$4.50 here:
borrowedsolace.com/product/borrowed-solace-issue-1-2/

or read it  h e r e [ignore '1.']:


                                     

  1.        Against Coffee as the Holy Grail


“People walk down the street with these cups

as if they’ve won an award.”—Jerry Seinfeld


Coffee stains the brain, strains

the adrenals, kills the inner child,

who needs no stimulation—is no

child rather an indefatigable

energetic principle.

We, so carefully transporting

(sometimes in each hand)

steaming, star-bucking chalices

of ersatz elixir-of-life as if holding

the Grail itself—what lack are we

medicating? What’s missing when

our omnipresent, affable pushers

proudly proclaim on their chests:

Fuelled by Caffeine?

Perhaps it’s authentic life, powered

not by stimulants rather by a (long-

abandoned) dream—finding God’s

Goblet of Grace

—a still-living dream that’s drowning

in a Great Flood;


—a dream of untold, manifold wealth

we’ve convinced ourselves comes in

ten-cent cardboard cups.

 



  *

  
 
 
What readers are saying 
about Neall Calvert’s other
POETRY and his ESSAYS:
 
 
  
* Our editors and readers marked your poetry as some 
that stood above the rest. . . . We see you poet. 

                                                                        — Palette Poetry, U.S.A.
 


*
 * Well done! 
 — David Carpenter, senior Canadian writer, 14 books published

 (Poem: “Turn Crosses Into Art”)




*



* An exquisite poem.
 — FF, professional counsellor
(Poem: “Unwakeable Sleeping Infant,” which was published
at the Recovering The Self online journal. See: 
www.recoveringself.com/poetry/unwakeable-sleeping-infant)




*

 
 
* Powerful . . . left me wanting more. . . . Cannot question your logic, flow or impact. Bravo!  
—M.D., inspirational guide

(Poems of Seeking: a.k.a “Eight Spiritual Poems”)




 
*
 
 
 
 
Three of my poems, two short ("Inside Track" and 
"Unforeseen Midlife Trip") and one long ("Portrait of 
a Young Man Driving a New Volvo 123GT in 1967, 
Et Cetera") appear in Yawp!, Volume 04, Winter 2021 
(Theme: Odyssey), an annual literary magazine 
from the Barak Valley of Assam Province, India. 
 
 
Inside Track
 
Too long on the road 
to nowhere, we miss
the sign for the City of
Wholeness / Holiness
that's flashing within.
 
 
 
 
 *
 
 
 
 
 My poem "Bopped: 1997"—on a personal encounter with
the comet Hale-Bopp—won an Award of Merit in a competition
set by the New Zealand group WriteShareBeRead. See it posted
at the League of Canadian Poets' "Poetry Neighbourhood"
Facebook site:
 
 
 
 
*



 
Parts of Neall’s 300-page inspirational book
 
TALKING TO THE GOD WHO
HEALS BROKEN LIVES:
A Manual on Transforming Hopelessness & Despair 
 
are posted at
 
 
 
 
 

* Impressive. . . . Brilliant use of the dialogue format.
— G.W.

* Remarkable.
— Dent Gitchel, PhD, Buddhist teacher and counsellor

 

*
 



* I love how you express your feelings in the piece. You are obviously a gifted writer.
— B.T., author

(Book Review: Walking Through Illusion: 
 Jesus Speaks of the People Who Shared His 
Journey: An Emotional Biography
by Betsy Otter Thompson): neallcalvert3.blogspot.com/




*




* I’ve just finished reading for the second time “Confessions of A Vancouver Cloud Watcher” and I was blown away by it. It’s beautiful and I will be reading it again and again. There’s so much in it I have to think about. It touches the heart. I will read it again in the morning.
— D.N.

(Essay / Memoir: “Confessions of A Vancouver Cloud Watcher”)
 



*
 
* Wow, what a powerful storyteller you are, Neall! You are to be commended! 
— E.H.

* Great stories, great writing.
 — F.F.

* Keep up your great writing, as you are amazing!
 —N.W.

* I really enjoyed your story, your creativity and your ability to paint pictures with your words. It's beautiful, keep up the great writing. 
 —G.L.

* I loved the essay as there was such powerful clarity and honesty in the experience.
  —D.O.

(Memoir: “Growing Up On A Tractor: Darkness and Light Among the
Fraser Valley Mennonites”)
neallcalvert.blogspot.ca/2009/08/growing-up-on-tractor_12.html 

This essay appears in Recovering The Self: A Journal of Hope and Healing, Vol. VI, No. 2, Nov 2017. See books.google.ca/books?id=3O4_DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA28&lpg=PA28&dq=%22neall+calvert%22#v=onepage&q=%22neall%20calvert%22&f=false
 
* I really enjoyed your story about growing up in rural Mennonite country. I felt like I was right next to you on the tractor(s). I hope you will consider contributing to the next issue as well.

 —Victor Volkman, publisher
Recovering The Self journal

  
 
My mystical-animal healing story "The Golden Bear Incident" appears in Recovering The Self, Vol. VII, No. 1, April 22 (Earth Day), 2022. 



*
 
 
 
My memoir piece / essay "The Power in Wild Things" appeared 
in the 1995 Douglas & McIntyre book How I Learned to 
Speak Dog & Other Stories. . . . "Have you ever been amazed, 
amused, touched, saved, bitten, or smitten by an animal? Then 
you'll love this collection of true stories published to mark 
the 100th anniversary of the S.P.C.A. in British Columbia."
See the book at: 
 
 
 
 
*
 



* I’m impressed with your writing skills and also with the
layout on your weblog. . . . Keep up the excellent quality 
writing; it’s rare to see a great blog like this one nowadays.
* This website is truly remarkable.
* Fabulous essay. So glad I found this to read tonight. Thank you. 
 
(Online comments re: Essay / Memoir on a 19th/20th C.
mystical poet: “Rainer Maria Rilke: Singer of Solitude”)
neallcalvert.blogspot.com/2013/01/rainer-maria-rilke-singer-of-solitude.html

 


  *



* Your essay on HΓΆlderlin is phenomenal. You are an amazing writer.
— D.O.

* An excellent essay, Neall—your research, knowledge and evident
passion for HΓΆlderlin’s work is impressive. 
 — The Solitary Walker (Robert Wilkinson), U.K.
solitary-walker.blogspot.ca/2012/01/holderlins-tower.html

(Essay / Memoir: “Encounters with Friedrich HΓΆlderlin, Germany's 'Poet of the Gods'”) neallcalvert.blogspot.ca/2013/01/v-behaviorurldefaultvmlo.html
 


*



“I  realized  my  job  was  to  make  life  real 
 for  myself  and  for  others  in  language  against
 which  our  normal  defenses  have  no  power.”
 
— American poet David Whyte [ davidwhyte.com/ ]





*     *     *




EDITING TESTIMONIALS

What clients and judges are saying 
about Neall Calvert’s EDITING
and PROOFREADING:


Writer’s Digest 20th Annual
Self-Published Book Awards:

“Honorable Mention 2013
for Song On My Lips: Jazz Greats Were My Mentors
by Stephen T. Botek / assisted by Kyle Hawke
[for which I was final editor and proofreader;
there were 6,000 entries]

“Grammar: 5 out of 5

“What did you like best about this book?
Another major strength is this book’s editing. 
The mechanics, spelling and grammar are close to impeccable . . .

“How can the author improve this book?
Hard to find anything to criticize in Song On My Lips.”
 


*



* Thank you so much for everything. Bruce holds
your opinion in very high regard.
— Jo Blackmore, publisher
Granville Island Publishing Ltd.,
regarding the Bruce Fraser novel
On Potato Mountain: A Chilcotin Mystery

 
 *
 
* Your ability to focus on the fine detail and yet 
maintain the 30,000-foot perspective is a rare talent. 
I am fortunate to have had you reviewing [proofreading]
my book. Thank you.
— Wullie (Bill Galloway),
author of the memoir
They Called Me 'Otherwise':
Stories of Growing Up in
Africa, Canada and Scotland 
 
 
*
 
 
* I'm very grateful for this rigorous editing. I agree with all
your comments and recommendations. Thanks again for such
meticulous attention to detail. It is exactly what I wanted.





— Duane Lawrence, author of two 



Sammy Squirrel children’s books 



in the series “Stanley Park Tales”











*









* Thank you, thank you, thank you. I am more than happy with the results.
 



— D.N., writer of Maori-oriented short stories
 
 









*     *     *










Art Testimonials and
Published Images: 
  




Cloud Launched (c) 2022 by N.C.

    
Six sky images, including "Cloud Launched" above — billed as 
"the stratospheric photography of Canada's Neall Calvert" — 
appear in The Space Cadet Science Fiction Review,  Issue #1, 
Spring 2022, out of Austin, TX, on pages 22, 23, 25, 27, 31 
& 86 (inside back cover). See: 



 
 
 
Three images, "Hospital During Rainstorm," "The Gang's All Here" 
(from my Raining Glory series) and "Small Town, 5:00 a.m.," 
appear in the August 2021 issue of Anti-Heroin Chic 
online magazine, out of New York. See:
heroinchic.weebly.com/blog/artwork-by-neall-calvert 
 
 
 
 
 Three images from my Raining Glory series, shot at night 
in Campbell River, BC, "Come, Blue Light of Healing," 
"Electric Parthenon" and "No Sirius Night" appear in 
the November 2021 issue of The Woolf online 
magazine, out of ZΓΌrich, Switzerland. See: 
thewoolfx.com/come-blue-light-of-healing/
 
 
 
  *
 
 
  
"Darling Buds of May"
 
  The above image, taken on Maple Street in downtown Campbell River, 
was chosen by Coastal Community Credit Union for their 2022 
calendar, month of May. Ten thousand copies are sold by donation 
through 24 branches; proceeds go to Vancouver Island 
children's charities. * The image below, from Beaver Lake
Recreation Area in the Regional District of Mount
Waddington (northern Vancouver Island), was chosen 
for the 2023 calendar, month of October:


"Echoes of Summer"


 
 *
 
 
What viewers are saying about 

Neall Calvert’s photography: 





  









Mandala: Fifth Avenue Diamond 

(c) 2022 by Neall Calvert









* Your book Mandalas: Photographs in a Water Glass
is beautiful beyond words. I would recommend it
to anyone as a high-quality art piece.


www.flickr.com/photos/neallcalvert/sets/72157625165883511 




 — M.D., music teacher and painter














* [Re Mandalas]: Uplifting, harmonious imagery. 




— O.W. 











* Fabulous.  Colour . . . design . . . energy movement . . . 

I get joyfully giddy dizzy just looking at it! [re: Double Star Celebration (below)]

  www.flickr.com/photos/neallcalvert/8462092804/ 




—F.A.


















Double Star Celebration 
(c) 2022 by Neall Calvert










 
 
*
 
  
Neall's photographs have sold by the thousands as art cards; hang in 
homes and offices in Vancouver, Courtenay and Campbell River; and have
 appeared in Beautiful BC magazine (and others mentioned above) 
and been bought by Canada Post. 
He is creating postcards and books from his Raining Glory series, mandalas, 
and the Campbell River watershed: a series of waterfalls, lakes and rivers 
that stretches 80 miles into the mountainous interior of Vancouver Island.
 


*     *     *
 





Neall Calvert is a writer, poet, photographer and spiritual-therapist-in-training. He has thirty years’ experience in journalism, editing books and writing (and in studying psychology, recovery, religions and spirituality).  



To view Neall’s photography, including his mandala images—symbols of playfulness and wholeness—see www.flickr.com/photos/neallcalvert/albums. Contact Neall by leaving a comment below, by phone at 250-202-2202, via <neallcalvert[at]gmail[dot]com> or snail mail to:





#11 - 600 South Dogwood St.



Campbell River, British Columbia



Canada  V9W 6S1


  




  

 
*


















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