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poetry

books creating dailyconnectionwithnature feature nature poetry

In support of the Creative Commons

April 30, 2021

When we were at Worm’s Head, South Wales, recently we witnessed a huge sand dredger hauling its cumbersome body forwards and backwards through the water, dragging up sand for all the new buildings. This level of extraction causes endless untold stresses on the local ecosystem, and yet we just see this as a natural element of human progress. Why is this? By sending my book out into the world as copyleft/ under the Creative Commons I wanted to put myself…

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Writing characters I love

April 28, 2021

One of my favourite characters to write in The Madness of Sara Mansfield is Sara’s life-partner, Nneka Adesina. I am in love with Nneka’s brilliance – she has worked her way to the pinnacle of success as a biotech scientist in the sovereign state of Mont Blanc – the world is at her feet, and she knows it.  And yet, beneath the surface of her immensely successful and meticulously shaped Amortal life, difficult questions begin to surface about the true…

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Celebrating MayDay

April 24, 2021

Eeep! Tiny bit more book spam. ONE WEEK TO GO! The Madness of Sara Mansfield is out on 1st May 2021. I chose this date because it speaks of the wonderfully fecund, creativity of nature. It’s the day the May Queen & King meet to give birth to all of summer. This MayDay of anarchy, magic and tree worship is also special in my heart as it’s the day Andy and I met.My online shop will be open super early…

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creating dailyconnectionwithnature Europe feature nature poetry travel

Where the wild lives

April 23, 2021

This poem was gifted to me by the land at San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, northern Spain, over a magical hunters full moon weekend back in October 2019. We parked on the cliff tops then walked and dreamed. A truly magical place in time. This is also the opening poem to the new novel The Madness of Sara Mansfield as I felt directed by the land to stitch as much of her into the book as posible.  The Madness of Sara…

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On characters and shapeshifting

April 19, 2021

The most elaborate character development I undertook for the new novel, The Madness of Sara Mansfield, was with Alex/Crow. They began life as an hour-long sound/spoken word performance piece, CRØWOMAN. I only performed this twice before realising that this character is Trans and that they need to live in the novel, not on stage. As I’ve written before, the titular character has my initials because all of the characters in the novel are potential reflections of my Self: I am…

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books creating feature poetry

Learning to be okay with being misunderstood

April 17, 2021

My new novel, The Madness of Sara Mansfield, is out on 1st May 2021. It’s a strange feeling sending this book out into the world. Especially as I’ve never spent so long on a single piece of writing in the past. Over six years I’ve agonised over endless lines as if it were an 88,000 word poem.  One of the elements I‘ve struggle with is worrying how people might perceive some of the political themes. Perhaps because in the past…

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books creating Cymraeg dailyconnectionwithnature Europe nature poetry

On Welsh myth and Cretian landscapes

April 13, 2021

One of the elements of the new novel, The Madness of Sara Mansfield, that’s important to me is the nature writing. Although this sci-fi trilogy nods towards dystopia, there’s also hope, and for me, the potential for new dreams always flows from nature.After wars, or in derelict places, wild plants grow, reclaiming the space, rejoicing in their fecundity. Nature knows how to heal the scars of our making. I think this is why I find books like McCarthy’s The Road…

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The poet affects great change

April 11, 2021

Text reads: The poet affects great change in the hearts of people so that those people can affect great change in the world.  Lines from The Madness of Sara Mansfield,  first book in the MthR Trilogy.  Out as digital download on 1st May 2021 from SophieMcKeand.com.…

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books creating feature feminism poetry

The Madness of Sara Mansfield book cover

March 29, 2021

I’m so happy to share the cover art of the new novel, The Madness of Sara Mansfield. My partner in life, Andy Garside, always designs my work, always manages to convey the essence of each book with a beautiful clarity and vision. I wanted the making of this book to be an act of trust, whose creation speaks to an anarchic ideal that everything under this blue sky belongs with a collective stewardship, in the Creative Commons. Which is why…

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creating poetry travel Wales

In praise of our Celtic rainforests

March 27, 2021

Being back in our homeland of Cymru this winter offered a beautiful opportunity to reconnect with the land and trees here. This weekend travel restrictions ease and we get to explore farther afield once more. Here’s a poem from the Hanes poetry pamphlet in celebration of that. Also for my lovely friend @anjetvanlinge ? #rainforest #celticrainforest #idreamwithtrees #poetlife #slowlivingactivism text reads: rainforestSnowdonia’s Celtic rain forest in Cwm Mynach (Monk’s Valley) has around 200 days of rain each year. rainfall tearsblister…

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