Volume number four, together with a special edition, bring the tally to more than 930 published poems. It also brings a close to publishing my old poems, with about half of the 226 poems in Fortitude written over the past two years. One of my favourite forms is the sonnet, however there are ballads and free form in an eclectic mix. My primary writing style is poetry, although I am not as prolific these days.
With the sheer number of poems it has been difficult to narrow down certain themes and keeping track of titles have been its own nightmare, since most of the poems never had a title. In retrospect perhaps I should have thought of this, but then I once used the same title five times so that may not be a practical solution. When I realised there were not enough poems for a volume I went into overdrive trying to make up the shortfall. Each volume includes around 220 poems.
The photos were taken around Fossil Island while the tide was coming in, I may have scared a relative who thought I would get washed away with the tide. All the photographs are mine, however the ones for the special edition were taken by my father. There is an amazing feeling to open a book and see every open beautifully laid out. For those who have not seen the printed version, the cover photo is used as a faint watermark on the full page behind the text and mirror imaged to meet at the binding.
When I first began on the publishing journey I did not think anyone would be interested in poetry, the books were originally produced as a record of my prolific ability after much convincing from relatives. No one wanted to be left with the task of trying to sort through all my scribbled hand written notes. It was never meant to be my best selling work, so thank you.
Chantelle Griffin 