Watery Through the Gaps: Author Interview and Book Review

 


Watery Through the Gaps, the second collection of nature inspired poetry by Emma Blas. A huge thank you to Emma for not only giving me a copy of her book, but for allowing me the opportunity to interview her so that we, the readers, could get a better understanding of her as a person, her muse, and her creative processes. Stay tuned for my review after our interview.

The Interview

What is something we should know about Emma Blas?
I’m a poet, who uses the lens of the natural world to explore the human experience; I taught yoga for many years, and find my poetry maps the journey of self from disconnection, to something embodied, and more universally resonantly, whole. My poetry is sensual, but it seeks intimacy with the soul and with that something greater than romantic love. I often collaborate with visual artists in my work. 

Where do you draw your inspiration from?
I am a nature lover, and live on the dramatic coastline of Asturias, in the north of Spain. It is rugged and primal, untamed and breathtakingly beautiful. Inspiration mostly comes when I am moving through the natural landscape, when my senses are ‘listening’ and connecting up with internal musings. I also enjoy slipping into the skin of a piece of art and expressing it poetically, what is the story it is, and isn’t, telling. What journey has it been on and where is it taking us?

What made you decide on poetry as your genre?
I hadn’t written poetry for years, until I started playing the guitar and writing songs. I found it was actually poetry I was writing and I realised I saw the world as poetry and reclaimed my way of expressing it.  

What is your favourite part of the writing process?
When the words come unbidden, just flowing in through the senses and gathering in to a kind of soup of words to be served up. That is the most pleasurable way to write. Though it depends on state of mind. I’ve learned over the years not to force creativity. Sometimes it isn’t the right time for it to flow and then I am more likely to enjoy editing and refining existing poems.

What do you hope readers will get from Watery Through the Gaps?
I feel in the times we find ourselves in, there is a need for us to find our place, more often than not the metaphysical; to feel we are seen and that we belong. I hope that readers find community in these pages and that they go on to deepen their awareness and respect of Mother Earth.

Where can people find your book? *Not sponsored
My book is available as a paperback or ebook, via Amazon and all other major online retailers like Kobo, Barnes and Noble. 


The Review


  • Author: Emma Blas   
  • First Published: 2021
  • Genre: Poetry   
  • Rating: ★★★
Do you feel a deep connection to the ocean, to the salt on your skin, and the breeze in your hair? You can have it all flood your senses once again, but from the comfort of your own home with this collection.

Without getting into spoilers, this book deals a lot with lost love, with yearning for those the speaker cannot have, and the grief, insecurities and uncertainties that come with that sort of heartbreak. It has been years since I've had that turmoil and those emotions myself, but I smiled to myself, thinking back to my teenage years and knowing that my younger self would have resonated with a lot of what the speaker was feeling.

Her use of water, the seaside, and nature was a huge plus for me - as someone from a rural place where fishing, sea shanties, and and the like are a big part of our identity, this checked all the right boxes for me. Often times I find poetry express pain and inner turmoil with fire, with agony, and with the lasting embers of that passion; to have it describes as rolling, crashing, booming, salty, and cool like the sea and her coast was a pleasant change. 

Eloquent, artistic, and with vivid imagery, her story comes to life. Were I at a different point in my life, I think I would have enjoyed this a lot more and would have connected to it on a much deeper level. That being said, if what I've mentioned here sounds like it checks all the boxes for you, then I would definitely recommend it to you.

Are you a poetry fan? Does this sound up your alley? What other works do you enjoy?

Thanks again to Emma for taking the time to answer my questions and for a copy of her book.

Cheers!

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