MEDIA COVERAGE: TV / Newspapers / Radio
On-line Newspaper Articles:
A mention of my poetry featured at a photography exhibit is included in the article, "Melding Photos and Verse" by The Lookout, Sonya Vartabedian, in The Daily News Online, Newburyport, MA.
See full article below:
Melding photos and verse in 'Gems and Passions'
Patricia Bashford of Newburyport and Robert Pyle of Reading are pairing their photographs with prose and poetry in "Gems and Passions," opening today in the Newburyport Art Association's Laura Coombs Hills Gallery, 65 Water St., Newburyport.
The photographers are both devotees of poetry, and each has found a poet to compliment their images.
Bashford is teaming with poet Cristina Norcross, who recently published a book of her poems inspired by the work of a watercolorist. They are presently working on a similar publication using Bashford's images and Norcross' poems. Three of the poems are featured in the art association exhibit.
The poet laureate Gertrude Halstead of Worcester, meanwhile, was inspired by Pyle's New England Light exhibit at the Copley Society of Boston.
Pyle uses classic black-and-white photographs that concentrate on light and form in architectural settings as well as in his carefully composed family portraits. Bashford primarily works with colorful, digitally produced images that focus on the natural world and people and their habitats.
The exhibit runs through April 30 and features commentary from both artists about their work. The show coincides with next weekend's Newburyport Literary Festival. An opening reception is planned for tomorrow from 7 to 9 p.m., and a gallery talk will take place Sunday from 3 to 5 p.m.
For details, call the art association at 978-465-8769 or visit www.newburyportart.org.
Book Reviews in the Harvest Plain
Link to Press Release for Land & Sea
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TRIPPING THE LIGHT EKPHRASTIC!
After making a splash on Amazon.com, Land & Sea has aspirations of being an artistic and literary hit.
What on earth does ekphrastic mean, you might ask? Ekphrasis is the genre of poetry that involves poetic verse being directly inspired by a visual art form such as photography, painting, sculpture, music or even multimedia. Infused with vivid images, ekphrastic poetry creates a narrative for art, inspired by the beauty of an artist’s vision as well as the literary muse. In keeping with the tradition of William Wordsworth and William Carlos Williams, who both wrote ekphrastic poetry, Land & Sea carries on the torch.
Local author Cristina M. R. Norcross of Dover, NH and NY artist Irene Ruddock (www.ireneruddock.com) collaborated on the beautiful book, Land & Sea: Poetry Inspired by Art. This unique collection of ekphrastic poetry and watercolor paintings is available to order through Revolution Booksellers. It is currently being sold at local, independent bookstores, as well as at select Borders and Barnes & Noble stores. A full list of retail outlets can be found on the author’s website at www.firkinfiction.com.
An upcoming book tour includes book-signing events at the following Barnes & Noble college bookstores: Tufts University (Nov. 10th), The Harvard Coop (Dec. 9th), Fordham University at Lincoln Center (Dec. 15th) and Johnson & Wales University (Jan. 16th).
Ms. Norcross will be a featured guest at an upcoming multi-author event on Nov. 17th, 11-2, at the Whipple Free Library in New Boston, NH.
Readers will gaze at the peaceful images and words contained within the pages of Land & Sea and be transported to another world. From romantic ocean scenes to narratives woven around tall buildings overlooking Central Park, Land & Sea has stories and themes that every reader will be able to identify with and enjoy as a welcome escape.
Here are some of the enthusiastic responses to Land & Sea by noteworthy readers:
“The book is beautiful.”
-Nancy Aronie, Author of Writing from the Heart
“Poems and pictures beautifully melded!”
-Ken Browne, Documentary filmmaker and director of Mondays at Skimmilk: 30 Years of Writers at Work
“… I think that Cristina Norcross has done an admirable job of taking inspiration from Ms. Ruddock’s agreeable images.”
-Gregory Maguire, Bestselling author of the novel Wicked.
There is a magical interplay between the written word and visual art. It is a creative synthesis like no other, guaranteed to open the mind and soothe the soul. Open up Land & Sea and walk into the pages of landscape and story. This is a land of respite you will return to again and again. Land & Sea provides a world of enchantment for readers. Let the journey begin!
ISBN: 978-0-9796733-0-6
Firkin Fiction
Hardcover, 67 pages, illustrated
$34.95 retail
To place orders for this book, please contact:
Revolution Booksellers
Carol McCarthy
60 Winter Street
Exeter, NH 03833
Toll-Free: 800.738.6603
Phone: 603.772.7200
Fax: 603.772.1980
E-mail: carol@revolutionbooksellers.com
URL: www.revolutionbooksellers.com
To arrange a book signing or interview, please contact Cristina M. R. Norcross at author@firkinfiction.com.
PRINT NEWSPAPERS:
Portsmouth Herald: "Painting and Poetry Team up"
Nashua Telegraph article: "Poet, Painter Team up for 'Land & Sea'"
*These book reviews were also published in print form in the Sunday August 12, 2007 editions of each newspaper as well as The Concord Monitor.
Sample Article: Poet, painter team for ‘Land & Sea’
“Land & Sea,” paintings by Irene Ruddock, poetry by Cristina M.R. Norcross; Firkinfiction; cloth; 54 pages; $34.95.
Publishing your own book takes guts – especially when it’s an art and poetry book. The poetry’s no problem, but those full-color paintings on every other page mean a lot of money out of pocket. And who knows if the book will sell, or if you’ll be stuck with boxes of them moldering in your basement.
Dover poet Cristina Norcross and painter Irene Ruddock teamed up to produce “Land & Sea: Poetry Inspired by Art.”
Disclaimer: I don’t know much about paintings. Some I like; some not so much. (Actually, my criteria for judging poetry are pretty much the same.) Ruddock’s paintings soothe me – gardens and garden gates, window boxes, sweet little old farmhouses set among rolling fields and hills, empty beaches, dunes and the sea. She works in oil, pastels and watercolors, but despite different mediums, there’s a consistent impressionistic softness to her work. Ruddock’s world seems pleasant. Even her paintings of Central Park emphasize the water and trees rather than the background skyscrapers, which in her vision appear natural, like rectangular hills or cliffs with many windows.
“I try to capture an essence of light, happiness and serenity in my paintings,” she writes. “The name Irene means peace, so I attempt to impart my love for the beauty of nature in a peaceful and serene way.”
These paintings inspire Norcross’s work.
“Ekphrastic poetry,” she writes, “is the outcome of an author responding to a piece of artwork through the medium of writing.”
The paintings are the chicken; poetry, the egg. And the chicken came first. And ekphrastic is my new favorite word. Readers can study the painting, then read what Norcross read into it. We see where the painting led her. We see the relationship between words and image.
Ruddock’s painting of sand fence, dunes, beach and surf triggered Norcross’s poem “Ocean Breeze,” which begins with her memory of a similar place and a person associated with it.
There is a hollow of brush and sand,
not far from our beach house,
that reminds me of my lover’s neck.
Later, she recalls a moment.
It is on that beach that we first met.
That summer when life began
. . .
He walked towards me,
and even the soft strands of beach grass stood still
to witness our first, sun-kissed meeting.
Nothing like a beach for romance, that’s for sure. And sometimes infatuation transforms into a lasting relationship. Norcross calls it “seasoned love.”
Thirty years later
we still walk this beach,
with its sand dune cups and curves,
mimicking the white-capped waves in the distance.
. . .
There is a melody
of seasoned love in the breeze,
as the ocean sings a sweet song
of our memories.
The poems are soft and soothing, just like the paintings. It’s a sweet, sentimental and, yes, soothing match-up. And, by golly, readers like it. The first printing sold out, warranting a second, as well as an East Coast tour. I asked Norcross about her choice to publish the book independently. She said when she sought advice about getting a publisher or agent, “Most people (in the industry) told me that it is very difficult to submit poetry collections, because it is not popular commercially.”
This news didn’t dissuade her: “I believe in our book and still truly feel that we have an unusual, hybrid art form of images and words woven together. ‘Land & Sea’ appeals to both poetry and art lovers. . . . We sold out our first print run of 150 books within about four months and the rest is quickly becoming an exciting tidal wave of success.”
This fall, Barnes & Noble will host 14 book signings at university bookstores, including the Harvard Coop, Yale and Dartmouth. (The complete schedule is available at www.firkinfiction.com.) Norcross says the advantages of self-publishing compensate for the disadvantages.
“It is a lot of hard work on the part of the authors,” she says. “Instead of having an entire department at a publishing house devoted to sorting out the copyright information, you must do this yourself. I think I spent three hours one night applying for the ISBN number. A manual could be written just about this process. It made my eyes hurt after a while!”
However, “It is very rewarding though to know that you have earned whatever small success your book (achieves).”
Between writing, designing, printing and binding, “Land & Sea” took about 2½ years to produce.
“It was a labor of love. . . . Irene was at the printing house every day for weeks to make sure that the color matching was true to her original watercolor paintings. We are a great team, and we are both devoted to this book. I feel very blessed that people want to buy and read it!”
Rebecca Rule, a writer who lives in Northwood, writes this column weekly except the last Sunday of the month. Her e-mail address is rebeccarule@metrocast.net.
Radio Shows: "Writers in the Round"
WITR (Writers in the Round)- Radio Program - WSCA 106.1 FM Portsmouth, NH radio station
October 3rd, 2007, Wed., 7-8pm
I will be reading a sampling of my poems from the book Land & Sea, co-authored with the artist Irene Ruddock, live on the air. The program can be heard live that night at the radio's website. Please visit the site at 7pm on Oct. 3rd! The show is hosted by singer/songwriter/poet Deidre Randall who also runs the firm Blueline Publicity. Writers should visit both of her sites for useful information. WITR sponsors the Star Island Retreat in NH for songwriters and poets to write, attend workshops and share their creative process together. Check it out!