States of Being

by Nik Jones, Trevor Maynard

STATES OF BEING is the third volume of my RETROSPECTIVE VOYAGES, and it is the first of the chronological collections: the year is 1979 A State of Being In this volume, states of being are explored, "Sensing", "Thinking", and "Feeling". The mind grapples with reality, struggling, letting loose, "Raving", desperate to understand. This is the pattern of all out lives, the blueprint of sentience, how we exist. This is the human condition, and in my own personal revelation, poetry is the art which best examines and attempts to answer, what that life is, and what all our existence means. In my editing of the poetry and short stories of others, I have always looked at writing as a way of seeing the world anew - it is the same world, the same planet for all, but we each see it differently. Yes, there is convergence, universality; but it is nuanced and graduated. There is uniqueness, there are patterns where only small groups of individuals perceive and interpret existence the same way, yet there are universal commonalities, for example, the most universal theme of poetry, love. In the end, for me, love is the belief, love is the truth, and love is the faith. Love is the answer to the question why we exist. Love is perception, imagination, and sentience. A Metaphorical Journey In a way, these poems are a diary; one through metaphor, image, stream of conscious, and with hindsight, neuro-divergency. Dyslexia was an early sign, but it would seem, as a young adult, rather than deter me, I stubbornly embraced writing as my vocation; probably, from my perspective, as an affirmation of my perceived weirdness. A final chapter "Restating" is also included. This contains the poems written in 1979 which were published in the booklets I produced in the early 'eighties and sold to friends and family. I thoroughly enjoyed visiting my past self, he amused, surprised, occasionally appalled, but always reminded me, of what it is to be human. I hope you too will enjoy his (my) world. Reviews of Retrospective Voyages V1: PATHWAYS
"This book gives a fascinating insight into the early working of a poet, taking the reader through a series of booklets which share a growing experience, both artistically and emotionally. It is not a collection of perfect poetry, but this was not the intention, instead, there is a journey, and on that journey, some gems, and always a lot of truth." V2: SONGS
"This is the second collection of Trevor Maynard's early poetry and explores a time when a friend with a guitar began to put his words to music, this in turn led to an exploration of song, chorus, refrain, ballad, and lyricism." Selected Reviews of Trevor Maynard's contemporary PARADOX
"There is an open-ended freshness to the style that makes reading the pieces aloud very natural. I experiment with the pace I take them at, and the tone of expression to shed a variety of meaning in the words. Not much writing lends itself to interpretation as well as this. Highly recommended!" GREY SUN DARK MOON
"Every time I look see a hazy sky, or a slither of a crescent moon, I reach for this collection. I love the idea of taking a theme from sunrise to night, and Trevor Maynard uses this over-riding structure to create questions and explore the human condition." Trevor Maynard is the editor of Poems from the Lockdown "Art like this will certainly be looked back on by future generations to gain a deeper understanding of the human condition during this crisis." (Clark Cook) and The Poetic Bond Vol I - X "The poetry that fills this book is moving, deep, and affirming" (Nicholas Chiarkas)