In less than three months, I will release my poetry collection “Symphony of Silence” on Monday, January 4, 2021!
For years, I’ve been sitting on this manuscript, deciding when or if to publish it. Many factors got in the way of me forging ahead:
• I wanted to expand the number of featured poems in it.
• I thought about permanently stepping away from poetry to focus more on prose, especially since my end goal is to publish novels (and to become a bestselling author).
• Sheer doubt that my poetry book “won’t be good enough.”
• Many emotional issues stemming from life issues that have nothing to do with my writing/publishing endeavors but have leaked into this area nonetheless.
“A Symphony of Silence” contains poems (of course!) as well as my thoughts on writing, on the creative process, and more! I penned these poems between 2010 and 2015, in workshops and on my own.
The following poem is one that will appear in “A Symphony of Silence.” It’s a tanka poem, and I wrote it in September 2013 after I moved from New Jersey to Orlando, Florida. I don’t remember my inspiration for the poem. Maybe because it was the start of autumn and I missed seeing the beauty of leaves on the ground in New Jersey (although I’m never moving back there again 😂).
Leaves crunch underneath
My feet as I kick away
Decaying colors.
The wind sweeps away the leaves
While time sweeps away summer.
Soon, I’ll submit the manuscript for beta reading review and get an ebook cover designer. I’m also looking into podcasts and blogs for promotional and interview options, and giveaways.
“A Symphony of Silence” follows my debut poetry collection “How Fate’s Confusion Connects,” which has been out of print since. I want to give that book a total makeover (from the cover to the editing) before re-releasing it. Every time I look at the cover art, I cringe. As someone who had creative input in the design, what was I thinking?😬 I didn’t do the art myself. I gave my ideas to the self-publishing company. Somebody from there drew the cover. What can I say about my ideas? I was young and naïve about the publishing industry.
About Teresa Edmond-Sargeant
Teresa Edmond-Sargeant is an award-winning journalist and author. Her articles have been published in northern New Jersey and Orlando-area newspapers as well as pop culture blogs. Her short stories are featured in the dark humor collection of “Demonic Anthologies.” In her spare time she enjoys reading, shopping, traveling, working out, volunteering, and filling her mind with useless factoids worthy of pop culture trivia games.