Monster Observer started several years ago when I approached my friend Dorian Sounde with an idea, we’d start our own poetry movement. The initial thought was to take on different personas and write as if they were observing the world around them. What made it different from normal observational poetry was the fact the characters were monsters. With two other poets, we began to form ideas around what we could do. I adopted the character Gallimaufry who was a complex mix of Beetlejuice and Eddie Izzard. A cosmic spirit who could become anything or anyone and observe from their point of view, essentially the fly on the wall we all long to be. Dorian went for a reaper personality, one who saw the best and worst of humans in their final moments. We were set. Built a website, started writing, even got noticed by a new online poetry magazine but for some reason (can’t really remember why) it just fizzled out.
Recently we were knocking back and forth ideas whilst writing several different things and then it came to us. Do a rock album but with no music, just the lyrics and our monsters would be the band. A sort of ‘Ziggy Stardust’ tribute following recent events mixed with the love we have for contemporary and free verse poetry. After some solo writing and collaborative pieces, we finally crafted ‘Monsters’ our first joint work to be published. The poems in the book are wide ranging, tackling themes such as the human condition, faith and religion, paranoia and self destruction, occupational mental health, internet trolls and much more. The incredibly talented Anthony Rollinson illustrated a cover for us based on some crude sketches I sent him and before we knew it, we’d given birth to a monster, literally.
Recently we were knocking back and forth ideas whilst writing several different things and then it came to us. Do a rock album but with no music, just the lyrics and our monsters would be the band. A sort of ‘Ziggy Stardust’ tribute following recent events mixed with the love we have for contemporary and free verse poetry. After some solo writing and collaborative pieces, we finally crafted ‘Monsters’ our first joint work to be published. The poems in the book are wide ranging, tackling themes such as the human condition, faith and religion, paranoia and self destruction, occupational mental health, internet trolls and much more. The incredibly talented Anthony Rollinson illustrated a cover for us based on some crude sketches I sent him and before we knew it, we’d given birth to a monster, literally.
Here is a short extract from one of the poems to get you hooked and wanting more:
Tempted out of trousers,
dreams of petticoats and frilly bits,
silky smooth upon the skin,
love the way you feel within.
No one will accept you until you can accept yourself,
You're dressing for impressing but left your dreams up on the highest shelf.
It's depressing, it's regressing,
you fall into the same old trap,
fear not for you're a pretty thing,
Release the star that's been born within.
You bled your heart into a paper teaching tolerance not ignorance,
you fled your art for safety when you saw its insignificance,
you shied away from who you are,
forgetting that you're a shining star...
(Taken from Hot Dawgs by Jim Reaper aka Dorian Sounde)
We have a sequel already written and in the final stages of production which centres on high school emotions and the extremes of being a teen (amongst other things). But until then why not buy yourself a copy of Monsters and get caught up in their lyrics...
Available to buy here.
Tempted out of trousers,
dreams of petticoats and frilly bits,
silky smooth upon the skin,
love the way you feel within.
No one will accept you until you can accept yourself,
You're dressing for impressing but left your dreams up on the highest shelf.
It's depressing, it's regressing,
you fall into the same old trap,
fear not for you're a pretty thing,
Release the star that's been born within.
You bled your heart into a paper teaching tolerance not ignorance,
you fled your art for safety when you saw its insignificance,
you shied away from who you are,
forgetting that you're a shining star...
(Taken from Hot Dawgs by Jim Reaper aka Dorian Sounde)
We have a sequel already written and in the final stages of production which centres on high school emotions and the extremes of being a teen (amongst other things). But until then why not buy yourself a copy of Monsters and get caught up in their lyrics...
Available to buy here.