Rosebud resident Jay Russell can now add published poet to his resume.
Many know Russell from his dedication to the history of the valley, bringing the area’s stories to life as curator at the Atlas Coal Mine. He recently released a Kindle edition of his poetry collection called “The Adventures of a Diner Poet.” It has been received well and even spent some time as the best seller in Canadian Poetry eBooks.
“It is hardly a new endeavour for me, and I have been working on the poetry for some time. I decided to do this with the poetry to learn the ropes of publishing eBooks,” Russell told The Mail. “I have learned a great deal and it is really exciting.”
The book is inspired simply by everyday conversations.
‘“I love going out to a restaurant or café and writing. I just soak in the ambiance of the restaurant and there are some great ones in town. What I overhear would be my inspiration. It could be a debate about politics, or history, relationships, big events in life,” he said. “I don’t want to sound like a peeping Tom, but it is a source of inspiration. Most of the poems are fun, I like the word play and trying to create a visual picture of something.”
He says poetry is often misunderstood, and many who don’t appreciate it may have had a bad experience with it. For Russell, he likes works that he can pull a story from.
“Sometimes, it’s like a riddle, where you whittle away the excessive stuff from the story and bring it down to a succinct point, and to be able to interpret, as you will… into something that you can relate to your life.” he said.
The eBook is currently available at www.amazon.ca, and he is planning to have a hard copy available in the near future.
