Publisher's Synopsis
"Trevor Maynard is a weaver of words, and this latest collection is his most reflective, raw, and honest, yet."
Since childhood, Trevor Maynard has processed his identity through writing, from going to sleep with a pen and pad beside his bed to capture his dreams, to transferring dreams to the stage, and beyond, to encouraging others to share their work. This current work is a milestone, collecting the many strands of his psyche and weaving a moment in the shifting chaos of his human experience. From the Introduction "I am a child of the 'sixties; two months old when JFK was assassinated; almost six years old when Neil Armstrong landed on the moon, thirteen when punk rock hit, and one of the One in Ten when Thatcher governed. I shared my 38th birthday with the Twin Towers' attack; survived through a Global Pandemic, in a risky age group, and now, helpless as Russia invades and wages war against Ukraine, and Israel and Palestine erupt (again). The power of nuclear weapons still dominates and threatens: the doomsday clock sits at thirty seconds to midnight, and the end of the world is nigh! The first chapter of this collection is Citizen, how I, as an individual, interact with the weird concept of 'others', an experience that became acutely heightened when Covid-19 struck. The second, Storyteller, is me as the observant: looking, telling stories; the third, Poet, asks what is this vocation I follow that identifies me: poetry? The fourth, my world, Husband, life partner to Jo, who I have promised myself to forever, and from her, four children, and from them, nine grandchildren: my identity confirmed as 'Grandpa'. Chapter five, explores who am I? The me? My Psyche, and what does this mean for my existence, the meaning of my life: all life; the big why-ness of it all? Finally, I am where I am, I have lived, at least in linear terms, these Three Score years; how do I reflect, what identifies the person I see in the mirror, the image on the cover of this book, what soul-ness, if there is such a thing, dwells in the eyes of the poet? I am a Citizen of the World, a Storyteller, a Poet, a Husband and lover, father, grandpa, son and brother. I am a human, I am my Psyche, I am an observer and a chronicler of life, I am Three Score years in linear time, but timeless in universal expanse, and I plan to live five score, then more. Reviews PARADOX (2021) Maynard's work was so approachable, and at the same time multi-faceted. 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! Congratulations! A beautifully selected collection which draws you in with expressive force, but also allows you to hover on the edge, like an impressionist painter. I was excited by the variety of subject and form, and by the raw honesty of the work Grey Sun Dark Moon (2015) An intimate study of the frailties of life: poetry of the human condition. Keep on Keepin' On (2012) Poetry is POEMS FROM THE LOCKDOWN (2020 & 2022) This is an exciting, amazing collection, and will serve as a timely monument to history. Art like this will certainly be looked back on by future generations to gain a deeper understanding of the human condition during this crisis.
