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Leaves

I’ve got to say that no matter how obvious this one is given its very autumnal connotations, I really am very intrigued by them. There’s nothing quite like the season where all of the chlorophyll goodness that’s been shining green all summer starts to yellow and brown, to red and pink – this time where the leaves are senescing all around us is a time of great wonderment to me.

Whilst it may not be a book, or music, or a film of some sort, it is something that I regularly look at. I never fail take my eyes for a walk dreamily out of the window. When I take my whole self for a little hike, the changing trees becoming ever more bare is not something any of us can really miss.

For me, the leaf senescence of autumn is a valuable reminder of the cyclicity of life – the years, months, weeks, days, and everything really. And to see that an end to that has such colour in preparations for a season far colder is just exhilarating isn’t it?

When we are told that ends to things are scary, I find that this is not, and it’s quite beautiful as an ending as that means it is also a beginning – usually of a new academic year for most. The dying rainbow of a season’s sun is truly something that gets me into a magical mood for all things poetic – which you may be able to tell from the fragrant wordiness of the last two paragraphs, not to mention the title of this blog!

It can really help console me into a creative mood when the latter part of summer consists of running around doing all the things that you’d hoped to have done across summer in a kind of last-minute way instead.

Who

Another one of the big things for me is Doctor Who – despite your take on it, fan or not, it is such a strange and whimsical program that has spanned decades and decades. Its magic is ingenious and the way it keeps on literally regenerating through the years is incredible.

There is a great amount of Who to be watched (a new series on its way very soon) and when autumn comes around and less outdoor activities raise their heads, I find I recluse behind the screen and re-watch some of the old favourites.

There’s something wonderful about visiting times in the far future one week, and then times long past the next. Seeing the contemporary iteration of our planet Earth one episode, and then the deeply weird worlds of outer space the next (yes, I know they haven’t got Star Wars budget). Historical figures of great significance to menacing alien monsters from outer space – what’s not to like?

I know that it is something that has shaped me and probably a large swathe of my writing through the years as there is something truly eccentric and inspiring to be found in such a quirky and diversified program.

And poetry too

So, of course, as an aspiring poet, one has to be reading poetry not only for inspiration and motivation, but also for education. Now, my two favourite anthologies, which happen to both be from the same publisher at Quercus Publishing.

The wonderfully eclectic mixture of genres is presented in a range of styles from the outright comedic to the downright dark. Some lighter-hearted stuff that seems almost nonsensical to others, and stuff which hits hard and may even do better to warn you of its moral meaning prior. These two books really ought to be accompanied by a third… Come on Quercus!

So, if there’s anything I’ll be doing when I catch a spare moment, it’s reading a couple of my favourite anthologies about a broken world whilst occasionally taking a break to look outside at the environment’s shifting season for some poetic inspiration and then having a little sneak peak into a program where the main character travels around in a time- and space-travelling box that’s bigger on the inside.

I just wish the hours were bigger on the inside so I could fit more into my day…

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Written by DP, Digital Student Ambassador, on 1 November 2021.