Monday, May 9, 2016

Interview with Poet and Author Gail Pallotta


Award-winning author Gail Pallotta’s a wife, Mom, swimmer and bargain shopper who loves God, beach sunsets and getting together with friends and family. A former regional writer of the year for American Christian Writers Association, she won Clash of the Titles in 2010. A 2013 Grace Awards finalist, she’s been a best-selling author on All Romance eBooks. She’s published four books, poems, short stories, and several hundred articles. Some of her articles appear in anthologies while two are in museums.

This week I’m celebrating the art of poetry. Welcome to my blog, Gail. Please tell us about your book of poems called Messages.

It’s a compilation of poems and short stories. Some have been previously published. I’ve written them over the years, some on notepads at work, some scribbled on a piece of paper after seeing something that inspired me, and others while sitting at my computer. The back cover copy gives readers a peek into the contents.

Find inspiration for our hectic times in these straight-forward poems for happy and sad days. Find history, warmth and a touch of the paranormal in three stories.
Getting the Goat peeks into the early 1900's when mountain life was tough. Does Mama's advice hold true today? In Stitches in Love Rose's deep love for her grandmother motivates others to share their gifts. Does Rose reap her reward? Robert Horner is tempted in The Stranger, but does he succumb to the lure?
Where did you get your inspiration for this book?

My inspiration comes from observations or experiences in real life. While visiting the traveling Vietnam Wall at Lenox Square in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 4th, many years ago, I couldn’t help but think of the huge sacrifice so many in the military make for our freedom. After I got home that day I wrote the poem, “American Summer” and stuck it in a drawer. I wrote “Irony” in college after I’d experienced a disappointment. Odd, I can’t remember the situation, but recall writing the poem. I wrote “Questions” in the 1970’s after listening to the news one night, and “Sensitivity” was scribbled on a legal pad late one night after I graduated from college, moved, and was looking for a job. I wrote “Country Spring” in the 1980’s on a trip when we passed by a field of daffodils that seemed to go on and on as far as I could see.

One of the short stories, Getting the Goat, is based on a story my father used to tell.

Do your poems rhyme or are they free verse?

Both, some rhyme and others are free verse.

Will you please give us a sample of your favorite poem in this book?

It’s difficult to choose a favorite because all of them are special in their own way to me. However, I put “Hope” in the book first because I think there are times in our lives when we need it desperately and search for it. It’s a short poem. Here it is.

Hope

There comes a day
when only dark clouds
light our way
and rain’s
ceaseless drops of blue
disguise the path
we thought we knew.
We cry
into our rooms of black
and only silence
answers back.
We listen
for a voice to care
and all we hear
is no one there.
Hope is lost
in deep, deep despair.
But wait.
Say a prayer.
God is there.

That is so beautiful. I loved that poem when I read it. Where can my readers find you online?

I love to connect to readers. My web site is http://www.gailpallotta.com

Thanks so much for having me on your wonderful blog, Linda.

Thank you for this interview, Gail. I hope my readers will check out this book. Below is my review of Messages. It was so inspirational.

I love to read poems that have a meaning. One of my favorite poems that touched my heart was about “hope.” To quote the author: “There comes a day, when only dark clouds light our way, and rain’s ceaseless drops of blue disguise the path we thought we knew…” It continues on with a beautiful ending to the poem. A very uplifting book of poetry!” –Review by Author Linda Weaver Clarke

7 comments:

Shirley said...

Thank you both for the interview and giveaway. Poetry can so often touch us in ways that prose can't.
Shirley
straitfromthehive(at)gmail(d0t)com

Gail Pallotta said...

Hi Diane,

My husband was in Vietnam also. We weren't married then, but he was "the one."
Thanks for coming by to read about Messages.

Gail Pallotta said...

Hi Shirley,

I agree that poetry, like music, has its own special way of touching us. I've enjoyed writing it for a very long time and figured it was time to get some of the poems out of the drawer. I appreciate your coming by.

Unknown said...

Hope is a beautiful poem, Gail. And I enjoyed reading about what
inspired you to write it. The Vietnam war, which my hubby was in,
is the forgotten war by so many. Thank you for sharing your heart.
Blessings,Diane

Michelle Willms said...

I have written poetry since I was seven years old and have found that poems have brought comfort to me when nothing else has. Thank you for sharing your work with us and for allowing one of us the opportunity to win a copy. You are bringing beauty into our lives.

Gail Pallotta said...

Hi Michelle,

How neat to connect with another poet! Thank you for your kind words. Blessings on your and your poems.

Linda Weaver Clarke said...

Congratulations to Shirley, Michelle, and Diane. I know you'll enjoy these poems. I know I did.