Publications
Pole Shift & other poems
Sean Arthur Joyce and Ekstasis Editions are proud to announce the release of his 7th book of poetry and 12th book overall, Pole Shift & Other Poems. Joyce blends science and poetry to discuss the question: Could cosmological and terrestrial events be having an impact on human society during this time of worldwide sociopolitical upheavals? Given that we are electrochemical beings, are we being subtly affected by the current geomagnetic pole reversal scientists say has been underway for the past several decades and is now speeding up? What about other cosmological events, such as the Solar Maximum cycle currently spewing coronal mass ejections (a.k.a. solar flares) and the Milankovich cycles affecting the rotation of the Earth and possibly the climate?
We may not even be consciously aware these events are having an impact at both personal and societal levels. In the best Socratic tradition, Joyce engages these and other questions in poetic form, not to prescribe answers, but to stimulate thought and awareness. As always in his work, Joyce seeks not only to confront the pressing issues of the day but to offer the reader a spiritual uplift—one of the great gifts of poetry.
“Just got the book and it is fantastic! Kudos! Favorites so far are “Vertigo,” “Entropy II,” “To My Unborn Children,” and “House of Blues.” Great phrases throughout.” —Carl Eric Scott, Substack
To read more about the book and find order links, read the Introduction to Pole Shift published on Joyce’s Substack channel: https://seanarthurjoyce.substack.com/p/my-new-book-pole-shift-has-been-released
The author is available for interviews and requests for appearances. Reviewers may contact Joyce directly or Ekstasis Editions publisher Richard Olafson for review copies: ekstasis@islandnet.com or: ajoyce@uniserve.com
Read more on the Pole Shift and Other Poems page
Blue Communion
North Carolina poet Nickole Brown has said that our first gods were animals. These “wild gods,” as she calls them, were part of every known aboriginal belief system, helping keep people in balance with the planet. Ekstasis Editions of Victoria has just released Blue Communion, Sean Arthur Joyce’s sixth collection of poetry and his 11th book overall. The “wild gods” of nature are at the heart of these poems—an attempt to bridge the gap between humans and our wild cousins, to see the world through their eyes.
Roger Lewis, Professor Emeritus of English Literature, Acadia University, writes of Joyce’s poetry: “Joyce has already distinguished himself as a poet of great range, brilliant technique and musical qualities. His poetry is always striking, structured and memorable.”
Blue Communion takes a hard look at humanity and our impact on the creatures with whom we share this planet. The poet’s natural starting point is empathy, imagining the post-climate change world from the perspective not only of bears, hummingbirds, crows and sparrows, but of our less glamorous cousins in nature such as insects. He celebrates the visionaries among us that keep beauty and hope alive—the poets, musicians and other creators—while keeping a vigilant eye on civilization’s corrupt charlatans.
Read more on the Blue Communion page
Visit http://www.ekstasiseditions.com to purchase your copy.
Joyce’s method in this book of essays is to analyze the Covid Age through great works of literature, poetry and history, using them as a lens through which to focus critical thinking. Art is far more than mere entertainment, or some enjoyable but unnecessary frill. Even popular culture such as songs and movies—to the extent it relies on the great themes of art—can be a source of deep meaning. History itself began from the storytelling impulse, the basis of narrative. Essays are simply a more direct way of critically addressing the stories we tell each other in a culture. And it’s clear that now more than ever, the narratives we hear in the media are in need of challenging.
Joyce is following in the tradition of great essayists such as Montaigne, George Orwell and Aldous Huxley. These writers didn’t see themselves as experts but as insatiably curious intellects using the Socratic method to explore anything that interested them. “From the start I resonated with the original concept of the essay, from the French ‘assai,’ to try,” writes Joyce in the Preface. “For me the open-ended form of the essay inspired a creative optimism, a confidence I could at least become conversant in the language. It left me free to play in the field of ideas.” Most importantly, Words From the Dead helps the reader cultivate a facility for pattern recognition based on the precedents of history and literature. “That is my hope for this book, to bring consolation, critical thinking and clarity to readers devastated in their various ways by the Covid Age.”
Read more on the Words from the Dead page
Visit the Store to purchase your copy
