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Jay Long : My First Published Poetry Book

Ever since I was a child I have had a connection with pad and pen. I can remember as a toddler, not quite 4 years old, grabbing a black felt pen and a yellow legal pad and mimicking my mother’s cursive writing. Some parents used the TV or toys to distract their children and keep them occupied, mine simply allowed me to scribble. I guess for that reason alone, it’s no surprise I have always kept notebooks nearby – no matter where I am. I have them by my bedside, in the living room, car, I take them with me when I travel and if I see them on sale, I buy them.

When I was 19, I was in college, and it was during that time I was introduced to poets and authors that caught my interest – Dylan Thomas, Joyce Carol Oates, Oscar Wilde, D.H. Lawrence and more importantly, Robert Frost. It was his poem ‘The Road Not Taken’ that did it for me. I was hooked. I started breaking down each piece of poetry I could find, deciphering my own analogies and really trying my best to understand the hidden meanings the poets were spilling onto the page. Needless to say, I nearly failed that class, not for lack of understanding but because of a disagreement I had with the professor and called in to question her translation of a poem titled ‘She Had Some Horses’ by Joy Harjo.  Mine was simple – ‘SHE’ was mother Earth, to which the class all agreed once I gave my take on it. This, of course, was completely off target according to the professor. Which I found funny, since the beauty of poetry is its subjectivity with the one reading it.

25 years later, in November of 2015, I released my first book of poetry as a signed hardcover limited number edition. A year later I am proud to say, Timeless Chatter Between the Heart and Mind was released as a soft cover on November 1, 2016, and is available through retailers and online bookstores like Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Signed copies are also available by visiting the SHOP page on Jay Long Writes. I am forever grateful for the ‘D’ I received in English 102 and will always be humbled by the fact my words connect with so many and cause them to relate their own lives to my stories.

Jay Long Timeless Chatter Between the Heart and Mind
Purchase Timeless Chatter Between the Heart and Mind on Amazon and online book retailers. Signed copies can be purchased by visiting the SHOP page
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