CHRISTINE BODE
Great authors and poets write words that connect to readers. Theirs are not just words on paper and those words are not flat and don’t go over their readers’ heads. Instead, they touch the person reading them and each page starts to build a bridge of emotions until the last word is read. Every sentence feels like a tease as you eagerly look forward to the next. In poetry, a great writer’s poems are beautiful with every reader interpreting them in their own unique way. It is hard to put what you feel into words or to express thoughts perfectly through writing. However, we can sometimes revisit our emotional memories within the form of a poem. There are some talented people that can write about what others have felt and have always wanted to read about and enjoy in an art form. Poetry can recreate a memory and rejuvenate its beauty and emotions in such a way that it feels like it happened only days ago. Christine Bode is one such poet and here, she shares with us what motivated her to write poetry.
Jason E. Foss
Jason: What motivated you to become a published poet?
Christine:
I’ve written poetry since I was about 14 years old. It’s just something that I do to process my emotions and to record my experiences. My very first poem was about Shaun Cassidy and it got published in 16 Magazine and a book called Rock’s Biggest Ten by Scholastic Book Services in either 1977 or 78. I’m not a prolific writer though as I mostly write from experience and since I’ve been self-employed for the past ten years, I don’t get out much!
From 2002-2004, I worked as a legal assistant to one of Canada’s leading entertainment lawyers in Toronto and he introduced me to Canadian broadcaster, author, actor, and all-around Renaissance man, Patrick Watson, who was Chair of the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) from 1989-1994. Patrick reviewed my poetry manuscript and taught me about meter, encouraged me to edit my work, and told me I have an authentic street voice. He gave me the confidence to put my work out there and I self-published my first volume of poetry called Eden Refugee in 2008. It has been described as visceral, dark poetry, that contains the element of the song lyric. Here are a few quotes:
“Christine Bode has created an achingly beautiful work of art here.” ~ Tom DiCillo
“She covers such a depth of human ecstasy and suffering…” ~ Gretchen Cornwall
“Remarkable for its honesty and encompassing approach to those aspects of the human experience directly concerned with the heart and the search for fulfillment.” ~ Paige O’Neill
“Dark poetry at its finest. Highly relatable with its cosmically mind-blowing truth of emotions. Emotionally, mentally and spiritually invigorating. Reminds you, even within darkness, there is light…” ~ Dawn Kilby
Jason: What is your favorite poem you ever wrote and why is it your favorite?
Christine:
It’s really hard to choose just one but if I have to, I think I’d choose “Icicles in the Sun”, not because I think it’s my best work, but because it was inspired by one of my heroes, Bob Geldof, and his work for Ethiopian famine relief, including the original Live Aid concert in 1985. I wrote the poem in 1987 and I sent a copy of it to Bob telling him that if I ever made any money from my poetry, I’d donate it to Band-Aid. It’s a good thing that he didn’t rely on me for that! Geldof wrote me back, on Band-Aid stationery, and he told me that he thought that my poem was “brilliant.” That validation encouraged me to continue to write and I’ve since met Bob a couple of times and even helped establish his social media fan sites many years ago.
ICICLES IN THE SUN (inspired by Bob Geldof) by Christine Bode
The brain is a battleground of conflicting thoughts,
each nerve-end wired, bristling and taut.
Tears that fall like acid rain,
permeate an ozone layer of pain.
Deep in the heart of nowhere brews an imminent storm,
where hope is lost and faith is scorned.
Another Cajun sunset lost in the lust;
poison gasses form emotional rust.
Ideologies cultivate,
expand, evolve and dissipate;
bereft of truths to consummate,
numbed minds frozen in the grip of hate.
Each season passes with no revelation,
time consumed to absolve expectation.
Images severed with the blink of an eye,
if one person forgets, a million may die."
"Toxic warfare breeds minds of indifference,
scarred and bruised souls ignite massive exodus.
Put down the guns, it isn’t too late,
melt icicles in the sun; help the children escape.
Jason: You have worked with a lot of musicians as their social media manager/marketer. What is it that you do for them and how does it feel to know that so many musicians enjoy working with you?
Christine:
I’ve been working as a social media manager and marketer through my business, Scully Love Promo, since March 2008, so I’ve worked with A LOT of musicians and some of them have been Juno and Grammy winners! I do many things for my clients, including creating and posting or prescheduling content on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter as well as grow their audiences on those platforms and monitor and/or answer comments from fans, create and run ad campaigns, add tour dates to websites and sites like Bandsintown, Songkick, etc., promote shows on various online events calendars, share and write press releases, track statistics, and even create websites using WordPress and Bandzoogle. I also offer tutorials in best practices for using Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for marketing purposes.
In addition to all that, I work as a proofreader and editor and have edited every kind of document you can imagine from CD liner notes to PhD theses to novels. I’m the chief editor for a Canadian company called Publish and Promote. Working with musicians has been the greatest joy of my life. I’m proud of my clients’ achievements and some of my clients have become my friends. I wish I had more time to regularly cheer them on, even after I’ve finished working with them.
Jason: What is your favorite thing about delivering quality results to your clients so that they refer you with confidence?
My favorite thing is when my clients listen to me and do what I tell them to do so that I’m able to help them reach their social media marketing goals within a specific campaign and especially, to help them sell out their shows. It’s not an easy thing to do so when it happens, I’m overjoyed for them. Selling music online isn’t easy these days either and most artists make very little money through streaming so I really enjoy it when I can help them to stand out from the crowd on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter and I see their fans engaging with them. Creating a significant audience of super fans is what social media is all about for musicians. I like to think that they believe in my integrity - in the quality of my work and my knowledge of social media best practices – and because I keep their confidential information, confidential. About 95% of my clients come from client or music industry colleague referrals so I guess I’m doing something right.
Jason: Are you working on any new poetry projects and, if so, what can you tell us?
Christine:
I am. I’m working on my second book of poetry that I’ve titled Pagan Pathology. I’ve written 22 poems for it so far, but I have no idea when it will be finished. Like I said, I write from experience, so I just live my life and continue to try to experience new things to write about. My first book took me 30 years to write but I hope that the second won’t take even half that long!
Jason: How does someone who wants to invest in your services or buy your poetry go about doing so?
Christine:
Anyone who is interested in contacting me about my services can reach me through my website at HYPERLINK https://scullylovepromo.com or by email at
HYPERLINK "mailto: scullylovepromo@gmail.com and then we can talk on the phone."
Eden Refugee can be purchased on demand through Lulu at:
Link: https://www.amazon.com/Eden-Refugee-Christine-Bode/dp/1435726308/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1530143192&sr=1-2
Please note that the best review of my book of poetry can be found here:
HYPERLINK. http://www.tomdicillo.com/143-eden-refugee-by-christine-bode
Christine Bode was motivated to write poetry because it is a great way for her to process her emotions and experiences. Her work has been said to be both achingly beautiful and dark. My favorite thing about Christine is that even though her poetry gets great reviews, and she has touched people with her work, she doesn’t make it her primary focus. Instead, she is constantly helping musicians to connect with their fans through social media and provides editing and proofreading services to others to make sure that they give their readers their very best. That is why it is always positive to shine a spotlight on someone that doesn’t look for it. Her quality of work and loyal followers guarantees you that in whatever she does, she will always give it and you, her very best.
Click on the link above and buy Eden Refugee.
Jason E. Foss
Empowered-individuals.blogspot.com
954 743 8670
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