This episode is a part of Mark’s “A Journey Through Poetry” – a personal reflection of his life as a poet, a writer, and a author – in which he recites a different poem from every one of his poetry collections. In this episode Mark recites his poem ‘Forever Dreamer’, from his poetry collection Poet of the Sphere, and he gives some insight and some context into why he was inspired to write this poem in particular.
Author
Podcast Episode: After The Return… What’s Next?
In this episode, Mark talks about his book series The Wolf in Me, The Wolf in You, The Wolf in Us, and his new book The Return of The Wolf – which all centre around the main protagonist of his books, Olivia Hunter – and Mark also talks about what books he plans to publish next.
The Storyteller: The Storyteller
“The Storyteller” is a poem taken from Mark’s 2025 poetry collection ‘The Storyteller‘ – now available to purchase in hardback and as an ebook from Amazon.
Listen on Apple Podcasts and read a transcript
My Poem “By the book”
As a child, books always felt like doorways
to worlds and to stories that felt like places
that I could travel to and influence with my imagination,
as well as with my memories
of where I had been and who I had met…
as a child, books always felt magical to me –
as if they had this power to them
that could always spellbind me with their words –
and which were always capable of speaking to me
on a level that made me want to continue reading
the tales of the characters within,
and written by some of the most talented
writers and authors on this planet.
Growing up, stories have always been important to me,
and the stories that I have discovered
and read over the course of my life
have only fuelled my love of language,
inspired my imagination,
and empowered my passion
to write stories of my own…
growing up, stories kept me awake at night –
however, when I finally drifted off to sleep,
my dreams were always full of characters,
landscapes, possibilities,
and a new infusion of energy
that had been created within me
that for most of my life has kept
me from ever feeling alone.
When I was first given the opportunity
to author a collection of poetry
that many others could read and enjoy,
it didn’t take me long to jump at the chance
to make a dream of mine come true
and share a love and a passion
that I felt growing within me –
magical words of my own heart and mind
that could give people the ability to read my poetry
and see, hear, taste, and feel
what I saw, what I heard, what I tasted, and what I felt,
as if they had the gift to be able to reach out
and experience something transcendental
and meaningful, beyond that of the sensation of touch…
when it became clear that writing and storytelling
was what defined me and would always define me,
I began to believe that as long as I continued
to do what I loved,
and as long as I continued to live my life
in such a way that welcomed the arrival
of anything, everything, anyone, and everyone
who could continue to keep me
engaged and enlivened by what I saw all around me,
and what I read between the lines
whenever I see the signs of life, nature,
beauty, synchronicity, and the ability
of stories long and short to keep people
believing that they have a purpose
and a reason for doing what they do –
and whenever I write a new story,
and whenever I publish a new book,
I never stop marvelling at how
the muse of the universe continues
to bless me with the words to describe
what sometimes feel as if they were personally intended for me to do with them as I wish,
and as I have lived I have discovered
that sometimes you have to take a leap of faith
and choose not to always do things “by the book”.
Happy World Book Day!
Coming Soon: The Storyteller
Hi everyone!
I am thrilled to announce that my ninth official poetry collection, ‘The Storyteller’, will be available to purchase on February 2, 2025, in hardback and as an ebook from Amazon.
Filled with over 60 previously unpublished poems, ‘The Storyteller’ is a collection of poetry, as well an insight into the mind and the life of a writer and an author of stories – not to mention an exploration and an explanation of why storytelling is important and has always been important to humanity, as well as to life itself.
From the back cover:
I always wanted to be a Storyteller…
As we all grow, we all change and we all realise that even our heroes can bleed, even our heroes can cry, even our heroes are sometimes tested to their limits, and even our heroes are unable to live forever.
I have always believed that I am here for a reason and I have a purpose to live, to explore, and to be inspired by what I find, and by whom I meet along my journey, and to tell the stories that I believe were always waiting for me to tell – because I believe I am the only one who can tell some stories as they have always been meant to be told.
You can check out ‘The Storyteller’ on Amazon now, and as soon as it is available to purchase physically, as well as digitally, on February 2nd, I will share a link to a purchase a copy right away.
-Mark
The Pathfinder: The Pathfinder
My Poem “Fourth Dimensionally”
When you are a writer and an author,
you get used to thinking
"Fourth Dimensionally":
having the ability to be able to see
the beginning, the middle,
and the end of a story,
and having the gift to be able
to know all the intricacies
and interconnected threads
that bind the characters
of a story to one another...
when you are a storyteller,
you get used to seeing patterns
and figuring out narratives -
and you get to the reason
why people in your story
do what they do and why they are
the way that they are;
however, any writer will tell you
that sometimes you know
you are the one making things
happen in a story,
and sometimes you feel like you are not -
because sometimes a story
and it's characters take on a life of their own
and drive the narrative of a story
all by themselves...
as a writer, it helps to be
one step ahead of your characters
and purposefully put
certain things in place
to make sure a story stays
on the straight and narrow
and does not deviate from its path -
but sometimes when you are writing a story
something will happen within it
that will surprise you
and beg you to ask yourself:
"where did that come from?"
Being a writer is sometimes
like being a time traveler...
being a writer is sometimes
like being a literary god -
because to the world you are
writing, building, populating,
you are its creator...
being a writer is sometimes
like being given a license
to travel anywhere, anytime,
in any way that you want...
being a writer is sometimes
like being given the opportunity
to be a messenger of truth
and the reason for someone
to feel found and not lost.
Within the pages of a book,
within the images on a screen,
within the words of a song,
or within the notes of a musical theme,
time can be redefined for it audience -
because within literature, within light,
within colour, within art,
people perceive things differently...
within the world of fantasy
there is always an undertone of reality...
within every verse of poetry,
every word is necessary...
within the arc of a story,
reader, viewer, listener,
writer, artist, and musician
all collaborate to make
a world of possibilities what it is -
but sometimes what something
means isn't always front and centre
and as easily discernable
as some might hope it would be -
which is why, sometimes,
when you are enjoying something profound
it helps to not think too literally,
because some things exist
and are meant to be experienced
"fourth dimensionally".
Mark The Poet 