Thought Wheel

Ann Chiappetta

Old Poems Like New

| Filed under blindness Poem Relationships Writing Life

I began writing poetry in earnest after finding out I was going blind, in the early 1990s. Looking back, the poems I wrote during this dark time was a way to cope with the inevitable grief and loss I felt, and would feel, for a long time. Progressive vision loss infiltrates one’s sense of hope and resiliency,
Two emotional Aspects Which Appear in many of the poems written from the 1990s. The poems are also an inventory of sorts, and, as I become reacquainted with them, I am, in turn, becoming acquainted with my feelings and emotions during this time of fear, depression, and anger. I also discovered I’ve grown beyond these feelings and emotions and have learned to accept my disability and embrace the creativity and how much healing I’ve done since then.

Here is a song I found, written for a friend (really).

The Child Inside
Song lyrics

By Ann Chiappetta

family devotion died
the day he went away

The child inside
still cries when you sleep
The pain
makes you feel incomplete

He’s made a mess of your memories
He can’t come back into your life
And though you deny it
the reality cuts Like a knife

The child inside
still cries when you sleep
The pain
makes you feel incomplete

Don’t try to replace him
Sometimes lovers walk away, too;
discover why your heart
desires demons dressed in blue

The child inside
still cries when you sleep
The pain
makes you feel incomplete

2000

The Words Keep Coming

| Filed under blindness Poem Writing Life

I am often asked about the process of writing when being interviewed. Folks are curious about the manifestation of creativity and how it influences writing poetry. While I am certainly not an expert on the subject for anyone else but myself, I strongly suspect the Muse bestows the inspiration upon each of us in a unique manner. We do have gross similarities, like the tools we use, i.e., laptops or hand-written pages, etc., but we also diverge once the synapses fire and begin the journey of creation in each of our minds.

For example, I often dream my writing ideas. I’ve been awakened by lines of text, images, and what I call mental films playing along in my head. This is a curious thing, because I’ve been blind for over thirty years yet I continue to dream as if I’d never lost it. Full technicolor, for sure.

Recently I awoke from a musing and it resulted in a poem, the first poem written in 2020. I also somehow created a fantasy story with a swashbuckling immortal character named Von and a humanoid species called Felini, cat-like creatures with names like Tika, Shona, and Flame. Where the story will take me, only the muse knows but I like where I’m going. I wish I could share the poem, but, now that potential publishers and literary magazines consider posting on a blog “previously published” and will reject an author’s work because of this, I must hold such things aside until published. May the Muse be with you.

Poem from the poetry collection, Upwelling; Poems C 2016 availible on Amazon and Audible
DREAM
© 2016 by Ann Chiappetta

Sleep-film portrays lurching scenes of Disney World
damp pavement trod on by millions of feet.
You stand on the recently dried cobblestones
of Main Street U.S.A.
A somber overcoat hangs on you like a dish rag.
emancipating your regrets.
Tears and mumbled blessings
mix as our faces touch.
Your cheek is cold and cancerous.

Sleep-film shuffles

Scrambling through the Florida downpour
A Barker lures us inside.
My florid yellow jacket drips
Your loose, somber coat is as dry as a shroud.
Inside, double doors lead to a great hall.
Black tie patrons rotate on the dance floor like dolls.
Your arm sweeps in the gala affair,
“A gift for us to remember me.” you say.
I’m aggrieved by your vanity

Flash point warnings ignite around us
like confetti stars
the dolls applaud as they fall.

Fear not, here is something written and previously published.

On the Road and Radio

| Filed under writing

SAVE THE DATE! When? September 26, 2019. 6 PM Central.
What? Annie Chiappetta will be discussing her new book, Words of Life: Poems and Essays.
Where? On Disability and Progress, heard at KFAI 90.3
disability
Can’t make it for the live show? No worries. Catch the archived broadcast at: http:www.kfai.org/disabilityandprogress

For the local literary-minded, come listen to a reading followed by a book signing.
October 8 at 7 p.m. I will be performing poetry from my latest book, Words of Life: Poems and Essays at the White Plains Public Library. All three books will be for sale, cash only. To find out more, click the link:
https://whiteplainslibrary.org/2019/09/meet-author-ann-chiappetta/This image requires alt text, but the alt text is currently blank. Either add 
alt text or mark the image as decorative.

Performing Poetry and Friends In Art

| Filed under blindness Guide dogs Poem Relationships Writing Life

In July I had the chance to perform two poems, In Those Dark Moments C 2016 and On The Tip Of A Finger C 2019 at the Friends In Art ACB showcase.

I was inspired to do it after watching Tom Hanks do a piece of performance poetry on Jimmy Kimmel.
I also co-hosted it and had a lot of fun and met many great folks and talented musicians, singers, and performers. To view the poems, go to
www.annchiappetta.com www.annchiappetta.com

Meet The Author

| Filed under blindness Guide dogs Poem Relationships writing Writing Life

Meet The Author Ann Chiappetta
May 16 from 5 – 7 p.m. Westchester Disabled on the Move 984 N. Broadway, suite 400/4th floor, Yonkers, 914.968.4717 or www.wdom.org/

In this new collection, Words Of Life: Poems And Essays, the author once again exhibits the ability to write about both the light and dark sides of life. .

Words Of Life Press Release

| Filed under blindness Guide dogs Poem Relationships Writing Life

For Immediate Release
Contact Ann Chiappetta, author: 914.393.6605 anniecms64@gmail.com
Local Author Celebrates National Poetry Month with New Book Release
April 2, 2019 – New Rochelle, NY
New Rochelle author Ann Chiappetta publishes WORDS OF LIFE: POEMS AND ESSAYS. It is the author’s third independently published and self-promoted book. The collection combines poems, essays, and flash fiction drawing upon life’s vicissitudes, including nature’s beauty and cruelty, the foibles of relationships, the love of family, and the unconditional regard and respect for the author’s guide dogs.
The book is available in e-book format for $3.99 and in paperback for $9.95 from Amazon and multiple other online booksellers. Go to Chiappetta’s author’s page, http://www.dldbooks.com/annchiappetta/, for book buying links and to read an excerpt.
Chiappetta’s books were edited and prepared for electronic and print format by DLD Books Editing and Self-Publishing Services: http://www.dldbooks.com/ .
From the Author:
“I loved organizing the poems and essays for this book. I feel it is an autobiographical sketch of my creative life, and the reader gets a peek into who I am and how I feel and think. This collection is especially meaningful to me because I have proven that being blind is no longer a significant barrier to completing a printed book with a beautiful cover and top-notch book preparation, thanks to DLD Books.”
Chiappetta’s book signing dates, planned for later in 2019, will be announced on her website, www.annchiappetta.com. To book Chiappetta as a guest speaker, go to www.annchiappetta.com.
About the Author:
Ann Chiappetta, M.S., is an author and poet. Her writing has been featured in many small press publications and collegiate journals. Ann’s nonfiction essays have been printed in Dialogue magazine, and her poems are often featured in Magnets and Ladders. Her poetry is also included in Breath and Shadow’s 2016 debut anthology, Dozen: The Best of Breath and Shadow. Her first collection, UPWELLING: POEMS (C 2016) and FOLLOW YOUR DOG: A STORY OF LOVE AND TRUST (C 2017), are available in both e-book and print formats from http://www.dldbooks.com/annchiappetta/ .
Ann’s blog: www.thought-wheel.com
Ann’s personal website: www.annchiappetta.com
This image requires alt text, but the alt text is currently blank. Either add alt text or mark the image as decorative.

A Great Way to Wrap-up 2018

| Filed under blindness Guide dogs Poem Relationships writing Writing Life

Thanks to Kim Charlson and the Perkins Library for the Blind, the memoir I wrote is now an audio book for listening through the National Library Service, or NLS. Expressing how it felt to listen to my words for the first time was emotional. It was immensely gratifying and powerful. A few weeks prior to the email notifying me the book was in the final editing stage I listened to the introduction I penned for GDUI’s A HANDBOOK FOR THE PROSPECTIVE GUIDE DOG HANDLER (4th Edition), also recently released as a free digital book available via the NLS talking book and braille library.
Follow Your Dog: A Story of Love and Trust DBC11582
Chiappetta, Ann. Reading time: 4 hours, 27 minutes. Read by Ana Maria Quintana. A production of Perkins Library, Perkins School for the Blind. Animals and Wildlife. Drawing on her skills as a poet and a therapist, the author of this candid memoir explores her life-changing relationship with her guide dog. The book is also available on Bookshare and all eBook sellers as a digital book and print soft cover. Go to www.dldbooks.com/annchiappetta/

The GDUI Handbook’s catalog number is DB92557 and it is also available from Bookshare.

Here’s to a book-filled 2019.