The Cover of My Forth Coming Book

"A Mountain's Sojourn" -- Excerpt

Here is a preview of the poem which I wrote while living on top of a mountain in the Nantahala National Forest - the 'Smokey Mountains': 

. . . blooms blossom and flowers

Mature brightly, vivid and vibrant

Spring melts itself into summer

And the alpine rain forest changes once more.

Mornings are alive with puffy, cottony clouds

Dotting the deep, royal blue dell . . .

. . . The earth overflows with muskiness, an earthen

Ripeness bursts in summer’s upwelling renewal.

The suns of summer march through new blooms . . .

More to follow.

Acknowledgements

While the writing occurs in quiet solitude, the experiences of
creation are full of breadth, encompassing many people who contribute
their time and expertise, and most importantly, their belief in the work.
The following people are a part of my journey in creating the poetry
of Memories, Thoughts, and Dreams. I have been truly fortunate in
their participation in my life and in my work, both artistically and
professionally. They deserve a special acknowledgement for their
unique contributions.

Thank you to my publisher, XLIBRIS, for affording me this wonderful
dream of sharing my book with the world. Your team support has been
incredible and I really appreciate all the attentive TLC you have shown
me as a newly published writer.

Thank you to my editor, Shannan Anderson, for her special talent
in teaching me to always be aware of the reader, to consider how others
may view what I am trying to express, and to understand that sometimes
what I write isn’t necessarily what the reader reads — one must always
have respect for the reader! This is a critical distinction to make and I
am very grateful for such insight.

Thank you to my staff, my colleagues, and the hundreds of
volunteers who worked with me and for me at the Broward Center
for the Performing Arts. We shared a wonderfully dedicated interest
in the arts, and you have left an indelible sense of the importance of
collaboration on my professional psyche. I am also very grateful for the
thousands of patrons who supported our work and in the pleasure I had
in coming to personally know so many of them.
And a special thank you to my dearest friends and family for their
continued support and enthusiasm for my life’s journey and this book
of poetry. They all know that I love and cherish them deeply.

The Beginnings of My Book

As I am preparing this book for publication, I am reminded of the many

people who have passed through my life and gifted me with experiences,

positive and not-so-positive, that are reflected in this book of poems.

For me, poetry is a language that has the most appropriate wording and

structure that allows me to express myself. It is a language that most

easily encases what I am feeling. The poetry that fills these pages began

rather innocently, with scribbles of words, then lines and phrases,

scratched on cocktail napkins and the odd scraps of paper. After a

while, a pattern began to emerge, like a musical score come to life, a

performance of dance brought to movement, or an inspiring landscape

swashed across a canvas. It became clear that my heart had things to

say.

Yet, poetic inspiration and flowery verse are not the primary reason

for my writing this book. Rather, my reasons for self-expression are

about the reflections one catches of oneself when one’s relationships

hold up the necessary and appropriate mirrors for self-exploration. I

believe this is how we come to understand ourselves, and in doing so,

come to understand one another.

Introduction for Guy Bala, Poet - Memories, Thoughts, and Dreams

Welcome to my blog for my new book of poetry, Memories, Thoughts, and Dreams.  To introduce myself and my book to you I've asked my copy/editor to interview me and write a little biography about me and here it is as follows:

  

  Guy Bala has been called a renaissance man, a bon vivant, an epicurean, and a modern-day bohemian, and rightly so -- for such descriptions fit him well. Inspired by the "unsanctioned poets" of his youth -- Bob Seeger, Journey, Foreigner, Styx, Fleetwood Mac and the Moody Blues, to name a few, Bala recognized early on the critical importance of artistic interpretation. Although an ardent fan of all traditional models of literature, Bala believes poetry to have an immediate and universal recognition of human emotions. "Words used everyday take on a profound simplicity. They become lyrical and stay in our minds, like music. Indeed, poetry often produces the most emotive sensibilities that strike at our hearts. We share universal experiences, no matter who we are or where we live. Our interpretations are different, and yet the same."        

  Bala is a sensitive observer of humanity and his observations are reflected in his work. "I am  intrigued with humanity. The art of being a human is something that fascinates me . . . those  things that make living a shared experience . . . the colorful palette of emotional capabilities to  express what one thinks and feels. For me, these border on the ethereal." 

 With an extensive background in the theatrical arts, particularly music, dance and choreography, it is no surprise that Bala seeks to express his feelings with the same artistic elements of movement and fluidity. He finds the poetic form the perfect medium of self- expression. "The beauty of poetry is this -- it is sublimely aligned with the same inherent flow of movement, of rhythm, and lyricism found in dance and music. It is also pure in expression. There is an honesty to poetry that flows from mind to heart. That is the power of the art form." 

  In his latest work, Memories, Thoughts, and Dreams, Bala reveals a sweet sensitivity that speaks sincerely of love, loss, and loneliness. "I'm not afraid to reflect on my experiences and excavate my thoughts concerning them. It's how I have come to understand myself."

  A Michigan Dearbornite, Guy Bala began his performance work as a circus acrobat. From there, he quickly advanced to teaching gymnastics and choreographing performance pieces of various genres for his students. He has appeared in a variety of staged musicals as principle dancer, Fiddler on the Roof, Applause, Mame, Follies, and the King and I, to name a few. He later studied modern ballet in Royal Oak, Michigan and also studied and performed with the Ann Arbor Civic Ballet.

             

While living on the beaches of SE FL, Bala was engaged in 1991 to spearhead the recruitment and training of one of the largest professional (upwards of 800 active) volunteer corps in the U.S. at the Broward Center of the Performing Arts in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. He interlocked a mission of impacting the love of the arts with the necessary hospitality nature required to successfully service as many as 25,000 weekly patrons. During this tenure, he also produced a documentary, The Birth of an Arts Center, depicting the anticipation and suspense of the Broward Center's premier performance as they grandly opened with The Phantom of the Opera.

Following the Broward Center tenure, Bala then moved to a time and place of quiet reflectivenss. He settled in Highlands, North Carolina, within the Nantahala National Forest. Here he introduced a poetry reading program, "Poets at the Podium," for the Bascom Center for the Visual Arts. He also wrote "A Mountain's Sojourn" which was published in the Highlander on September 4^th 2001.

      

Today, Bala resides in Tampa, Florida with his two rescues, Aki and Rafiki. When not working on his next artistic venture, he can be found in the kitchen, crafting a new gourmet dish. A true bon vivant!