Artemis Craig
would be honored to speak on rising up from the ashes of despair through
acceptance of Christ as her Savior, and how she found her writer's "voice"
again. She welcomes interviews and all interest & shares!
Inspirational Verse for Those Who Hunger and Thirst:
A Book of Poems to Feed the Soul
Author: Artemis Craig
Publisher: Artemis Craig Publishing (Nov. 6, 2013
Genre: Inspirational and Religious Poetry (Christian, Evangelical)
Available:
Amazon Paperback $15.00 (64 pgs.) ISBN-13: 978-0989087605
Amazon Kindle: $.99 (64 pgs.) ASIN: B00HLXV864
Author Website: https://artemiscraigpublishing.com/
Twitter: @artsyhuntress58
Publicist: Marlan Warren | Book Publicity by Marlan | memoircity@gmail.com
Soul Food for the Soul
By God’s grace, I regained my appetite for the wisdom I received from my grandmother and my mother who taught me about life and introduced me to Christianity while serving up savory dishes of fried corn, okra, green tomatoes, and collard greens smothered in Deep South Chow Chow Relish, along with bone-chewing fried chicken.—Artemis Craig
SUMMARY
Inspirational Verse for Those Who Hunger and Thirst takes us on Artemis Craig’s firewalk from spiritual bankruptcy to redemption via compelling, heartfelt poetry and prose. Through the power of Faith, Poetry, and Love, she finds the strength to cope with Hollywood “failure”; devastating family losses; homelessness; single parenthood; attempted suicide and breakdowns. Her poems honor and reflect “the strong women of God” who wanted her to be saved, and serve as a testament to her “Never Surrender” determination.
PRAISE!
Her poems are like devotions. Artemis Craig takes us on a journey through her darkest moments, becoming very transparent about her suicide attempts, depression and hopelessness . . . and Hope. ̶ ̶ Ellen Sudderth, ESP Literary Podcast
LISTEN to Author Interview on Ellen Sudderth's
ESP Literary Podcast: Click Here
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Artemis Craig was born in rural Birmingham, Alabama to a steelworker father and educator mother. She graduated with a BFA in Film Writing Cinema/TV from USC. Artemis is the mother of one son, Roderic, who is her inspiration. She is a member of the Gifts of a Wordsmith group and performs at the Carver Theater’s “On Stage” showcase. She is finishing her second poetry book, Southern Fried Comfort Food: Recipes to Encourage the Soul, and her first novel, A Little Taste of Death, a sci-fi murder mystery. She divides her time between Birmingham, Alabama and Newport News, Virginia.
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Inspirational Verse for Those Who Hunger and Thirst: A Book of Poems to Feed the So
SPIRITUAL JOURNEY OF A FIREWALKER POET
I have respect for anyone’s spiritual journey. And I have a lot of respect for the poet Artemis Craig, whom I met at USC, while we were both in film school studying screenwriting. We only met once, in the changing room of the gym, but her feisty humor made a lasting impression.
“Before they’re done, this school’s gonna own the drawers on my butt!” she said. I don’t know about her, but that school does own the drawers on my butt. The one thing I do know that we share is post-film-school depression. A not uncommon affliction in L.A.
Now, a couple decades later, Craig has risen out of the ashes of Hollywood as an evangelical poet who has walked through fire, and lived to tell her story in the form of Inspirational Verse for Those Who Hunger and Thirst: A Book of Poems to Feed the Soul.
With straightforward honesty and a gift for storytelling, Craig has arranged the poems in this anthology as an odyssey washed in the blood of heartaches, losses, and disappointments after returning home as the Prodigal Daughter. All the elements that make “inspirational verse” inspirational are there (finding and praising the Grace of God), woven into seering moments from Craig’s life, told with her flair for dramatic prose and metaphor.
Her post-graduation first experience--pitching to execs at a major studio--soured her forever on staying on that track. Many film school alumni can relate (this one does). A sensitive soul, Craig stayed away from the written word until she began writing poetry in the 21st Century, finally gaining the spiritual strength to openly share it in 2013 with this book.
The poem that opens the book, “Speak Now,” reflects the pain felt by many a disillusioned film student:
Without words I became invisible which was fine by me,
Found a home for my anger and bitterness in my invisibility.
Disappointment and hatred festered inside all the while,
But none knew because through it all I wore a smile.
I felt personal resonance with her personal poems about loss. One deeply regrets missing the passing of her grandmother because Craig was busy pursuing her career on the other coast. I was at USC editing my film for class when news of my father’s sudden passing came.
One of the most moving poems is “Life Not Mine to Save,” remembering her futile attempts to save her father’s life when he died of heart failure:
One, one thousand, two, one thousand
Chest compressions like I’d been taught weren’t enough
Formed a seal over your mouth and into it blew a quick puff.
Stay with me! Stay with me! But you refused to wake.
Afterward she fills such bitterness, that she questions God’s actions:
Anger at God is all I can feel,
That along with the hope that somehow
This can’t possibly be real.
The poem plays out like a short film. With a “resolution” that is accepting and spiritual:
It seems like only yesterday, try as I might,
Your life was never mine to save.
But mine to cherish in moments of panic and doubt,
To keep as memories when I feel trapped and can’t get out.
I had an elderly aunt who would tell the story of her life and end it with “I didn’t know they’d throw the book at me!” Here, Artemis Craig, has thrown a book out of her life for others to gain some solace as they grapple with their own journeys.
As Charles Bukowski once said: “What matters most is how well you walk through fire.”
EXCERPTS
Where Dreams May be Found
A dream is the wish your heart makes on the hope it will come true,
Fulfillment of that dream is the action the body takes
To face all of the obstacles it has to go through.
Like shaking a nation free of racial prejudice,
Traveling through the hallowed halls of space
Extending the life of those who lay dying
Or to share with the world the power of God’s saving grace. . . .
Beyond Supping at the Feast
After being baptized into the body I was not satisfied
Being happy that I was spared the death that Jesus died
When the feast of the Lord was spread
I dared not completely partake,
I became filled with pride instead.
In my head thoughts like better him than me,
Floated at will untethered—allowed to roam free
To eat my fill of everything my heart desired,
From the devil’s lies and cunning I was most inspired.
Since that fateful day I’ve feasted
On confusion, despair, and doubt,
Supped with demons in pits from which I couldn’t get out
Got a belly full of garbage that refused to digest,
Learned how to live with it and tried to do my best
To make others understand that I just wanted to be me,
Stop trying to put me in that box—let me be free!
Time passed and I was able to get beyond
My days of living like a vagabond
Life happened to teach me a thing or two
Unfortunately some of the lessons
Have only been learned by a few
Lost my invitation,
But showed up with the rest of the guests
Broken, downtrodden, my sins ready to confess.
I was okay with the crumbs that fell to the infidel
Gratitude for forgiveness is the story I now tell
Got a second chance and have no intentions to blow it
Wherever I go born-again believer
I’ll claim and you better know it.
Speak Now
A lifetime passed before my voice was found,
It’s hard to pinpoint exactly when I lost the sound.
Locked in a world where I screamed and no one heard,
I never offered anyone an encouraging word.
For all the times I held my peace, it’s time to speak now
To tell some tormented misunderstood soul how
Much power there is in the spoken word
But you must choose to let your voice be heard.
Without words I became invisible which was fine by me,
Found a home for my anger and bitterness in my invisibility.
Disappointment and hatred festered inside all the while,
But none knew because through it all I wore a smile.
For all the times I held my peace, it’s time to speak now
About the dark places I’ve been and proclaim discovery
Of a brand-new and improved me, and how
The sound of my voice has become
Instrumental in my recovery.
For all the times I’ve held my peace,
It’s time to speak of a new phase,
To help someone see that trouble doesn’t last always.
Don’t spend another minute going through life
In a distorted haze
For your dreams can soar to wherever
You set your gaze.
