Rita Ray
I have published poetry in several magazines and journals. I write stories for children, for example, The Boss Dog of Blossom Street and The Squink , published by both OUP and Dingles & Co.( USA ). My poetry for children is in numerous anthologies, including The Works (Macmillan Children's Books, Ed. Paul Cookson) and The Oxford Treasury of Christmas Poems (OUP). In the course of my career in Education I have published a variety of educational materials.
My time is divided between art and writing and I exhibit paintings with a local society of artists, a special interest being portraits. Looking closely at a person to paint a portrait feels much like composing a poem. Art can be a rich source of ideas for poems. On reflection, I find the depiction of women in art has often struck a chord.
Travel always sharpens our perceptions of the world. A couple of trips to China working in remote areas inspired several poems. I also make frequent trips to visit family in Quebec .
Presently, I am striving, as always, to produce better poems and am working on a novel for children. The latter provides an outlet for an irresistible urge to make people laugh, despite my yearning to be taken seriously. As someone wrote: “I wanted to be a philosopher but cheerfulness kept creeping in.”