Giada Nizzoli's Blog

Dear folks, I did: I managed to combine two of my favourite things in life.

Poetry & coffee, of course!

I partnered with The Press Room, an adorable independent café in South West London, to bring you a poetry and illustration exhibit.

It’s a bit of a sentimental journey for me since this café is literally two streets down from where I used to live back in my London days.

If you happen to be in that area in late 2020 and the first months of 2021, make sure you pop in to see it and grab a perfect cup of coffee.

However, because I know that you’re all scattered across the globe (how exciting is that?!), I thought I’d also show it to you here on my website.

My display features three full poems from my debut collection:

A pirate chanteyMoon gardenTime is the best restorer

and a stanza from Monsters and humans.

Just like in my book, the poems are complemented by unique illustrations.

For this exhibition, I’ve picked six additional pieces of artwork from different sections of my book and added them to a monochrome background to make them stand out.

Finally, there’s a copy of my book so that customers can discover a few more poems while sipping a cup of coffee.

I’m really happy to share this with you all and, once again, thank you for your support, especially on Instagram!

As for my poetry collection, Will-o’-the-Wisps contains over 60 poems and illustrations.

It combines everyday imagery, fairy tales, literary homages, pop culture references, metaphors and synaesthesia to deal with a variety of themes such as love, heartbreak, mental illness, recovery, nature, life in a big city, society, and much more.

It includes ballads, haikus, a sonnet, free form and everything in-between.

Just like the will-o’-the-wisps found in folklore and travellers’ tales, this poetry collection will transport you to a world that seems just like ours and yet feels slightly different, because the veil between thoughts and physical places is thinning.

And so is the one between everyday life and magic.

You can get your own copy here.

The post My Poetry & Artwork Exhibit in London appeared first on will-o'-the-whispers.

Let me come clean from the start. I’m a poet. So, yeah, you might think that I’m a bit biased when I say that there are so many reasons to read poetry. 

Well, I beg to differ (#SorryNotSorry).

Before discovering that I was a poet, I was—and still am, obviously—a poetry lover. Before being a poetry lover? I was definitely missing out. 

If you’re still on the fence, discover my ten reasons to read poetry, ranging from science-based facts to whimsical ideas to wanting to become Lord Byron’s groupie (but that might just be me).

1. Reading poetry is an enriching sensorial experience

Poetry awakens all of your senses.

It makes you see places so vividly as if you were actually there, staring at a lonely owl or gazing at a busy street from the window of a coffee shop. You can hear the horn of a departing ship or a ticking clock in a lonely room. You taste fresh raspberries or someone else’s skin. Smell freshly cut grass and ginger tea. Feel the soil under your bare feet as you run down a foggy moor. 

Poetry can open lots of different windows onto worlds that you had never even imagined. And the best thing is… they’ll always be there for you.

Always.

Even after you’ve done reading that particular poem.

2. You’ll get a lot of ‘hey, they’re reading my mind’ moments

When you read poetry, you feel understood.

Honestly, I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve read a line that made me feel like the poet had literally peeked into my mind. 

You know how, sometimes, you think that you’re the only person in the world to feel that way and that nobody could ever understand you? Poets do. 

Someone out there, on the opposite side of the world or through the thick mists of time, has thought that exact same thing. 

Even better: they wrote about it.

3. It will help you understand others, too

It goes both ways. Just like it helps you feel understood, one of the reasons to read poetry is that it helps you consider things through other people’s point of view. 

Well, how could you not? After all, you’ve just read someone’s stream of consciousness. 

But this goes beyond the poet!

Poetry is about empathy. And I genuinely don’t think that any poetry lover could ever lack it.

4. Heck yeah, you might even fall in love with a poet!

Sorry, my friend, but this is one of its side effects. And also a reason to read poetry, at the same time. 

When you feel so connected to a particular poet (or more than one, but it’s always a private conversation between the two of you, never a group chat), you gain a new friend.

Someone you look up to. Someone you wish you knew in real life. Someone you wish were still alive. Someone who can understand you more than anyone else.

This love can be more or less platonic. For example, I get super-excited whenever I see or hear someone mention Edgar Allan Poe, as his poems speak to me on a different level and I absolutely adore them.

At the same time, I would have totally been Lord Byron’s groupie had I been born in the late 18th century. 

I’m not even joking.

5. Poetry is available in so many different forms and styles

‘Poetry’ is such a wide term!

Because it’s available in different forms, you get the chance to experiment with rhymes and syllable counts, longer and shorter poems, metre and free form. 

It might be that you’ll never want to stop this discovery for anything in the world or that you’ll find a type of poetry that just works so well for you that you wouldn’t want to read anything else.

Either way, it’s a beautiful journey with something for everyone!

6. When you read poetry, you start seeing the world in a different way

Let me tell you a secret, my friend: poetry does not end on the page. Uh-huh. 

Once you start reading poetry, you’ll learn to spot details that you’d never noticed before. You’ll hear the chirping of the birds as you wake up in the morning. Or appreciate the architecture of a train station. 

In other words, you’ll become an aesthete. You’ll start finding beauty in everyday life. Magic and reality will blend together harmoniously.

7. You can pace yourself and go back to it without forgetting the plot

Remember when you started that novel, left it for a few months, and then tried to go back to it and were like ‘who the hell even are these characters’? 

One of the perks of reading a poetry book is that it doesn’t really feel like a commitment and you can easily read it at your own pace. 

If you leave it for a few months, you won’t have to remember everything. That’s why you can also read a poetry book at the same time as a novel. 

Unless you go for the longest epics, you can read a couple of poems a day. Or devour the entire book in one sitting, obviously. But it’s your choice.

8. A poetry book is the perfect travel companion

If there’s one thing that’s better than reading poetry, it’s reading poetry whilst you’re travelling. Legit. 

Thanks to their compact design and the fact that they can be read in small installments, poetry books are ideal when you’re after a short read that you can store in your bag. 

On the bus? While you’re waiting for a train? Trying to calm down your anxiety while the plane is taking off (that’s me)? Poetry is there for you.

9. Reading poetry can even boost your memory

Memorising poetry helps you develop your intellectual ability. As well as being a great tool in a child’s development, it can help the most absent-minded adults, too. 

When you read poetry, at some point you’ll find a few lines or stanzas that mean so much to you that you’ll want to remember them. Take them with you even when you haven’t got the book in your hands. 

Plus, if there’s a poem that you absolutely love, you might even want to learn it by heart.

For example, I wouldn’t be able to tell you what I ate yesterday, and yet I’ve memorised all the 18 stanzas, 108 lines and over 1000 words of The Raven, by my platonic love Edgar Allan Poe (I felt the need to specify ‘platonic’ just so Lord Byron doesn’t get jealous). 

A trick: learning poems with a metre and rhyme scheme is much easier!

10. And, let’s be honest: poetry books look adorable on your shelves

Finally, the most whimsical reason to read poetry: whether they’re a thin paperback or a chonky boi, poetry books just look so beautiful on bookshelves and wall shelves. 

You could create a separate poetry section, keep your favourite one on your nightstand, or even display it in a crafty way next to a houseplant or some fairy lights.

Obviously, after diving into ten reasons to read poetry, I couldn’t end this article without mentioning that… well, I wrote a poetry book. Yes, it’s the one that you can see in some of these pictures.

‘Will-o’-the-Wisps’ is an illustrated collection of over 60 poems. It combines everyday imagery, fairy tales, literary homages, pop culture references and synaesthesia to deal with a fascinating variety of themes.

Love & heartbreak, mental illness & recovery, nature & life in a big city, and much, much more. 

It includes ballads, a sonnet, haikus, free form and everything in-between. 

Inspired by the will-o’-the-wisps found in travellers’ tales and folklore, this poetry book will transport you to a world where the veil between real life and magic is thinning. 

After all, one of the reasons to read poetry is to gain the ability to find magic in everyday life!

Start this whimsical journey by grabbing yourself a copy of ‘Will-o’-the-Wisps‘.

The post 10 Whimsical Reasons to Read Poetry appeared first on will-o'-the-whispers.

Minimalist t-shirts make the most of fewer design elements, but they’re far from boring! On the contrary, their basic approach helps them (and you) stand out with a stronger statement.

However, my favourite thing about minimalist t-shirts is how, thanks to their very design, they can be worn with lots of different outfits.

This is particularly great news for slow fashion and the planet. Instead of purchasing tons of fast fashion garments that were made with questionable environmental practices, you can create several looks using the same clothes. 

Need some inspiration?

Using one of the organic cotton t-shirts from my sustainable Teemill collection, I’ll show you 10 traditional and quirky ways to style minimalist t-shirts.

1. Minimalist t-shirt & trousers: untucked, half and half, or tucked in

Let’s start with the most obvious pairing, and yet it’s already a chance to admire the versatility of minimalist t-shirts. As well as wearing them with several pairs of trousers, you can achieve completely different looks even by pairing them up with the same one!

For example, you can leave it untucked for a casual outfit. If you’d rather show off your rebellious nature, tuck just the front and leave the rest untucked to create a spontaneous look. Alternatively, you can tuck it in, perhaps adding a belt to create an adorable vintage outfit.

2. Minimalist t-shirt & shorts

The minimalist t-shirt & shorts combo is ideal for summer, and you can follow the exact same tucked/untucked rule that you’ve learned for trousers.

3. Minimalist t-Shirt tucked into a mini skirt or longer models

This look is a lifesaver all year round as it works both for short mini skirts and longer designs. You can tuck your minimalist t-shirt into the skirt and use other accessories to create different looks, like belts and tights.

4. Minimalist t-shirt & dungarees

Nothing’s quirkier than a hip pair of dungarees!

Pairing them up with a stylish minimalist t-shirt helps you make an even bolder statement, especially since you might even be able to read its slogan or see the design in between the two straps.

This look works with all kinds of dungarees: traditional long denim models, dungarees with shorts, in different materials, or with skirts. 

5. Minimalist t-shirt & dress with straps

The same trick works with dresses, too! And especially those featuring thin or spaghetti straps.

Wearing a minimalist t-shirt underneath a dress allows you to give it a completely different feel. Plus, let’s be honest: it just screams 90s so loud!

6. Wear a necklace onto your minimalist t-shirt

No matter what type of trousers or skirt you’re going to wear with it, one thing’s for sure: pairing up your minimalist t-shirt with different necklaces can really influence the final look!

7. Minimalist t-shirt & waistcoat

Personally, I love the bohemian vibes that only crocheted waistcoats can create.

However, this looks works with other designs, too. As long as you leave it unbuttoned to direct the focus onto the tee’s artwork, you’re good to go.

8. Minimalist t-shirt underneath an unbuttoned jacket

This works particularly well with denim jackets: just wear them unbuttoned to showcase your minimalist t-shirt’s design and you can create a beautiful combination of casual and curated.

9. Minimalist t-shirt & shoulder bag

You can obviously wear your tee with other types of bags, too.

However, thanks to the front strap, a shoulder bag can create a pleasant pattern on top of your minimalist t-shirt, adding a new layer to your outfit.

10. Minimalist t-shirt & unbuttoned shirt

And, finally, another one of my favourite looks consists of a t-shirt worn underneath an unbuttoned shirt. Simple and yet so eye-catching! It can give out grunge vibes or a generic nostalgic feel.

Like the look of the one I’m wearing? You can grab yourself the same design or browse the other minimalist t-shirts in my Teemill shop. 

This sustainable and ethical collection is for quirky souls who wish to live poetically and, especially, those who care about the planet.

They’re made of organic cotton in a factory powered by sustainable energy, using a closed loop to reuse 95% of the water, and delivered in funky plastic-free packaging.

Just what you need to revamp your wardrobe whilst being kind to the planet, especially now that you know 10 different ways to style minimalist t-shirts!

The post 10 Quirky Ways to Style Minimalist T-Shirts appeared first on will-o'-the-whispers.

Music was a massive inspiration behind my debut poetry collection Will-o’-the-Wisps, as well as my poetry and writing in general.

There are some songs that have directly inspired certain poems, some that complement others, and some that, in my opinion, just fit so well with the themes and aesthetics of each section.

To give you a taste of what I felt and heard in my head when writing this book, I thought I’d share them with you.

You can find them in these Spotify playlists: whether you prefer to listen to individual sections or to go through the whole playlist for the entire book, I hope you enjoy them!

Fairy Tales

The very first section of ‘Will-o’-the-Wisps’ is unapologetically about falling in love, with a sprinkle of folklore and timeless tales.

I’ve picked romantic songs that celebrate the first moments with a special person, but I’ve also added some that include foreshadowing lines about heartbreak to smooth the transition to the next section.

Fake Gold

This part of ‘Will-o’-the-Wisps’ is about heartbreak. Or, better: realising that we were wrong about someone. That our opinion of them was embellished by the deceiving glimmer of fake gold, and couldn’t have been farther from the truth.

I decided to complement it with bittersweet songs. ‘Hero’ by Regina Spektor, in particular, summarises this section perfectly. Not really because of the song itself, to be honest, but because of the scene in 500 Days of Summer to which I always associate it.

You know the one where the screen is divided between ‘Expectations’ and ‘Reality’?

Yep, it hurts every time I rewatch it.

Monsters

I won’t sugarcoat it: Monsters is the darkest section of the book. It’s… hard.

It’s about mental illness and the monsters that we fight in our head. The worst part of the struggle? Other people telling us that they don’t exist, simply because they can’t see them.

My favourite song for this section is Brain Damage by Pink Floyd. It always made me feel understood whenever I was struggling with OCD or anxiety, especially thanks to this line:

There’s someone in my head, but it’s not me.

City Lights

This section is still quite dark, and not just because of the late-night setting.

It’s about the wrong choices that we’ve made in life just to please our family. It’s when we give up on our dreams to fit a path chosen by someone else. It’s when society makes us feel like we’re running out of oxygen. It’s feeling alone when surrounded by people… like you often do when you live in a huge city.

There’s still something charming and weirdly fascinating about it, maybe because of its cyberpunk aesthetic. But can we really trust those flickering neon lights to illuminate our real path?

Moonlight

Yes, it’s still nighttime, but there’s a brighter light that makes us feel safer: the Moon’s.

This section is about our connection to nature and to our true ethos. It’s about following our dreams and redescovering ourselves under the moonlight.

Because the Moon has always known what was best for us. And, deep down, so have we.

Dawn

Hope. This section is about hope. And recovery.

It’s a reminder that, no matter how dark the night is, dawn is waiting for us.

It’s about resilience, overcoming mental illness, reaching our goals, following our dreams… and this playlist is filled with positive and uplifting songs.

Playlist for the entire poetry collection

If you’d rather listen to the entire journey rather than section by section, this playlist is for you, dear reader.

Is there any other song that you think would work well in a particular section? Let me know in the comments!

And, if you haven’t already, you can grab yourself a copy of my poetry collection on Lulu.com or Amazon.

The post Music Playlists for ‘Will-o’-the-Wisps: A Poetry Collection’ appeared first on will-o'-the-whispers.

In February 2020, I was incredibly excited to announce the release of my debut poetry collection: “Will-o’-the-Wisps”!

For those of you who’re thinking of buying it, have already bought it but would like to know the “behind the scenes,” and those of you who just happen to be a bit curious, I thought I’d do a little post to tell you a bit more about its meaning, themes, and what you can expect from it.

Will-o’-the-Wisps: A Poetry Collection



The title: Will-o’-the-Wisps

As you probably noticed, the title is very similar to this website’s name. This is because it’s a play on will-o’-the-wisps, the folkloristic phantom lights, and whispers.

The poetry collection, however, focuses on the first element to highlight the folkloristic themes of some poems, refer to something that keeps shifting and moving – making it impossible to reach and catch – and summarise the tiny bit of magic that can be found in everyday life.

I hope that this poetry collection will allow you to look at life and the concepts explored from a different point of view, from which the veil between thoughts and physical places will start to thin. And so will the one between everyday life and magic.

Sections: Themes & Concepts

“Will-o’-the-Wisps” is divided into 6 sections, each of them focusing on specific themes and an overall feel. I’ve created these moodboards to introduce them to you, so that you can draw inspiration from their aesthetics to picture a specific setting in your head as soon as you turn the first page (also: I freakin’ love moodboards!).

Fairy Tales

Fairy Tales uses traditional fairy tale characters, folklore and ballads to represent the universal feeling of love, lust, and relationships.

It combines childish carefree choices and mature desires, resulting in unapologetic characters who are not scared to jump head-over-heels in love, and certainly don’t feel the need to justify their decisions and behaviours.

Fake Gold

The opposite of the previous section, Fake Gold deals with the themes of heartbreak and disillusionment.

It’s the hard epiphany that finally hits us in the face after we’ve spent months or years doing our best to ignore all the red flags that we were offered.

It’s the realisation that people can hurt us, lie to us and, most importantly, that the glowing that we thought we had perceived was not real gold.

Monsters

Monsters is a section that means a lot to me, as it deals with my struggle with anxiety, depression, and mental illness in general.

While some poems have different settings, each monster or creature encountered is the personification of a specific type of mental illness, from krakens, to ominous black birds, to a motel-dwelling monster that casually treats my chest as a cheap room he can go back to.

These metaphors are very important to me because I (and many people that I know) have encountered the same problem with mental illness that little children face when they tell a parent that they’ve seen a monster: because other people cannot see it, they insist that it’s not there. And they won’t believe us.

City Lights

Imagine a gloomy city full of rough areas, artificial neon lights, and people who feel trapped in their routine because they’ve made a career choice that wasn’t really theirs.

This is the setting of City Lights.

While it still deals with difficult themes such as isolation in a big city, feeling lost, and realising that we’ve made the wrong choice, it also comes with a fascinating setting dominated by a neon, vaporwave and film noir aesthetic, with nightlights, motels, brickwalls, and trams that ride through the darkness.

Moonlight

Forget about artificial light and choices forced upon you by society!

Moonlight is all about an ancestral, spontaneous connection to nature and the moon, which, glowing in the darkness no matter where we are in the world, reminds us that there is hope and that we should always stay true to our ethos and passions.

Dawn

The final section is a message of hope.

Dawn deals with the theme of recovery, reminding you that it’s not linear, that ups and downs are normal, and that the fact that you’re hurting or suffering doesn’t mean that you should forget your worth.

It’s the light at the end of the tunnel, the oasis in the middle of the desert, and the hidden pearl buried underneath the seabed.

Let me know which section you like the sound of the most!

Will-o’-the-Wisps can be purchased on Amazon, Amazon UK, or Lulu.

The post Will-o’-the-Wisps: A Poetry Collection – Themes & Concepts appeared first on will-o'-the-whispers.