Pilgrim: Volume 1

by Frank Prem, Leanne Michelle Murphy (illustrator)

PILGRIM is a collection of small wisdoms offered to illuminate the journey and to make sense, if possible, of the load that must be carried by all travellers.Seeking the balance between light and its many shades of opposition is an eternal quest.

116 pages, Paperback

Published April 19, 2024

About the author

Frank Prem has been a storytelling poet for forty years. When not writing or reading his poetry to an audience, he fills his time by working as a psychiatric nurse.

He has been published in magazines, zines and anthologies, in Australia and in a number of other countries, and has both performed and recorded his work as ‘spoken word’.

He lives with his wife, in the beautiful township of Beechworth in northeast Victoria (Australia).

Franks web page is located at: www.FrankPrem.com.

YouTube video of Frank reading 'callignee butterflies', from Devil In The Wind.

Reviews

[D.L. Finn · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Pilgrim: Volume 1” is a thoughtful collection of poems woven together with the word pilgrim. The blurb called “Pilgrim” small wisdoms, but it felt bigger to me as it touched on our journey through life. There are little illustrated feet that creatively guide us to the next poem. A quick but powerful read. Here are only some of the words that touched me: “listen pilgrim/do you hear/the stillness/even the sound/of a cicada/is embraced/in the silence…”—thought sound, “…listen to the sound/of your inner self/when you contemplate/your transformation/you know/this too/is an elemental magic”—elemental alchemy,” and “this is the nature of time/and what is a life/but time/spent/waiting”—natural waiting. These are poems that are meant to be read more than once. I highly recommend this poetry collection!

[Robbie Cheadle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Frank Prem is one of my favourite poets. His thoughts are deep and relevant and his books usually revolve around a central theme. In this case, the theme is that of a pilgrim and his poems brought to mind my favourite childhood book about pilgrims called The Land of Far Beyond written by Enid Blyton. The concept of being a pilgrim on a journey through life has always fascinated me.

The first poem kicks of reflections on life's journey as follows:
scant sighting
"pilgrim
do not weep

this is a journey
that passes
almost within sight
and truly
you may catch
a fleeting glimpse"

Through the eyes of this poet, our pilgrimage continues even during our sleep as we process the experiences and emotions of the day:

sleep on
"you may not always know
if you've won or lsot
or what they mean
but
dreams will lay the way
in mist and smoke
before you"

As the poet takes his pilgrimage, he reflects on the knowledge of life and the universe we lack and which we long for. The understanding we aspire to reach:

grasp of a paradigm
"it is fundamental
to the nature of possibility
that answers will shimmer
at the periphery
of vision"

Frank Prem is a most unusual poet of great insight. His poetry is an incredible gift to humanity.

[Kanwarpal Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

PILGRIM is a short collection of poems in the form of small wisdoms offered to illuminate the journey and to make sense, if possible, of the load that must be carried by all travellers.

Poet does work on free verse and put a rhyming scheme here and there , the sublime effect it creates for the reader is totally beautiful and sometimes it touches you and makes you feel its emotion.
Seeking the balance between light and its many shades of opposition is an eternal quest. The charm of writing and manifestation of words is important because poetry needs interpretation and understanding and the poet does justice with both.

[D.G. Kaye · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pilgrim is Prem’s latest release. As always, Prem takes us into his world of reasoning and possibilities through weaving his observations, truths, and wisdom through free-verse poetry. The poems are little wisdoms we accumulate through our life journeys, centered around themes of the wonders about life and time. The author suggests we replace the name Pilgrim in these poems with our name or another that comes to mind and to sense how the poems resonate. The poems are complemented with illustrated interpretations by Leanne Murphy.