Octopus Mind Archives

Posted on August 30, 2024August 30, 2024 by Seren Books

Friday Poem – ‘Danger’ by Rachel Carney

Photo of a single jellyfish floating in the shallows, its pale body hidden amongst the seaweed.

This week’s Friday Poem is ‘Danger’ by Rachel Carney from her debut collection Octopus Mind. This weekend is your last chance to get Octopus Mind (and lots of other great books) half-price in our Summer Sale. Use the code ‘summer2024’. Sale ends 11:59pm Sunday 1st September.

Danger
We were warned about the jellyfish,
where we paddled, tentatively,
in the shallows, our backs to the sun,
feet braced against the slap of wavelets,
eyes alert for anything globular,
for anything pale, or stringy.
And we were warned about the sinking sand –
sluggish, wet,
sucking at our shoes,
swallowing our shoes.
And the cliffs that might collapse at any moment,
that might crumble to dust
and bury us alive
in a heap of rock and fossils.
They warned us about the danger
of talking to strangers,
of strange men in nightclubs
offering to walk us home.
We were warned to say,
before we set off,
into the mountains,
which path we planned to take,
and exactly when we planned to return.
But nobody warned us about the danger
of sitting, alone, on the sofa.
Or the danger of forgetting to eat,
of not wanting to get up from the sofa.
And nobody warned us of how difficult it can be,
sometimes, just to lace up your trainers,
to open the front door,
to take a deep breath and brace yourself.
To walk outside.

Posted on August 4, 2023August 4, 2023 by Seren Books

Friday Poem – ‘Octopus Self’ by Rachel Carney

Photo of the tangled legs of an octopus floating near the ocean floor

This week’s Friday Poem is ‘Octopus Self’ by Rachel Carney from her debut collection Octopus Mind.

Octopus Self
It took me years
to tame the octopus of me,
to
lure her out,
to show her that the world is safer than she thinks it is.
I set her high up on a r
ock,
where her colours merge and multiply.
Some days she basks in the shallows, content
with the strange shape of herself,
coiling,
uncoiling, confident, serene.
Or she swims out into deep ocean currents,
str
ong in her certainty, calm in her convictions.
Other days she cowers in the fissure of her lair,
sure that every shadow is a shark,
curled up around the bubble of her failure,
peering out at life in all its magical abundance.
That’
s when the rest of me begins to lose its substance
tossed about lik
e flotsam on the surface of the ocean.
The octopus of me lets go of who she really is,
casting off a tentacle in wet despair.
She watches, as it’s torn away from her.
And that’s when I must gather up the remnants of my second self,
and huddle down beside her.
Together, we wait.

This September, you’re invited to explore the unseen and the unsettling. From dark and menacing landscapes to the everyday terrors of domestic settings disturbingly close to home, these stories will horrify and delight in equal measure. Be prepared, for ‘this is a land of ancient power, and even more ancient beings...’ Pre-order the latest addition to our Welsh Gothic series, ‘Giving the Darkness Life’ on our website now.
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Stories by @markblayney1, Mary-Ann Constantine, @damianwalforddavies, Caradoc Evans, Dorothy K. Haynes, @lucie_mckhardy Arthur Machen, Elinor Mordaunt, John Llewellyn Probert, L.T.C. Rolt, @priyasharma1000, Edward Thomas, Elizabeth Walter and D.P. Watt
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@inpressbooks @books.wales #WelshGothic #SerenBooks #NationalYearOfReading2026 #SpookySeason #AutumnBooks

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This September, you’re invited to explore the unseen and the unsettling. From dark and menacing landscapes to the everyday terrors of domestic settings disturbingly close to home, these stories will horrify and delight in equal measure. Be prepared, for ‘this is a land of ancient power, and even more ancient beings...’ Pre-order the latest addition to our Welsh Gothic series, ‘Giving the Darkness Life’ on our website now.
.
Stories by @markblayney1, Mary-Ann Constantine, @damianwalforddavies, Caradoc Evans, Dorothy K. Haynes, @lucie_mckhardy Arthur Machen, Elinor Mordaunt, John Llewellyn Probert, L.T.C. Rolt, @priyasharma1000, Edward Thomas, Elizabeth Walter and D.P. Watt
.
@inpressbooks @books.wales #WelshGothic #SerenBooks #NationalYearOfReading2026 #SpookySeason #AutumnBooks

We had a wonderful time listening to @megan.c.hayes talking about her memoir ‘Glimmering’ with Kath Little from @bardic_books at St Illtud’s church in Llantwit Major on Saturday. Diolch yn fawr to everyone who joined us and to Kath for hosting! Copies of ‘Glimmering’ are available now in your local bookshop.
.
#Glimmering #Memoir #SerenBooks #IndependentBookshop #NationalYearOfReading2026

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We had a wonderful time listening to @megan.c.hayes talking about her memoir ‘Glimmering’ with Kath Little from @bardic_books at St Illtud’s church in Llantwit Major on Saturday. Diolch yn fawr to everyone who joined us and to Kath for hosting! Copies of ‘Glimmering’ are available now in your local bookshop.
.
#Glimmering #Memoir #SerenBooks #IndependentBookshop #NationalYearOfReading2026

Ebooks available now! ‘In Search of Sea Dragons’, ‘Muslim Wales’ and ‘The Waters That Raised Us’ are now available from all major ebook retailers meaning you can take them with you on the go 🎉 Do you prefer reading ebooks, print books or both?
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@severn.sea.fossils @azimwales @tayloredmonds #Ebooks #Kindle #SerenBooks #BooksFromWales #LoveReading

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Ebooks available now! ‘In Search of Sea Dragons’, ‘Muslim Wales’ and ‘The Waters That Raised Us’ are now available from all major ebook retailers meaning you can take them with you on the go 🎉 Do you prefer reading ebooks, print books or both?
.
@severn.sea.fossils @azimwales @tayloredmonds #Ebooks #Kindle #SerenBooks #BooksFromWales #LoveReading

🏆@maggiepoet continues her winning streak having won the Guyana Prize for Literature Poetry Award with her collection ‘I Sing to the Greenhearts’! Available now in bookshops nationwide and on our website!
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#AwardWinning #GuyanaPrize #Poetry #PoetryBooks #SerenBooks

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🏆@maggiepoet continues her winning streak having won the Guyana Prize for Literature Poetry Award with her collection ‘I Sing to the Greenhearts’! Available now in bookshops nationwide and on our website!
.
#AwardWinning #GuyanaPrize #Poetry #PoetryBooks #SerenBooks

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