1500 (+) Subscribers

And FLASH SALE!

It happened!

The Crow’s Nest reached 1500 subscribers on the 1st of May which, to me, seems the perfect day to do so. I’m taking this as a good omen.

I have now sent an email to the 1500th subscriber and set up their free lifetime access to all I share, for as long as they stay subscribed. Giving this away actually makes me feel really happy—it is something I have to give, something I love to share, after all.

I downloaded the .csv file of all 1500 subscribers and randomised this to get two further addresses, and have now also sent messages to both of these. I hope the addresses are real, or at least that those readers do actually read my letter (something I talked of here, when I shared a long post about my fourth anniversary of sharing a letter—long story short, some people merely signed up to get a free ebook, using a junk email address), but there’s nothing I can really do about that!

TRUE STORY: The first of these random entries actually turned out to be my Mum, which I found mildly hilarious (and, seeing as she already has a complementary subscription, meant I had to run the random generation again): 1500 people, and chance/luck/the universe chooses my Mum!

For the rest of you, the FLASH SALE starts now!

It will end on SUNDAY the 5th of MAY, at midnight (I’ll actually set it for midnight PST, rather than CET, just to give everyone a little bit more time).

If you take advantage of this, you will receive 50% off the price of an annual subscription, a price locked in for as long as you stay subscribed.

I’m not very good at marketing my work, and feel a bit guilty sending out ‘subscribe now’ messages (I even feel guilt every time I add a ‘subscribe’ button), which is why I tied this in with a giveaway, at least that seemed fun!

(The above is a Note I shared yesterday and I like it enough to share it here again, too. Click for the whole thing.)

I’m also going to add a poem here, not by me, but by Laurie Lee. Better known for his autobiographical work, such as Cider With Rosie, Lee always felt he was a poet first and foremost, and worked hard at this over many years. This poem, The Armoured Valley, is from The Sun My Monument, his first collection of poetry, published in 1944 by Chatto and Windus.

I’ve always felt this piece (and several of the others in the volume) says rather a lot about the passing of the seasons, about renewal, and about ourselves—especially about our seemingly constant desire to hurt and destroy. I feel this spring, this poem fits rather neatly. I may not follow the news as I used to, but I see things others share and I can see how many people seem mired in a despair of sorts due to world events.

Sometimes, perhaps, it is good to be reminded of the importance of art—real, human art, of words—real, human words, and how much of an impact they can have, if only we let them.

The Armoured Valley

Across the armoured valley trenched with light,

cuckoos pump forth their salvoes at the lark,

and blackbirds loud with nervous song and flight

shudder beneath the hawk’s reconnaissance:

Spring is upon us, and our hopes are dark.

For as the petal and the painted cheek

issue their tactless beauties to the hour,

we must ignore the budding sun and seek

to camouflage compassion and ourselves

against the wretched icicles of war.

No festival of love will turn our bones

to flutes of frolic in this month of May,

but tools of hate shall make them into guns

and bore them for the piercing bullet’s shout

and through their pipes drain all our blood away.

Yet though by sullen violence we are torn

from violet couches as the air grows sweet,

and by the brutal bugles of retreat

recalled to snows of death, yet Spring, repeat

your annual attack, pour through the breach

of some new heart your future victories.

Until next time, and thank you for reading, I really appreciate each and every one of you.