Author: Courtesy Orchis
Bio: **Journey Through The Mirror**
*for Courtesy Orchis*
From somewhere in the void of creation
evolving from crystals in insular cells
a tappestry of reflections decodes your soul
shatter fragility - realise your entity
and free from every surface solution, you'll find your creativity
You're the child in this rose of glass, its' iris clouded with false divinity
beyond your muse, the futile dream decays
shatter fragility - realise your entity
and free from every surface - solution, you'll find your creativity
follow the river, the end is never clear
**David Jones, 2001** 


Courtesy Orchis wrote poetry and short stories and created art as part of the, largely anonymous, collective 'Nine Hearts Publishing', between 1991 and 1999. Collections of various works, 'found art' and previously lost works continued until 2007.  Chapbooks were donated to libraries, women's refuges, psychiatric hospitals, prisons and they were hand distributed to the homeless; free.  Many of the readers later became contributors to the collective.  

The works covered subjects such as teen angst, grunge, punk, love of nature, religion, suicide, depression, boredom, the lost generation, cancer, death of loved ones and love. Courtesy Orchis cited her personal inspiration as Nancy Spungen, the Sex Pistols, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Marilyn Monroe, Juliette Lewis, Babes in Toyland, Rik Mayall, Douglas Adams, Jimi Hendrix, Bonnie & Clyde, Jack the Ripper, anything Victorian, Flappers, Hippies, Punks, Buddha, Freud, Wittgenstein, James Dean, Clara Bow, Elvis, Big Bopper, Adam Ant, cats, red skies, pizza, zinger burgers, LA, New York, Paris, Egypt, Rome, Tigers, baby doll dresses, 1950s red lipstick (celuloid type), nails to match, Vivienne Westwood shoes, big red roses, London, libraries, beer, Benson & Hedges, vinyl records, church candles and British Bull Dogs and stated that this also informed upon the works.



**Reviews:**

New edition of previous glories from the ontological chick we all want to 'protect'. She is a genius. The book is a mistress piece. Courtesy is both revolutionary babe and obscurantist. The poverty Poet is the top babe in 'British' poetry at the moment. Courtesy breaks taboos and dangerously identifies herself with nature, as it is raped and enslaved. The honesty in these poems is direct. She knows things little girls just shouldn't and sings these lyrics, which are half in the ideal, half in horror. She is waist deep in a dream, wading through the weight of it. Makes me want to hug her all the more: **Andrew Jordan** *(Editor 10th Muse/Poet)*

She continues to create deeply inspired and perplexing poems that reverberate in the mind of the reader. She expresses herself in an accomplished and wholly unforced free verse form in which her words work as abstract signifiers that seem to tackle the world of subconscious inconsistencies. This is truely innovative poetry by an author who so effectively combines introspection with linguistic versatility: **Angelina Anton** *(Editorial Editor at Minerva Press)*

Nicely presented. How delightful. Found fresh and exciting: **Khayam Shakarchy** *(Poet)* 

Deals with human emotion and feeling: **Kevin Phillips** *(Campaigner for disability awareness)* 

You are in my thoughts: **Diane Simpson** *(After dinner speaker/Hand writing expert)*

Someone (Stuart Home) passed me '10th Muse #10. Your poetry is ace and has the rare scent of authenticity. How the f**k did you do that writing, and what place is it from? So much of it is Jungian archetype-laden to the point of chills down the spine. The eternity explanations with crazy diagrams is still one of my favourite ones. Also the massively disturbing runaway stories in 'Never A Dull Moment', I guess the Hobs line 'the caring professions can burn in hell' was inspired by one great line in there. I really really love the time travel bit in Killer On The Road where you name the evil pubs and Billy The Kid etc.  Stick at it long enough & it really does all come true, more humdrum & less romantic than envisaged but I hang out w/ the greatest artists, poets, writers & musicians alive today - and yes the underground & people doing it for real not caring if it's ever noticed still exists - and if people are too lazy to find out about it all then stick to Big Brother & HMV: **Simon Morris** *(Ceramic Hobs)*

...an intolerance of 'outside oppinion' against our own. This motto is particularly expressed in 'Victim Tattoo' Is A Metaphor For Broken, which struck a cord (if only she knew me, it's as if I've been spied on). ...instead of being drawn in, I feel the urge to back away. Perhaps I'm scared. Courtesy doesn't hint at her beliefs but smacks you right in the face with it. Courtesy Orchis starts with an almost religious/sexual atmosphere in a cross between prose and poetry. The book finishes almost on a lighter note with Orchis's diary extracts, more black comedy than full on haha, but definately an element of a young mind(s) experience (of) highs and pitfalls. The last word is 'free' but only in small type. But are writers ever really 'free', I'm sure Mark Cantrell will have the answer somewhere. (The book) has a certain look and this helps illustrate the mood and emotion in the writing. The 'diary' is scattered from cover to cover with scraps of paper ripped from the real thing. Different fonts are used to show the changing train of thought, not just the seperate writers.... their words clash and blend together well to create a many faceted person. But whose diary is this really? As a writer Courtesy Orchis seems very well read, and can be articulate, knows her own theories, possibly talks to herself (a good character trait) and battles with the idea of being a 'Poet'. Certainly made me think: **Mary Hooton** *(Editor Ubique/Poet)*

They should be applauded with golden hands. Textural dimension/refraction into dreams - black cobwebs over the tv screen: **Mark Reeve** *(Fan from Bangor, Gwynedd)*

*“ps/ Courtesy Orchis will have her revenge on..... The first rule of any game, even before how do I play this game? is know your opponent" – poet Courtesy Orchis.”*
A postscript to a poem buried deep within a poetry collection is no doubt a strange way to begin a review of said poet’s work, but it proves to be apt advice not just for would-be games players, but for reviewers too. For surely, it’s equally apt to note that ‘ye who would delve into a poet’s work might do well to ponder – “who is the poet?” Okay, so who is the poet, Courtesy Orchis? The glib answer is the author of this collection, simply entitled The Collection. Within its pages can be found an amalgamation of the author's previous chapbooks published between 1997 and 2007 – but here brought together in one hardback edition. For a more detailed answer, however, well the poetry knows and the poetry tells, but its manner is cryptic, its meaning veiled, as its author plays with the reader’s sight and perception. So the answers come in enigmatic fashion, through lengths of prose, poetry and short stories, together with snapshots of sentences poised between the moments of the page, to tell scenes and vignettes of life lived and endured. There is the essence in these pages of life lived on the edge of ordinary perception; of a soul-cry calling out to the humans lost in the wilderness that is a banal society. There is suicide and pain, loss and love, and angsted (sic) questions, self-doubt and recriminations. Yet it steers a course away from the morbid rocks. The works prove uplifting; thoughtful streams of consciousness that fill one’s emotional sails. Orchis, here, is no siren wailing us onwards to shipwrecked despair. Her poetry begs... nay demands thought and reflection, it provokes an essential questioning, the perpetual sense that a revelation, if not an epiphany is just there on the tip of the tongue. There is an almost surreal quality to much of the material presented, especially in the later selections, when she presents what can be best described as verbal collages. To say surreal, however, belies the easy lucidity present on the pages; there is meaning and there is purpose and it defies us to ponder what remains unsaid. No easy reading these collages, but the effort is worth it; dense bodies of prose or poetry is surrounded by cut and pasted snippets. Short poems, scribbled observations, lines of text like a singular moment of thought frozen on the page. To read them, the book must turn this way and that. These are dense, crowded pages, begging an almost claustrophobic response as one trapped in a maelstrom crowd. Some might find that off-putting, but let the mind unwind, the eye wander free and the crowds disperse to leave space to ponder the montage at ease. This is no easy read, but the reading is easy for those capable of being undaunted. So what is the answer to the question that began our inquiry? Well, the poetry still knows, as does the poet, but in the end it is neither the one nor the other's role to provide the answers, but to provoke the reader to find their own answers to their own questions. The Collection provokes that so well, that it might be wise to suggest – here is a vessel of poetry that reads its reader. It's actually hard to know what to say about such a work. Expect the morbid, but be surprised that it isn't. The words are no self-indulgent maudlin misery fest, but deep and heartfelt. The word play is complex, and intoxicating, but might at times leave you wondering and exploring the intimacy of multiple meaning. Orchis expects her readers to work hard. This is not easy reading, to be picked up and browsed and cast aside with an almost mindless indifference. This is not about killing time. This is a jungle of words and emotions, and observation, colourful in it's diversity, full of entangled mystery. You have to hack and slash your way through to find that temple of understanding....creating an amalgram of style and appearance: **Mark Cantrell** *(Tyke in Exile/Novelist/Poet/Journalist)* 



**Books Orchis Contributed Art/Text to:**

Later That Night (1991)

Tell it (1991)

Go Forth (1992)

Traveling Light (1993)

The Face That Time Forgot (1994)

A Stitch in Time Saves Lives (1995)

Down and Out in East Ham (1996)

Dry Rot Azariah (1997)

Offence 8 Defence (1998)

Blah, Blah Hands (1999)

Dry Rot Control (2000)

Never, Never, Never....was (2001)

There's Never a Dull Moment/Cursum Perficio (2002)

Diary of a Schizo (2003)

Love?!@/": A Suicide Note (2004)

The Collection (2007) 



**Other Works:**

Ceramic Hobs - Shaolin Master/Blackpool Transport/Raven (Limited Ed. Recording, 2002) concept and poetry contribution by Courtesy Orchis

Ceramic Hobs - Shergar is Home Safe and Well (CD, 2003) cover art sourcing and concept and poetry contribution by Courtesy Orchis

Folk songs - all poems were set to music, distributed and performed by RN Noakes

Editor/Artist: I Am No-Body by Janet Kelly

Editor: A Bag Of Bones And Chocolate Buscuits by Janet Kelly



**Other Appearances In Print:** 

Fear Today None Tomorrow issue 1, (article about The Sex Pistols)

One issue of Skald (1995)

Two issues of T.O.P.S (1996)

The Schizoid (Internet June 2001)

Ubique issue 2 (2002)

Review in Ubique issue 3 (2003)

Poetry Monthly issue 60 (1368-7913)

10th Muse issue 8 (0959-2334)

10th Muse issue 10 (0959-2334)

10th Muse issue 11 (0959-2334) 

The Listening Voice issue 3 

Poetechniciens issue 4 (1364-7458)

Pennine Platform issue 42 (0303-140X)



**Other:** 

Member of The World Lyric Writers Union

Founder and administrator of Nine Hearts Publishing

Cocoa, a song by Stephen Thomas, was written about her

Corrosive Enzyme, a book by David Jones, was dedicated to her

Journey Through the Mirror, Emotional Alluvium and The Face of Clara Bow are three poems by David Jones, dedicated to her

"The caring professions can burn in hell", a Ceramic Hobs lyric, was inspired by one of her poems