I am delighted to present my new book of poems and drawings, Life is Listening. You can order a copy from me for £10 including post, by emailing me at dixeyart@gmail.com.
You can also buy it on amazon.co.uk or amazon.com
"With a sly wit and a tender heart, Dixey Brooks writes like the great noticer she is, taking in a weary mother’s little groan, recalling a beloved father’s gentle hand, marveling at the miracle of birds, untangling the meaning of the passage of time. Taken together, the poems in this stirring collection are songs of love and odes to living with presence, empathy, and wonder. This collection, illustrated with Brooks’s whimsical, almost mystical drawings, tells me that the great Sufi poets have a sister in Wales.”
— Kelly Horan, The Boston Globe
'Life is Listening is full of beauty and wisdom, and insights from a life dedicated to family, and a love of nature and dance. The poet’s experiences and understandings become the reflections of a wisdom keeper, brought to life with rhythm and a love of words. There are delightful drawings, which lighten the journey, never far from these pages, of union with the beloved, of when the river meets the sea. And the final poem, May I Go Gentle, echoes Dylan Thomas’s dying of the light with a prayer to meet it, not raging, but softly."
- Tony Kendrew, author of Feathers Scattered in the Wind.
I am eternally grateful to my talented sister Melanie Campbell for the book design. https://www.gopated2inc.com/and to my dear friend Tony Kendrew who edited and proofread this collection. http://tonykendrew.com/
This is a recording of our group Blue Tara, whose members are Pete Stacey on flute and soprano saxophone, Bear Love and Shion on gongs and shruti , and the author, reading the title poem of the book ‘Life is Listening’.
Blue Tara first got together in June 2024, and have since performed at various events and theatres in Wales. A performance typically consists of a cycle of seven poems , with beautiful musical arrangements by my fellow musicians, and lasts about fourty minutes.
Coco and the Bears
An Illustrated Adventure Story for children aged three to a hundred
Observing the characters of four of my grandchildren, the idea for Coco and the Bears arrived… a seventy-eight page, epic children’s adventure story, with 45 colour illustrations, for children aged three to a hundred.
Three cousins, Otto, Ava and Obie, aged almost six, each armed with their own super-power, valiantly set off through the woods to rescue Otto’s intrepid little sister Coco, who has disappeared in the forest leaving only her small foot print next to a very large paw print… Each child is called upon to use their unique gift or 'superpower' on their mission to find Coco.
It has been pure joy to write and illustrate my first children’s book, and especially to have my talented and beloved sister, Melanie Campbell, design the book. Here is a link to her website. https://www.gopated2inc.com/
To order a copy for £12.50 including postage, please e mail me at dixeyart@gmail.com.
“What a delightful little book! In Coco and the Bears, Dixey has woven a magical and important tale of children in their element, trusting their place in the wild and the natural talents that life has gifted them."
Jerome Flynn, actor