Taking the Journey Together
Caroline and Allan Reeves
Local Authors, Caroline and Allan Reeves, have publish their first collection of poetry and photography, Journey in Progress.
Erin: Congratulations on the publication of your first collection of poetry and photography. What was your inspiration for writing the book?
Caroline: Allan and I were fortunate to have the opportunity to do some travelling before the pandemic, and we wanted to share our experiences with others. Allan is an intrepid photographer with a keen eye for framing dynamic images. Many of his photographs inspired the poems in the book. In addition, as an attorney, a commitment to issues of social justice motivated me to share my reflections as a way of facilitating greater cultural awareness and understanding.
Erin: When did the two of you fall in love with poetry and photography?
Caroline: I fell in love with poetry while studying English at Cornell. This experience, and wonderful professors, helped me to develop an appreciation for the power of poetry to educate, influence, and transform lives across the globe.
Allan: I fell in love with photography while being dragged along on endless expeditions planned by Caroline. No, seriously, she has a contagious sense of adventure which really did motivate me to want to capture every moment and share our travels with others.
Erin: What was your writing process, and how did you collaborate together?
Caroline: I would get up most mornings around 4 or 5 a.m. to write poetry. As with most writers, sometimes the muse would descend, and other times, no such luck. After Allan would wake up around 7, I would read him what I had written, the good, the bad, and the ugly. He was always very supportive and honest with his feedback.
Allan: This process of early morning literary huddles started in 2019 and continued into the first couple of months of 2020. It was always fun waking up and finding out over coffee what country we had visited in the early hours.
Caroline: We took our last pre-pandemic journey to Paris in February 2020, which was pleasant, but also markedly eerie, as we both could clearly discern that something very heavy was looming in the horizon. Several of Allan’s photographs in the book were taken during this trip.
Allan: In March 2020, as lock-down became the new reality, Caroline and I began the process of editing, which was much more work than we ever imagined. There were over 100 poems and thousands of photographs to be reviewed and edited.
Caroline: Our house was literally covered in almost every corner with groupings of poems and photographs as we tried to decipher where we wanted to edit and where we needed to cut our losses.
Allan: Not always an easy process being the judge of your own work. Eventually, we chose 33 poems, each accompanied by three photographs, to be included in the collection.
Erin: How does it feel to have your first book published, and to see your vision of this project through from start to finish?
Caroline: Terrific. We are tremendously appreciative for the support of our publisher, Redhawk Publications, and our friends at the Writers Guild of Delaware County.
Allan: We are also immeasurably grateful for the support of the wonderful Swarthmore community.
Erin: What were some of the challenges and benefits of collaborating on this project together as a husband and wife team?
Caroline: One enormous benefit was that we both believed deeply in the project, and for that reason were able to keep each other focused and motivated.
Allan: We shared a common goal of creating a work which was both thought-provoking and tangible. Challenges were minimal because we had so much fun working together.
Erin: Who would you say is the intended audience for the book?
Caroline: From the very beginning, we wanted to write a book that would appeal to a wide audience, one that folks could share with their kids, parents, and grandparents, as well as friends who may have never read a poem or taken a trip before in their lives.
Allan: We also hope that the book appeals to lifelong lovers of travel, poetry and photography.
Erin: Where is the book available?
Allan: The book is currently available online at Redhawk Publications, Amazon, and Google Books, as well as locally in Swarthmore at H.O.M. (Harvey Oak Mercantile). The book is also available through the Delaware County Library system.
Caroline, Allan, and Erin were former neighbors in Swarthmore and members of the Delaware County Writers Guild.
Erin Johnson is a Swarthmore resident, the parent of an SRS kindergarten student, and works as a home health nurse for medically complex children. She is also a member of the Delaware County Writers Guild.
