The Chris Voss Show - The Chris Voss Show Podcast – Christmas Poems by Suzanne W. Guinn

Episode Date: July 28, 2026

Christmas Poems by Suzanne W. Guinn https://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Poems-Suzanne-W-Guinn-ebook/dp/B0GD8VNRSD Suzannewguinn.com A small, easy to read set of poems. These Christmas poems go back as far as 1966, when Suzanne was a Senior in High School and took a class in Creative Writing, with her favorite English teacher, Mrs. Agnus Smith.

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reflect the opinions of the host or the Chris Foss show. Some guests of the show may by advertising on the podcast, but it is not an endorsement or review of any kind. Today's featured author comes to us from books to lifemarketing.co.com. With expert publishing to strategic marketing, they help authors reach their audience and maximize their book's success. Today, we're an amazing young lady on the show. We're going to be talking about her books. And the book we're leading off with today is entitled, Christmas Poems by Suzanne W. Gwynn. We're getting into with her and find out some of the Dietz on her insights, her poetry, and how she inspires people through it. Is that sound like a good idea?

I think so. Suzanne began writing poetry as a teenager through, though few were written in the ensuing years. Once her family was raised, she began writing more and more. She's been much more prolific in the 20 years plus. To date, she has written almost 500 poems. Suzanne has a bachelor's degree in music, master's degrees in litter library science, and in fine art. She and her husband of 55 years, Michael, have grown four grown, or have grown, have four grown children and five grandchildren. It's Monday for me, folks. Welcome the show, Suzanne. How are you? I'm doing fine, and I got an update. I now have as a week and a half ago, we now have our first great grandchild. You have a first great grandchild. Oh, my God.

Gosh, wow. Did that happen during the show? That's pretty fast. No, it was in the middle of July. Oh, there's a year. We got a half an hour and 45 minutes to kill here. Maybe a six-one or seven-old show. Yeah, you never know. So welcome the show. Give us your dot-coms. Where can people find you on the interwebs? You can find some of my phone books on Amazon on Barnes & Noble.

I think there's Google books. I think also carries them. And then you can also find them on my own website. And it's called crowning touchartistry. com. It's on the Webley's website that you can create your own. So that's Crowning Touch Artistry. And you'll find on there the books that I do, my paintings, other interests that I have.

And if you just click on the books link, it'll take you right to each of those books, and you can order them yourself. All right. That's awesome. Give us 30,000 over you. What's inside your book? On the Christmas poems?

Yes. Obviously, they're Christmas poems. I couldn't think of a unique title, but there are some of the poems that are of a scriptural point of view of the actual meaning of Christmas. Some of them are more along the lines of secular stories. One is a letter to Santa. One is a letter from Santa. and then there's, I know there's one, I was going to look up a minute ago, what ones I got in there.

One I think is the cross in the manger. It talks about actually why Jesus was born and why he came to this earth. So there's quite a variety. I think there's about 40, 45 poems in that book. So it's not really a lot. It's a thin book. And easy to read. In fact, any of my poems are, you can sit down with your favorite drink.

And with your feet up, if you like something that's encouraging or relaxing. I don't write any of those stuff that ain't or doploc or dark or any of that kind of poetry. Mine is more gentle and enlightening, I guess you could say, in poetic form. Ah, that sounds like a lot of fun. Now, the one thing I was going to ask you is what inspires you to write poetry? I've had people ask me that before, and it's interesting because it's not just any one thing. It'll be a variety of things. Sometimes it's something I hear somebody say, a phrase, and I'm like, I'd make a good poem.

There was one time when I was at church, and the way my pastor presented a prayer, and I don't think it was one that was read. It was just one that he created or read himself. And I was like, that's got a poetic form to it. They brought over Facebook. I went home, started watching it again, and ended up taking that and writing a initial poem. Another way that I'm inspired, there may be something that I see, an object,

like an event or the time of year, like a prison or nature, holidays, and so a lot of my poems are inspired by that. We just had our 250th birthday, so I've written several Patriot poems as well based on that theme. So there's just a variety of things. There was one time, though, when I went out to, I went to our neighboring town, a small dam, the river is fairly wide, but the dam was just a concrete dam. And it has a place where you can go down and sit down and just listen to the water. I watch the waters that comes over the fall. It's just kind of a relaxing place.

And I looked down and there was a potato chip bag. Oh, God. That kind of spoils the scene. Oh, this wonderful beauty of nature. And there's a potato chip bag. Really? And so then I went home and wrote a poem about potato chip bag. But from that potato chip bag,

I came to this conclusion And it's okay with you all read the two last verses of that poem Okay I took it with me and threw it away But though it reminded me that others have come I wanted I wanted the view to look natural today But it's message I kept as I had at home

We're not the only ones that have been down this road Others before us took time to see The beauty around us no matter the day So air when life seems hard to be be watchful for moments that are waiting for you and me. Ah. It's important to look around and be watchful. And I like the,

there's so many times where I'm a photographer, so so many times I go into a scene or look at something and either something messes it up or sometimes I take a picture and something they'll be in the background that messes it up. You're like, oh, crap. I was taking some pictures this week into some old pioneer buildings.

And they're kind of fun. But the problem was sometimes I was getting background of cars that were modern and modern housing because they were surrounded by, they were surrounded by modern housing, but it was this old farm area. And I kept having to try and judge. So, you know, maybe it's a, maybe it's a, I don't know what the right word is for it, but maybe it's an example of how life's not perfect, the world's not perfect. In every beautiful sunset, there's probably, you know, a fly.

Yeah, another thing, too, is the potato chip bag. really was telling me that somebody else had been there and they had enjoyed the same scene that I was now walking. Sometimes these things that we think are out of place or what are you doing here and you just spoil everything.

Stop and think about it, maybe it doesn't. Now, I thought it's not about your cars and your pioneer building. That was history. Here's a house that was really old and here's a modern car that's driving by and what has taken place in between

those dates when each of those were created. It'd be cool if I get a side by side of one. Like there's this old, your home and this new home right there. And so it really talks about history unintentionally. Yeah. Yeah. I could draw some eyes on it.

And it could be the old home could be looking at the new home going, really? And the headlights eyes won't look at that. Yeah. Seriously? This is where you go. It was kind of funny, though.

The older place I was wandering through, they're all log homes or wood. and stuff like like a wood mill. There's like so much space between the boards and there was no insulation. Oh, yeah. You would have to wear a freaking coat. Back then they really had winters.

We don't really have any more. It seems like unless you live in an area that never had winters, then you're having winters now. If you live in places where we're used to at winters, it's summer. It's like basically living in Vegas right now. So what kind of poetry do you typically write? I think you've written four.

books did you mention? That's correct. Yes. God Bless America is the Patriotic poems that I've written and I've even written a few more since that one was published given that this is our 250 birthday for our country. A coffee table book called Heart Signs. I'm an artist as well as an author and so this has pictures of some of my paintings

and then poems that correlate what those paintings are. I'm sorry. I think I better turn that down. Yeah. I'll fake and leave a message later. I fell and broke my leg three and a half months ago. Oh, wow.

That's been fun, not, but so I get home help therapy. Yeah, that was what that was up. There you go. I made a nuclear at Uvaldi several years ago about, four years ago. And that would inspire me to write a poem about what happened there. Sometimes if

topics, maybe even political topics that I have written poems about, one is called a Native American or I'm a Native American. I should say this probably an upfront movie. I'm conservative.

I'm pretty protective of our American history and for lots of reasons. got roots that go way back, some lines even to the Mayflower, and those that were in the Revolutionary War. So when Christopher Columbus came to this country, and this is true of any of us, we respond or act on what knowledge we know of it. So as far as he knew, he had arrived in India, and all these people walking around were

Indians. Then later, they realized, no, they had. So then they were labeled American. Indians. Our politically correct people wanted to change that and call them Native Americans. And so I kind of took in a friendly

way, upreach about that if I think the right word or in advance. Because I'm a Native American. Because what does the word Native mean? It means where you're born. Oh, there you go. I'm born in America. So I'm also a Native American.

So to call them a Native American confuses the mind if you think of it literally. So I wrote a poem about that topic and mentioned the fact that, although Columbus didn't necessarily understand what he had actually found, he still operated on the knowledge he knew. And far as he was concerned, they were American, or they were Indians. They were, they were, they were, they were Indians. They were American.

So to try to change history really doesn't change. That's true. That's true. What would you say is the style that you have in the books that you've written so far? Most of my poetry is four lines to a verse, and then, okay, that dropped it. There is stress vowels in poetry, and they are called by different names. Hold on. And I wrote them down, and now I lost them. But it is probably the most popular, which is stressed, unstressed. And then there's what's called Prochi, which is just the reverse. And then there's two more, and there are odd turns. And I'll say, I wrote them down now again, where it's one stress, two unstressed.

Or two unstressed and one stress. Like, in the garden, your emphasis is on in. mother, what did, I can't think, on the spot, something to make up, but anyway, so my poetry pretty much falls within those four areas of, of, what you call, what you call, and then there's so many feet to align that has a terminology as well. But there have been exceptions in some of the poems that I have written, and what One is called pictures of water. I'm going to hold this up to the camera.

I know you can't read it, but you can see the length of the line. That is not typical to what I normally write. And maybe more like this. Or there's the four lines and so many verses, whatever. But in pictures of water, this was an interesting poem, even to me, because the lines don't necessarily rhyme. But the words within the line will rhyme. I'll just read a few of those.

Okay. Because I don't want to take up a lot of time. Summer. This is water in summer. Foam, fun, spray, sun. That's one line. Grisps, grizzles, drop, frizzles. Angry, gentle.

Blind being, mental. rolling crashing pounding smashing drowning drowning dragging dripping nagging cleansing shower energy power cascades ocean sprays everglades dreamy days tributaries sanctuaries I like this one embryonic universe I don't know where that came from but if you think about it before our baby was born that's his whole world

embryonic universe unexpected lightning books flooding fury torrent hurry puddles pool so that isn't out of the ordinary style of poetry that I write

but it was fun and it's a little unique that's for sure yeah and uniqueness is good when it comes to these things do you have a favorite poem or was maybe that one that you mentioned. Yeah, I do. And it has to do with 9-11. Oh, wow.

That's a hell of a subject to take on. Yes. And speaking of styles of poetry, this is more analogous, if you will. I took the idea of an evil representing America. and I won't read all of it either I'll just maybe read some of the first and last verses she climbed the currents and stored the skies kept watch or nest and her allies

to help protect those in the world as she threw forth with wings unfurled she cared for all both poor and king that fell beneath her shadowing wing yet evil worked throughout the land and deep inside the heart of man they planned their day to main and kill

their goal the eagle's heart to still they did not know her strength and skill of those who rallied from her trail as she rose up that fateful mourn the scenes she saw filled her with scorn she swooped and called

her mad alarm, but could not stop that dreadful harm. Some chicks were heard and more were dead. The smoke and fire raged overhead. What have they done? And why she was here? This land

that stands for freedom to do. And then it goes on explaining the tragedy that happened and the response from other nations. And it ends up with so she rose up, her strength renewed, shook off the death,

dust to build anew. She's stronger now and wiser too, for truth is freedom's best review. They missed her spirit on that day. They tried but could not take away the heart and soul of freedom's flame, though still they chant their hate and blame. That's powerful.

There's a few more verses. But it gives you the gist of love. And you use of the eagle as a represent. sensitive of our country and in part she was our national symbol and so that was rather appropriate I thought yeah it is that's quite a poem and it's you know it's hard to take on that subject but I think you embraced it well now there's another book we wanted to profile too called poems of everyday life tell us a little bit about that that was the first book that I ever published. As I began writing

more prolifically, my poetry, I started posting them on my Facebook page. And I had a lot of people say to me, have you ever published a book? Why don't you publish a book? And I'm like, I don't know.

So initially what I did was I just went to a printer and printed off 50 copies. And then later, I thought, maybe I had to just do an actual published book. And so, I contacted a publisher and did that. And that can be found on Amazon and also on my website.

And it's a variety of poems in it, like examples of what I mentioned earlier, inspirational or humorous. Some are about nature or holidays or families. So it kind of touches on the ordinary things of life. And the idea is to draw your attention to them because sometimes in our daily life we just walk by and just totally mess things and just makes you stop and think and pause and look around. I discovered in this, I did a presentation Friday on why poetry. And I discovered something that I didn't even know.

Poetry has, is the oldest form of literature. in all of mankind. It goes back to about 3,000-something BC. And what people don't realize, even though it has the lowest appeal of readership, poetry is something unique to any other kind of literature. And because of this meter and the rhythm to it, it forces you to stay within that space of poetry.

and if you will, pauses you to stop and think about what the message is that's being talked about in poems. Literature, novels, and don't do that because you can be reading a story and if you're like, oh, this is just too much and you can kind of speed read through it

and get to the end and still get the gist of it. You can't do that with poetry. You can't sit there and read line by line. Line by line. You don't miss the point of poetry being said. No skipping, as they like to say. Yeah, that makes sense. I think you answer my question there of why you think poetry is important.

And I imagine part of what you also talked about, making us give depth to everyday things that maybe we take for granted or we don't acknowledge and, you know, give depth and value to them in saying, hey, this is kind of important. And maybe you should look at it harder, look at it more, or understand it more. maybe. Slow down and take time to note the little things of life too. Yeah. Note the little things of life too. That's really important to and noting the little, the important things in life because that can mean so much when it comes down to being grateful, having gratitude,

being thankful for what you have. And so many times we get caught up in the menagerie of life and everything. and the speed of it, and we don't take time up and smell the roses. So that's really good. Yeah. One thing that I discovered

was in researching for that presentation is the time that was made. It may not change or give you the answer to climate change, but it will make you stop and think even about the important,

not just the ordinary little things of life, but some of the big things as well, does God exist? Does he have anything to do with me? Is there an afterlife? is there meaning to my being here? Is there a heaven or a hell? Do they really exist?

And so that's something else that poetry will do. And an American poetry, or poetry as you normally think of it, is not exactly the same as other countries. You go to scripture and your Psalms are Hebrew poetry. And they may not go with meter or rhyme, but sometimes it's how many syllables in a line or how many words in a line. Then you've got the Japanese haiku, which is two lines, then five lines and seven or something like that.

But they're, no matter what style or culture they come from, they all have the same purpose of drawing your attention to the message of that poem. Yeah. And they can be almost more complex because usually when someone writes in the, vernacular of a poem, they have to be really sometimes succinct or very economic with the amount of words or words of the use, especially if you're working with a haiku. And so you've got to be, you've got an economy that you have to work with. And once you're out of it, you got to roll with it. And somehow still be able to tell a story, right? I have often gone back and read over a poem

that I had written and had too many words in the line. And I could think of one word that replaced three or four and it's just a meter better. So that's something you've got to keep in mind as well. Now, with your background, your education, your family, inevitably you have a bit of a music background. How does all that experience affect your poetry? That's a fascinating subject, actually, because music and poetry,

I made the comment one time that there almost like identical siblings because they go together just hand in hand. Poems and music are so much alive. If I can find until I wrote that down. Poems have meter, feet,

pattern, and rhyme. Music has measures, timing, and pattern. They're not necessarily rhyme, but they have your one, what's called the one cord and whatever key you're in, then you want your, want your music to end on that one quarter of that key.

So that kind of like creates a rhyme, if you will. And so poems and music just naturally flow together. Now, I realize in contemporary music, sometimes the actual words don't rhyme, but they still have to have a certain meter to it. Yeah. And a certain length of line to fit the music that you want. Otherwise, it sounds kind of weird, huh? It gets fun.

Yeah, it doesn't make sense. Another thing that's interesting about poems and music, that nothing else does, music I would have to say more so than the poetry. It causes the brain to create news than maps because it touches so many different parts of the brain, and then as you're listening or playing that music, it brings them all together. Actually, and maybe this is a subject for another time, but music is important. important in the education world because it is in a sense the basis far as I'm the discipline of that for everything else yeah to me it's that important but my musical back

from my personal music background the fact that I was trained and have a degree in music has gone a long way in helping me to understand the flow of poetry as well and some of them having such a music. Really? I guess technically a lot of hymns, it might be kind of poetic. So what do you hope people come away with when they read your books? I hope that for one thing, it'll be a time

of refreshment, a time of relaxing, a time of renewal. Maybe it'll stop and make them think about whatever the message is of the poem. Again, in my research that I did, one of the things I came across was mentioned the fact that

you have your way of thinking. Sometimes poetry will make you stop and think of somebody else's point of view or make you aware of possibilities that you before were not aware of. But poetry can do that for you and, oh, hmm, I never thought of that kind of moment. Poetry has all kinds of good things for it. It makes you aware, gives you connections, possibilities, lots of stuff. Lots of good stuff. Lots of good stuff for the brain and life.

And, you know, being grateful about stuff, understanding stuff is so important. Now, I know you have two other books. Any future upcoming events or promotions you want to talk about any upcoming books? I have some poems. I want to do a, sorry, I want to do a volume two of poems of every day life. But I haven't, I'm not at the point of getting them, but I am in more of a likeness. and getting ideas of how I want to go about it the next time and what ones I want to do. I'd like to do some more books.

I've got the Christmas poems. I've got the patriotic poems. I recently printed off poems of comfort out on just paper and put them together and took them to my husband. He's in a nursing home since disease. And he's about almost 100 miles from me. They don't get to seem very often, and he gets discouraged. So I printed off a handful of forms that are uplifting and comforting, and that might make another theme of another book.

We talk a lot about care centers and people with aging, Alzheimer's, and different things. Maybe a book for calming the mind or just improving the quality of life for people that are in, And those types of care facilities, they're pretty much shut-ins and locked in there. And families don't really visit as much as they should. That might be a good poem book for people to read when they're stuck in those places. Yeah, there would be something that I could take, distribute in nursing homes. Put it in that. Yeah.

That would be a good idea. Yeah. Yeah. I know a lot of patients, they're always trying to come out with things to pass the time and it's just such a mind-melter of, I don't know, I think if you have dementia or Parkinson's TV might be the type, that might contribute to more brain rot than you already have, I think that joke. You certainly get tired of it after a while with my breaking my leg and not being able to do much.

I've certainly gotten plenty tired of TV. Yeah, they'll do it. And you're just like, is there anything that has a good plot for change? They all seem to be all the same nowadays where it's the same. same silliness. I know it's good versus evil and you hope to be good wins. Home remodeling or good chef's stories after a while. It's just another recipe on the plate or whatever. Yeah, yeah, I have the same problem, only fans. I had to get that joke in there. Suzanne, thank you for coming to the show. Give people a final pitch out to pick up your books, your dot com, where people can find you, etc., etc.

Thank you. Yes. The website, Pranning Touch Artistry, that's hosted by Weidley. So that would be crowningtouchartistry.weadley.com. There, they can also find my paintings there. If they're interested in paintings, it's a bit of poems. And there's other things down there as well. And then Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Google, like I mentioned earlier, and some other websites as well. I think if you just Google the title that you're interested in, you'll find lots of places where they're about.

There you go. Get them. Get them all. Get them all now. Yeah, I think they range from $10 or $12 to, I think the big coffee table books maybe about $20, $25, maybe less. So they're not real expensive. Thank you very much for coming the show, Suzanne. We really appreciate it.

I certainly enjoyed it and I'm glad you had me today and I'm forward to maybe do it again someday. We've enjoyed it as well. Somebody's writing in, congratulations on the books, poetry lovers and stuff like that. So thank you very much for coming on. Folks, order per book where refined books are sold. It is entitled, the one that we let off with, Christmas Poems by Suzanne W. Quinn. Be sure to further show to your family, friends, and relatives. Go to Goodreads.com, Fortress, Christ, Christoph.

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