Welcome!

Kia ora,

My name is Fern Campbell and I'm a writer. A poet, in fact. And this is my blog.

What does "Yelming the Straw" have to do with writing? I contemplated a name for this blog for a long time. There were lots of cutesy writing-related puns, as well as serious, poetry-related names. And then there were names referring to the place I live, or my own name, the list goes on. But I'm also a wargamer, and occasionally that geeky side of me takes the wheel and investigates things totally outside my usual writing sphere. While reading up on thatched roofs for medieval war-gaming ideas, I learned a new word - yelm.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a yelm as "a bundle of combed straw for thatching", which sounds very cute, tidy, and easy. But reading more, it sounds like something that takes a lot of work to create, while looking super simple. It also was a job often given to women to perform.

Each word in every poem I write feels like creating one of those yelms. Slowly but surely dragging together the straw, tidying it up, preparing it, and finally putting it with the others. Then the editing process, where I staple them together and cut off the rough bits, until finally it's complete.

I hope to catalogue bits of my journey here, and even share my work. So bear with me while I start this journey, and I hope you find something interesting here in the thatchwork.