THOUGHTS ON WAKING

…words that’ll strike you in the soul

“Thoughts on Waking” is the debut poetry collection by Rachel Ferguson. Drawing from her experiences in Scotland and Japan, the collection explores themes of motherhood, loss, and self-reinvention. It invites readers to contemplate the transformative nature of grief and the enduring cycle of life.

In 2021, after a hiatus of two decades, I returned to my first love — poetry.

In 2023:

  • I published my first collection, Thoughts on Waking.

  • My work was featured in The Tokyo Poetry Journal and Slush.

  • Hive Life Magazine named me one of seven emerging poets to follow in the APAC region.

  • I was commissioned by the British Chamber of Commerce in Japan to write a poem for their 75th anniversary. The resulting piece, Our Island Lands, was presented at the British Business Awards in November 2023.

I’m currently working on a new pamphlet, Homecoming, exploring what it means to return to rural Scotland after 20 years in Japan.

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