Following the success of his debut book of poetry, Tell The Bird’s She’s Gone, poet Blake Auden has released his much anticipated second collection, Beekeeper, ahead of National Poetry Day on 1st October.

Featuring 140+ pages of Blake’s signature style across four chapters, Beekeeper is, more than anything else, a book about the author. Touching on topics such as anxiety and mental health, heartbreak, friendship and travel, it has been described as a ‘window to the soul’ of its author, Blake.

Mental health is a major theme throughout the book, in fact it’s probably the single thread that links everything else together.

“I’ve suffered with anxiety for most of my adult life, but it’s been pretty severe at points in the last few years. Writing is one of the ways I deal with that, and I’m extremely open and honest about it in my writing,” explains Blake.

“A lot of my followers are really drawn to this, and I’ve had scores of people tell me it helps them deal with their own mental health issues, particularly in the way it talks about it so honestly. I guess they feel less alone in reading it.”

“In the future I’m hoping I can work with a mental health charity to continue raising awareness around anxiety in particular, and to continue helping to encourage open discussion around the subject.”

Blake’s success with Tell the Birds She’s Gone shows how influential social media platforms can be for indie authors. With over 118,000 followers on Instagram, Blake is excited to see how audiences respond to Beekeeper, and how platforms such as Instagram continues to help cultivate a new, younger, generation of poetry lovers.

Beekeeper is priced at £12.99 and is available to order from www.blakeauden.com.