Speculative Craft

Reading my work is to engage in my speculative craft. I see the world as a series of mysterious fragments that I can source through nature, light, dark and shadow. Engaging with the revelations of life that I find through fragments enables me to speculate bigger questions about our existence and interactions with daily life. My internationally acclaimed publications work to show the precious existence and sanctuary of the Romantic Spirit, who thrives amongst the mysteries, lights and shadows of the cosmos, as we all do, in life.

If I step bare foot across the sand, I can print my own being across its existence. The actual, formal structure of my footprint is unique to my identity, yet its life continues to echo, repeating its presence across the sand scape.

The depths of my Romantic Spirit can be discovered in my treads. If I stare into the distance, I can see the powerful cresting and crashing of waves, which, once they reach their highest point, mesmerise me in moments of deep reflection. My spirit yearns to soar and breathe the freedom of the wave’s elation. This ability I have, to attune myself to the most deepest and soulful aspects of my environments, allows me to discover what it is to be, to resonate within a scape and to exist within the formal structures I am surrounded with. This is how I find contemporary metaphysical literature to be a source of company and a best friend through life.

Mind Time

I look out at the beach
as night begins to fall.
Echoes of a time still
splash in my ears.
It is persistent,
gently prying into the
silver moon of my mind,
where the tide has come
to shore and wallows.

Time lapses as I stare
at the swelling waves of the sea.
They do beckon me to visit,
to take the plunge into the
deep reefs below …
my feelings.

Instead, I sit on the sand,
digging my feet in,
cooling myself down.

I remain at the shore,
my home,
wakeful heart alert
to the ever shifting waves …
of my time.^1.

As I demonstrate in my poem above: Mind Time, the larger cosmos and soul are connected, even discovering its sanctuary. If I concentrate deeply, I can also study the way the receding light falls and shifts across the oncoming tide. The kinetic rhythm and optical variance of light reverberate within me, allowing me to speculate its true nature as it connects with my own Spirit, forming moments of deep introspection and reflection

When I was younger, I was mesmerised by the works of Aristotle and his Metaphysics publications. It led me to spend hours studying the techniques and lyrical epic beauty of Homer and the tragedians: Sophocles and Aeschylus. These poetic writers taught me how words could sing, chiming their bells out loud across the sweeping plains of the cosmos. They taught me to feel pathos and the need for catharsis; to strive to find a way to provide a lyric to the every day in order to source its deepest emotional resonance and presence. In this nature, my writing is well known for its lyrical nature, which in itself provides mystery for the spiritual journey.

I also take great inspiration from my years of training in high school in Madrigal singing. It was a time when I experienced the most sublime moments of spiritual connection. Madrigal is a Renaissance style of singing, which officially originated in northern Italy during the 14^th century. It is a polyphonic style of music, (which means that it has a simultaneous combination of vocal tones)^2.

A key convention of Madrigal music is counterpoint, which Walter Piston, in his book: Counterpoint, famously references as “contrapuntal” in nature.³ Two or more voices contrast and juxtapose in their melodic and rhythmic structures. This may result in melodic friction (also known as dissonance), where two voices may clash on different notes; or rhythmic friction (syncopation), where a contrast of strong and soft beating voices weave, creating a force effect that drives the music forward. The ultimate aim is for the voices to reach a harmonious, pleasing sound.

I use counterpoint a lot in my writing, to show how the macro world can contrast and juxtapose with the micro soul. Counterpoint for me, is the purest formation of the shifting constant, as it creates a sense of voice and presence. When I speculate the meanings of my fragment discoveries, I compare it with the contrasts of natural melodies and rhythms, such as the external flame of fire, contrasted with the lingering hope of the soul. Using counterpoint to catalyse mystery, allows me to build paradox, as there is often a clash between our spiritual desires and the demands of the world.

In the middle of these two worlds, a macro-socio Romantic Spirit friction will occur. These larger, leading to more microscopic foci of life are essential to our own existence and rely on my understanding of how our Romantic Spirit can connect with the world around it.

Form itself, is not there to trap us. It is there to guide how we see. This is very important for us to take note of in our busy world, where we may overlook precious details that can truly help our souls to thrive. In my stories and poems, form and soul are fluid entities that represent a shifting constant.

One of the ways that this shifting constant can be reflected in my work is via the structural architecture of the Baroque fugue. Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the fugue as:  “a musical composition in which one or two themes are repeated or imitated by successively entering voices and contrapuntally developed in a continuous interweaving of the voice parts.”⁴  One of the most profound times I feel connected with my Romantic Spirit is if I stand on the sand and stare out at the ocean. It is there, in the breeze and in the breath of waves, that I feel the grand design of its presence within me. It is, as the Renaissance thinkers idealised, a reflection of the macro and micro cosmos of the universe. What that means for me now, is that any moment, time or idea that our Romantic Spirits face, is larger than our very presence. Like the fugue, these moments reverberate through time and take other forms, symbols or states, which makes them even more metaphysical in their forms. So, through form, we learn to be and to see.

In the fugue, I speculate states of existence and being and sort through the fogs of life that may be found in the macro-socio frictions that we are faced with. I allow the Romantic Spirit to reverberate across time, space and place; to re-invent itself into different forms or symbols and to add to its mysterious presence in the grand design of the cosmos. It is through the fugue, that I can also capture the unsaid and the collective voices that need to be expressed; or the deeper, inner most feelings that may surface. My characters move beyond an immediate surface level of understanding, to a deeper one, showing that their Romantic Spirits do not fade at all across time and can also connect, via counterpoint, with others, along the way.

Through place and space we are able to acknowledge how form leads to deep mystical and ethereal connection. In this way, Soulful Formalism is highly applicable to our spiritual journeys. We can choose to view the world as a large and vast cosmic expanse, or to retreat into the private chambers of our souls. These actions in themselves are speculative, as they enable us to position ourselves, with relativity in our universes. For example, a travel to The Misty Valley Cloister may reveal the formal architectures of monastic ruins or sanctuaries that breathed their breaths before our present. The surrounding valleys and mountain passes in their natural structures, offer a sense of chamber and seclusion. At times, a mist may surround us, providing us with a boundary between the larger macro world and its friction. In that moment, we feel safe to attune ourselves to our deeper spirits, taking a private moment to focus on the deeper internal sides of ourselves that we need to.

Flying Free

Atop a tall mountain ledge,
gazing at snow white clouds
circling surrounding tree tops.
A soft mist drizzles its drops
across my receptively warm skin.
Saturating self in surroundings,
auras awakening my tired spirit.

Rich, raw colour is a symphony,
shades of grey and blue
hum lyrically across the range.
Their colours stretching like light
that flows through the air,
unravelling its own pathway.

Atmospheric nature calls to me,
its rhythms acute and alive.
The sun’s chant sounds as it peeks
through the cotton-like clouds,
mesmerising me with its healing light.

Stretching my arms out wide,
I absorb the sun’s radiant energy
and my soul soars very high.
I am flying freely like a bird,
fluttering my feathered wings,
which beat with renewed hope.⁵

In my poem: Flying Free, I explore the concepts of high mountain ranges and sea, propelling the flight of my own Romantic Spirit. Writing this poem allowed me to dig deeper into my setting: to explore the Heightened Energy of the light and sky and its effect on my Romantic Spirit. I also explored Metaphysical Noir et Blanc: light and shadow that fell and to connect deeply with the fragments it revealed. Dually, as the work explores the lyrical nature of spirit and scape, it also presents the inner need for freedom from the constraints of the world amongst the clearer.

In Princess Zyra’s Lost Storm: An Australian Childhood Myth, I spent years marrying visual metaphysics with my lyrical poetic form, to show that for the young mystic pioneer, their metaphysical presence is very connected to the larger cosmos. The storm itself, is fugal, as it changes nature and shape, according to Princess Zyra’s growth and understanding of her world. It is at once a grand cosmic presence, yet also a friction and a powerful, micro representation of her inner self.

My work digs deeper into the contrasts discovered in Metaphysical Noir et Blanc, to celebrate the Romantic Spirit as it connects with everyday life. Through light, dark and shadow, I speculate the larger scale of life and its shifting constants, as the Romantic Spirit roams through it, upending it, reframing it and reclaiming it as a metaphysical truth. I use ki sei to promote the life rhythm of my works; grounding it with a relatable, liveable presence and providing it with a mystical and lyrical flow, which mirrors the unwavering spirit’s journey.

Often my works demonstrate a paradox between the presence of the spirit and the reality that they are in. In this way, they enable the reader, even in the blank spaces on the page, to take a moment to breathe, to focus on emptiness, as in Ma philosophy, as an active entity that promotes contemplation, speculation and growth. By wading and soaking in the active emptiness, a dual discovery of plot resolution and deeper metaphysical truth can occur for the reader.

Through Soulful Formalism, I engage in Romantic Academia, a convention of my Contemporary Metaphysical Literature, which informs me of techniques and eras through time from Ancient Greek Antiquity to Modernism. Just like my belief that the Romantic Spirit is eternal, so do I believe are our techniques we use through time. My dedication to classical knowledge enables me to apply techniques such as sfumato, chiaroscuro and pointillé to writing, to speculate and flesh out the presence and existence of the Spirit; or to even consider the purpose or function of its existence through a grander lense, like the Victorian Era. Ultimately, it is Aristotle himself, who grounds my understanding of metaphysical philosophy. My ability to understand how techniques reverberate through spirituality means that I can also treat modern genre as a series of fragments that I choose relevant to the work and spiritual journey. The use of genre brings every day contemporary meaning for the reader.

My work can be considered to be a Metaphysical labyrinth, where the Romantic Spirit journeys through metaphysical states, such as: existence, ontology, perception, cause and effect. These states are there to enable it to respond intellectually with its surroundings and to really speculate its purpose within the world or moment itself. I also engage with relativity, to test a Spirit’s presence, assertions and views of the world in order to build its clarity and strength. Life is filled with so many changes and my ultimate hope is to build a wondrous literary sanctuary of integrity for the Romantic Spirit that changes every publication.

I invite readers to enter our labyrinths, engage in speculative craft and discover the mysterious truth within them.

Susan Marshall
Artisan Author, Illustrator, Founder & Publisher, Story Playscapes
5 June, 2026

1. Susan L Marshall (2024): ‘Mind Time’ in Bare Spirit: The Selected Poems of Susan Marshall. Story Playscapes, Melbourne, Australia.
2. ‘Madrigal’ at Brittanica: https://www.britannica.com/art/madrigal-vocal-music
3. Piston, Walter (1970): ‘Counterpoint’. London: Victor Gallancz Ltd.
4. Merriam Webster ‘Fugue’ at: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fugue
5. Susan L. Marshall (2024): Excerpt from ‘Flying Free’ in Bare Spirit: The Selected Poems of Susan Marshall. Story Playscapes, Melbourne, Australia.

For researchers, educators, and curators seeking to cross-reference Soulful Formalism, the style operates as a multidisciplinary methodology within the overarching genre of Contemporary Metaphysical Literature. It bridges the classical and the modern experimental, tracing its core lyricism directly to the epic poetry and tragic drama of Ancient Greece, specifically the brilliant works of Homer, Aeschylus, and Sophocles. This lyrical foundation is harmonised with Aristotelian Metaphysics; the profound paradoxes of the 17th-century Metaphysical Poets; Romanticism and the intricate structures of Renaissance polyphony.

By interweaving these Western traditions with Eastern spatial philosophies like Ma and ki sei, the work actively rejects reader passivity. Instead, it utilises the speculative craft, the Fragmentique technique, Metaphysical Noir et Blanc and studies in Romantic Academia, to treat the physical page as a living architectural sanctuary, positioning the publications within the realms of Metaphysical, Philosophical and Modern Experimental Literature.