poetry – The Spine View

Garden In a Seed by Nazanin Mirsadeghi

This is a marvelous collection of modern style poems geared toward women. The theme of this collection is centered on emotions. It includes poems of love, loss and happiness and is a great addition to any poetry collection.

I love modern poetry and was surprised at how concise the poems in this book are. The author does not use a lot of unnecessary words or ambiguous language. Since I am not a fan of overly flowery verse or trying to figure out the hidden meaning of a poem I appreciated the author’s brevity. I like when poems get straight to the point and speak directly to the heart. These poems did both for me.

Most of the poems are short, six to eight lines. Though there are a few longer poems, they are the exception and even these are still concise. An example of this is found in one of the shortest poems, almost a haiku, or a modern take on haiku. Though it is short it expresses great sorrow and yearning.

“I would cry the ocean

If it could wash you

back to me”

This poem in particular reminded me of e.e. cummings’s poetry and that is why I chose it. If this type of poetry is appealing to you, you will want to read this collection. In addition, I absolutely loved the beautiful illustrations scattered throughout the book. Loved everything about this collection of poems. Highly recommend it to all poetry lovers, especially women.

I received a free copy in exchange for my honest review.

The Ballad of Lorianna, Ever Brush Away the Sleep, To Winter and other poems by Christopher Laverty

The Ballad of Lorianna by Christopher Laverty is a lovely collection of poetry written in a classical style, which, by the way, I happen to love. Poetry is such a personal thing because each poem is experienced differently by the reader. This collection is exceptional and it spoke to me in the most intimate way.

I read a lot of poetry. I host a daily poetry challenge on Litsy; therefore, I read several poems every day and I am exposed to a variety of styles and poets. Some I like and some I don’t. However, this collection was so good there was not a single poem I did not enjoy reading. I did have favorites and those I read 4 or more times. That’s how I know I love something… when I find myself being drawn back to it over and over again.

In particular, I appreciated that the poet did not make his verse over complex. The musings on life and the impression places and people leave on us shine through in these poems. There are a number of sonnets mixed in with longer and shorter verse. I liked the variety of length and subject. There is a hint of modern among the vintage which was a nice way to mix thing up a bit.

Here is a small taste to tempt you from Two Flowers:

“Two kinds of flowers are in life’s garden sown-

The first are words and deeds that spread a name;

For laurel wreaths and eulogies they’re grown

That blow such blossoms of the mind to fame.”

If you love poetry this is a collection you don’t want to miss. I read the entire collection twice and several poems multiple times and know I will return to often in the future. I received a free copy from the author in exchange for my honest review.

Not Gonna Write Poems by Michael A. Lee

Not Gonna Write Poems is a whimsical and quirky collection of poems written by Michael A. Lee. The author wrote these poems for his daughter. The collection is truly the perfect introduction to poetry that any child will adore!

In this humorous, and down to earth, collection of poems, the subjects include things like: Homework, Slime, Hair, and the Boogey Monster. All subjects that will no doubt appeal to all discerning young readers. All the poems are no more than a page long; therefore, even the most restless child can enjoy these. There are drawings for kids to accompany all the poems too.

One my favorite poems in this collection was The Gator Waiter. I found myself chucking at the idea of an alligator serving guests their food. Another favorite was King of the Castle. In this poem the King finds out he is not truly in charge, imagine that! I could go on, but in short, this is a funny, whimsical collection for children and I thoroughly enjoyed reading them.

Not Gonna Write Poems will appeal to children of all ages, even those over grown children such as myself. I especially recommend this poetry collection for all adults who like to read to their children. I received a free copy from the author in exchange for my honest review.

The Heart’s Necessities by Jane Tyson Clement and Becca Stevens

The Heart’s Necessities, by Jane Tyson Clement and Becca Stevens, is a collection of Clement’s poetry and is interspersed with biographical commentary by Ms. Stevens. The selected poems are centered on the daily observations of life and nature. As such, they are an excellent complement to the biography.

In this lovely collection of poems there is also pictures from the poet’s life as well as images inspired by her work and pictures of Ms. Stevens. Although, the poems themselves is what I truly loved about this book. It was obvious to me from the beginning that Ms. Clement is gifted and her verse covers a wide range of topics from her relationship with her husband (there is a whole section dedicated to poems written for, and about, him) to those about nature.

Some of the poems were more straight forward and some more complex; however, all contained beautiful imagery. One of my favorites was from early in her life. It is titled, “It Was the Simplest Thing” I loved the opening and how it conveyed such longing even though the poems states otherwise. Another poem I enjoyed, and every writer should read, was titled “Writer’s (Abdominal) Cramp”. In a few short verses it told of such frustration with writing and how she had grown “quite ill” with it. I had to smile when I read that one!

It was a real pleasure to read this collection. Before this, I was not familiar with this poet. I am very glad to have been introduced to her work and know I will read more by her in the future. I highly recommend this collection to all lovers of poetry.

I received a free copy in exchange for my honest review.

Ten by Kerriann Curtis

Title: Ten
Author: Kerriann Curtis
Pub Date: 3-Jul-2016
Rating: 4 Stars

Ten by Kerriann Curtis is a short collection of poems centered on life in the modern world. I found this group of poems to be thought provoking, entertaining and sometimes even humorous. Poetry should embrace you and I felt these did. Just like an old fashioned hug, the poems themselves were honest and not pretentious in the least.

The collection was made up of short and mostly straight forward yet thoughtful musings. I would even describe the collection as “what you see, is what you get.” No vague literary references that will have you scratching your head for days. Serious literary persons may not find this to their liking, but I consider myself the average reader that wants to enjoy what she reads… and enjoy I did. I actually read most of the poems twice and a couple three times.

I received a free copy from the author in exchange for my honest review.