Body Parts: A Collection of Poems About Aging

Janet Cameron Hoult

My Take:

Yay yay yay!  Thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you!  I have been so disappointed with poetry lately and I finally found some I enjoyed!  So often do poets take themselves WAAAAY too seriously, and this poet certainly does not.  I am in my early 20s, but I have to say that I found these poems to be hilarious, even though I am obviously not the intended age group.  One of my favorite things about these little ditties is the rhythm.  I am a big believer in not sacrificing rhythm for rhyme.  The following excerpt is a perfect example that you can have the best of both worlds:

What's that, what did you say?
I really haven't got all day.
Just speak up now, have no fear,
Repeat it dear, I couldn't hear.

The 3rd and 4th line especially have just a great flow and rhythm.  I won't go deep into the theory behind stressed and unstressed syllables because it is pretty snooze-tastic for uninterested parties, but let me tell you, this lady really nailed it.  She also borrows a bit from some great poets such as (a personal favorite) Edgar Allen Poe.  I'll tell you that man was whackadoo crazy as can be, but he sure was a genius.  Anyway, if you are familiar with his poem The Bells, you will certainly appreciate The Pills.  Here is an little bit for you:

Oh the

pills, pills, pills

All the never ending pills

Now that we have passed our prime

And we spend a lot of time

Taking

pills, pills, pills, pills.

I highly recommend this book to lovers of humorous poetry, or as a funny gift for over the hill type birthdays.  1, Pay Full Price.  I think it only fitting that I end my review with this lovely little gem of a poem:

Kegels and exercise
Don't do the trick.
So, I'm off to the doctor
To get myself fixed.

A snip and a tug,
A mend of a tear.
My doctor has done it.
She's made a repair!

So tell me a joke
Something funny and rare.
I don't leak anymore
I can laugh without care!

 Do you agree with my review?  Do you think I'm totally off base?  Either way I'd love to hear from you, be sure to leave a comment and tell me how you feel! 

***FTC Disclosure:  This book was provided free of charge in exchange for an honest review.  No other compensation was given, all opinions are my own***

If you are interested in purchasing Body Parts, please consider supporting The Book Buff by purchasing from the following Amazon link, thank you!














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When You Feel & Don't Know How to Say

Estefania Crespo

Whenever you feel trapped without anywhere to escape, take a trip through your mind and make a pit stop on some paper.  The world is a beautiful place if you let it be, even in you darkest moments...

My Take:

As I read through this book, I started to feel that the words would make great lyrics.  I didn't feel that all of the poetry was strong enough to stand on its own, but if you were to add music behind it, the poetry in the book would make meaningful songs.  To my surprise, as I reached the end of the book, I found that in the author bio, it stated that Estafania is a songwriter, which I really think she has a talent for. While overall I did enjoy the book, I was distracted at times by the rhyme stretches that occurred throughout the poems.  In elementary school we think that a poem must rhyme to be a poem, so we do whatever we can to get that clever rhyme in.  As we get older, we learn that meter, beat and rhythm matter more, and sometimes in When You Feel & Don't Know How to Say, the rhythm is sacrificed for rhyme, which is something I really don't like in poetry.  Like I said, I did enjoy the poems for the most part. The work feels very personal and very heartfelt, you are able to get a very real glance into the poet's inner most thoughts and feelings.  Like I've said on other poetry postings, if you are a poetry fan, you'll probably like this, but if you aren't, this book won't be the one to convert you.  3, Find a Used Book Store

Do you agree with my review?  Do you think I'm totally off base?  Either way I'd love to hear from you, be sure to leave a comment and tell me how you feel!

***FTC Disclosure:  This book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review, no other compensation was given***

If you are interested in purchasing When You Feel and Don't know How to Say, please consider supporting The Book Buff by purchasing from the following Amazon link, thank you!

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Poetry in Motion or Speedbumps of Life

Andrew J. Eaton

Andrew J. Eaton has encapsulated life’s ups and downs and, from his soulspeak, created a poetic and beautiful rendering in Poetry in Motion or Speedbumps of Life. This anthology of poetry explores the territories of the human psyche -- love, loss, joy, grief and forgiveness.

Gleaning inspiration from his own personal life lessons, Eaton gets to the core of human emotion -- how pain can be a path toward healing, how losing love can inspire one to love him or herself, how music, works of art, films and everyday happenings can inspire us to take a leap of faith, and how the humanness in others can make us realize how we are all the same -- we want to be loved, listened to, and feel a connection to the world.

My Take:

Poetry in Motion or Speedbumps of Life is some of the better poetry I've read lately.  While the poems that centered around love began to feel a bit cookie cutter from one to the next, I really enjoyed the more individually themed poems.  The more individual poems seemed to be the ones focused on a particular person, such as the author's mom, a lost friend, or a forgotten soldier.  The love poems felt like filler, but there were a few shining stars.  One poem, A Loss Not Forgotten, had particular resonance.  It isn't a life changer by any means, but you know the author really feels the loss he's describing, the following is an excerpt:

A soul mate to one

A mother of three

A small gift from heaven

Given to us all

More than a wife 

More than a mother

More than a sister

Always a friend

We all needed her

But heaven needs her more

Memories of the good times

Will help fill the void

Not seeing her or hearing hr voice

Will always leave us a little empty

Knowing she is with loved ones

Helps heal this unbearable pain

We all share together

We love you and will always miss you

Not Keats or Shelley, but these are simple words with true feeling behind them.  The poetry doesn't feel pretentious to me at all.  Again, the poems with truth and passion behind them stood out amidst the sea of "love is greater than money" "love conquers all" centric pieces.  If you don't particularly enjoy poetry, in all honesty, this compilation will not likely make you a convert.  But if you do enjoy poetry, I rate Poetry in Motion or Speedbumps of Life a 3, Find a Used Book Store.

Do you agree with my review?  Do you think I'm totally off base?  Either way I'd love to hear from you, be sure to leave a comment and tell me how you feel!

Now a few words with the author, Andrew Eaton:

The Book Buff: When did you begin writing?  

Andrew Eaton: About 4 years ago. It was a way of self-therapy

TBB: What inspired you to write Poetry in Motion or Speedbumps of Life?   

AE: Many negative and hardships had entered my life that I was trying to get a grip on.  A birthday card poem lead to another to another and so on.  Blessings came from above in many different forms of expression.

TBB: How did you come up with the title?   

AE: We are all poetry in motion, written by a higher power.  The intent is beautiful, the result is up to us as individuals.  Some embrace the speedbumps of life with grace, as others stumble.

TBB: How much of your work is based in reality?     

AE: All of It.  My exploration into people and music, or life itself to help me understand

TBB: What was the hardest part of writing Poetry in Motion or Speedbumps of Life?    

AE: Having the guts to offer it to others.  Passion is never hard to express, but always to convey to others to enjoy and get something or anything from it.

TBB: What books have most influenced your life most?    

AE: I think Mr. Robert Frost, among others.  He reminded me of the simple things in childhood that meant so much.  The fond memories of my grandparents, and time spent and lost with them.

TBB: Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?     

AE: Use my poetry or others to help understand Life.  I've written a poem from a single word in a song or a person in need to inspire me.  Helpless, only means you have to try harder as you give more to others without it.  Belief is such a powerful word.  Always believe in yourself and your ability to give without asking.  It all comes back in time.  If you bless me, in reading my book, Thank You!  Always

If you are interested in learning more about Andrew Eaton's work, please check out http://www.eloquentbooks.com/PoetryInMotionOrSpeedbumpsOfLife.html

***FTC Disclosure:  This book was provided in exchange for an honest review, no other compensation was given, all opinions are my own***

If you are interested in purchasing Poetry in Motion or Speedbumps of Life, please consider supporting The Book Buff by purchasing from the following Amazon link, thank you!

 

Ponder Awhile

Mohit.K.Misra

WIN SOME LOSE SOME,
a poem from Ponder Awhile

"Trust only in god,

Faithful then comes the dog.

The human is a racist,

Indeed also a sadist.

You seem to enjoy it when I burn,

Why should I show any remorse when it is your turn?

By so many I have been deceived,

Of course I am peeved.

More so at myself,

The other was cause itself.

To love is to respect to trust,

Something so often is unjust

.

Either you think divine,

Or you think like a swine.

You win some, you lose some,

Decide wisely for the outcome."

My Take:

I am an absolute lover of poetry.  I love all kinds, ranging from the semi-nonsensical of Lewis Carroll, to the romance of Shakespeare, and even the macabre work of Edgar Allen Poe.  Now, I am not expecting every piece of poetry I read and review to be absolute genius or groundbreaking, but I think that to classify Ponder Awhile as mediocre would be a stretch.  The poetry really felt like a middle school project for several reasons.  The first reason being the lack of editing.  There were several instances in which the author uses the word "seize" in place of "cease", here is an example:

From The Now

"All your practicalities will seize to exist,

The moment death you seize to resist"

Aside from misuse of words, grammatical errors abound (to, too, etc.).  The second reason was the ever present AABBCCDD rhyme scheme (if you are unfamiliar with rhyme schemes, what this means is the first two lines rhyme together, than the next two rhyme, the next two, on and on, as opposed to ABAB where every other line would rhyme).  While couplets (AABBCCDD) have their place, 50 odd poems chalk full of them was just too much.  This makes it feel very forced and very choppy.  Here is an example taken exactly as it was from the book:

From Shoot the Goal

"Focus between your eyebrows with intense concentration,

Then will come a deadly confrontation.

First implode into the of light,

Then explode to a divine sight.

Your religion and country are part of your ego,

For god, the truth even that one must let go.

Spread knowledge of the Light is what I must,

Soon I will be just dust."

I think it is an amateur belief to feel the need to be so strict with your rhyming.  When you are a child, and are learning about poetry, you think everything has to rhyme and match up perfectly.  This is not the case.  For some great examples of flow and effective use of rhyming, check out some of my favorite poems: Ozymandias by Percy Bysshe Shelley and Shakespeare's sonnets numbers 18 and 116.  It feels as if the author of Ponder Awhile is so bound and determined to have every line rhyme, that he has to twist his words around in weird ways to work in a rhyme, sometimes it doesn't even make sense at all.  Poetry is a way to express your deepest feelings, and as such must feel natural to be effective.  Again, I'm not saying that unless you are Shakespeare, your poetry is crap, but Ponder Awhile just wasn't very good, there's no two ways about it.

Now, I did like a lot of the messages the author was attempting to convey.  He writes about tolerance, love and religion, all worthy of poetic reverence.  The ideas behind the poems are very simple, which I believe to be a very good thing.  One poem in particular I did enjoy:

Drinking tea has become a hobby for me,
It gives me time to pause and think of eternity.
What we have been taught is so full of rot,
Such beauty lies when it is all shot.
Whatever you do try your best,
Unto God leave the rest.

Poetry is extremely subjective.  If you enjoyed the excerpts I shared with you, please check the book out.  Overall I am going to rate this book a 5, Don't Bother.

Do you agree with my review?  Do you think I'm totally off base?  Either way I'd love to hear from  you.  Be sure to leave a comment and tell me how you feel!

If this poetry were to be assigned an MPAA rating, it would likely be rated PG

If you are interested in purchasing Ponder Awhile, please consider supporting The Book Buff by purchasing from the following Amazon link, thank you!