#BookReviews – Poetry

Published on by balroop singh
Love for poetry

For me, ‘Celebrating Poetry’ is a book of life lessons. It inspires you to be wiser, walk away from things that don’t feel right, trust yourself and never look back. Each poem exhorts you to listen to your heart, embrace life as it comes, as “it comes in waves.” The metaphor of “waves” speaks volumes about life. Georgakas borrows many such images from Mother Nature to elucidate the realities of life. It is a marvel how she has compressed the philosophy of life into a few pages of this book.

A combination of blank verse and poetic prose, the tone of her poetry is gentle; her style is conversational, without any embellishments though there are some clichés. It explores various avenues of life and provides an inspiration to “dance through life.” Her positivity shimmers through her words – ”light is always behind the dark cloud.”

It is remarkable that each phrase is complete in itself yet loaded with the wisdom of the world. Look at these lines that made me pause and reflect at the brevity of Georgakas’ style:

“Stay grounded in self.”
“Caves open to inner jewels.”
“Tears flow back to the ocean.”
“We all come from the same seed of light, no matter how dark the night.”

If you want to understand yourself and how life unfolds, this is the book for you.

‘Too Much Fun to Be Legal’ exemplifies that there is no better way to embrace aging than poking fun at your own diminishing abilities and converting them into fun poems. Leonhard and Fox’s creativity coruscates throughout this collaboration. They have knitted all their pains and complaints into the yarn of delightful words to create exquisite poetry.  

I could relate to ‘I’m No Poetry Groupie.’ I also like to “hit bad poems on the head with a shovel and bury them in the backyard” but I could never put this thought into such a brilliant phrase. There are many such verses that would bring a smile on your face.

‘My Wacky Friend, Grief’ who sits “in the attic” or “in the breakfast nook” and never goes away is an outstanding poem that touched my heart. A similar strain runs through ‘No Words.’

‘Too Much Snow’ plays with seasons in a charming manner, as “vain spring” is pushed away by “big sister summer.” ‘Unconditional Love’ is hilarious!

Glowing with humor, wisdom and gratitude, these poems present a positive way of looking at life. I must say that everyone must read this book.

I stumbled across this book when I was browsing poetry books and I am glad I decided to read it. True to its name, ‘Rise: Poetry for Lovers and Thinkers’ leaves a profound impact on poetry lovers and exhorts you to introspect. ‘Rise’ is an eloquent symbol that conveys a significant message to humanity.

Thomas’ poetry is drawn with various colors on the canvas that becomes bigger and wider as you keep tapping on the pages. He writes with truth and compassion in his heart and keeps it objective. Some unique imagery has been used to highlight racism and discrimination.

Written in blank verse, this book is divided into five sections, and the mood of the poems changes as their span expands from softer themes to somber ones. ‘A Poetry Love Affair’ beautifully describes the emotional effect that reading poetry produces on the poet. Passionate love, love for music, doubts, regret, lost love to everlasting love – all find a place in this book. Dripping with realism, ‘Love Lullaby’ inspires you to accept the loss and honor the memories of your loved ones.

The poems in the second section Inspire you to know your worth, “to fire yourself,” to celebrate the change. They emphasize that darkness dissipates if we try to change our attitude.

Some of my favorite poems are the ones that express love for Mother Nature – her symphony and visual delight that soothes us. ‘Head in the Clouds’ and ‘Red Rock Heaven’ transport you nearer to the magic of nature. ‘Babbling Brook’ is a superb delight for the senses. I could hear all the sounds through the words. The poems in this section are more rhythmic.

The Philosophical and Social section cries out for equality, harmony and world peace. In a powerful tone, the poet makes a passionate appeal for a world free from injustice, bias and hatred. “The color of our epidermis is only a fraction of our makeup” is a wonderful way to say “look within” to understand human beings. ‘If I Were a Woman’ is a touching tribute to womanhood. An easy and quick read, I would highly recommend this book to all book lovers.

Thank you. Happy reading!
Balroop Singh.
Here is the Amazon link for my new poetry book.

For more poetry, hang out with  Hues Of Hope 

33 thoughts on “#BookReviews – Poetry”

  1. I loved Cindy’s book for all the same reasons. The poems are indeed life lessons. The other two look good as well. Thanks, Balroop.

  3. Balroop, congratulations on your new book! 😄

    Thank you for the lovely reviews of these three intriguing books. Cindy’s book is beautiful and encouraging. Reading it lifted my spirits when I was recovering from surgery. ❤️

    1. Thank you for coming over to share your thoughts Cheryl, much appreciated. I am glad you enjoyed reading Cindy’s poetry. Yes, it is uplifting. 🤗

  7. Hi Balroop!
    Thank you so much for your wonderful review and words that put a smile on my face and satisfaction in my heart. I’m so very grateful for your ability to convey not only my book but all 3 of these lovely books. You truly have a way with words and are so good at extrapolating meaning from each book so well. I really appreciate you sharing the poems that spoke to you and the symbolism drawn about poetry. I too loved Barbara and Nolcha’s review and It’s fun way to share their work with so much humor and wisdom.
    And always wonderful to find new books to add to my TBR collection.

    I’m beaming with gratitude!
    🙏 ❤️🙏💓

    1. Thank you for your kind words Cindy. I am glad that I have put a smile on your face with my review of Celebrating Poetry. The name pulled me in the moment I saw your book. It contains meaningful poems. 🥰

      1. You are so very welcome, Balroop! It sure did at and so timely waiting for my mom to come out of surgery. I’m truly honored for your beautiful review! Thanks again!
        ❤️

  9. Thanks for the reviews, Balroop. I read Cindy’s collection and thought your review was spot on. Thanks for the introduction to “Too Much Fun to be Legal” and “Rise.” They sound like excellent reads. The cover to “Too Much Fun…” is “too much” for me, but it sounds like the poetry is wonderful. Congrats to all the authors!

    1. I’m sure you are going to enjoy ‘Too Much… ‘ Diana. Some of the poems are hilarious.

      All these books are too good. Thank you for coming over to support, dear friend.

  10. More wonderful reviews and shares, Balroop. That third book sounds more relevant than ever before. I have just started Alex’s book featured in one of your reviews post. I’ll be adding these to my TBR as well! Thanks for sharing your recommendations.

    1. Yes, Lisa, ‘Rise’… is powerful poetry, a reminder that we need to be mindful of what is going around us despite the so called freedom.
      Thanks for sharing your thoughts dear friend. Happy reading.

  11. Great reviews, Balroop! I have Cindy’s on my Kindle and you remind me I need to read it xo

  12. A wonderful review, Balroop ~ your poetry, as well as your thoughts on the above are reason why I get inspired by such artists. From the poems you share, and as you explain here, poetry “exhorts you to listen to your heart, embrace life as it comes, as “it comes in waves.”” In the end, we become more creative and better through such lyrical wisdom. Thank you.

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