"How to Be a Poet"

"How to Be a Poet"
Written by J.M. Farkas
Reviewed by Diana Iozzia

"How to Be a Poet" is the second book written by J.M. Farkas, in the style of black-out, or in this case, white-out poetry. Farkas draws from Ovid's poem, "Ars Amatoria", an epic poem about love.

Farkas uses seven bottles of white correction fluid to mark out about 90 percent of the poem, leaving words out that help make a cohesive poem for herself. Her encompassing poem sets out to teach the reader how to be a poet, using the secluded words to create metaphors and personification.

Personally, this is not a type of poetry that I had delved into before. In reading the pages and thinking how many of Ovid's words had been manipulated, I found myself drawing a dislike for this style of poetry. I think using someone else's poetry in this way is a bit cheap. Although her final poem reads nicely in a style of poetry I would read, I do not like the entire poetry style.

The second half of the book is Ovid's original poem, but Farkas's poem's words typed in a bold font. I personally did not enjoy this section, because I do not enjoy Ovid's poetry. I felt that this book used a certain level of effort that just does not appeal to me. I feel that the creation of this book feels disengenious, taking advantage of the source material.

I would not recommend reading this book. I do not plan to continue reading Farkas's work.

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for reading and reviewing purposes. Thank you to Andrews McMeel Publishing for the opportunity.

"The Boatloads"

“The Boatloads”

Written by Dan Albergotti

Review written by Diana Iozzia

“The Boatloads” is a short collection of modern romantic and religious poetry written by Dan Albergotti, a winner of the A. Poulin, Jr. Poetry Prize. This writer includes allusions to many films, books, myths, classic literature, and more. The symbolism, metaphors, similes, and personifications take inspiration from those sources, creating new and interesting poetic themes. Personally, I do not often read religious poetry, but I felt that this collection was still adult and serious, with topics such as sex, rape, murder, abuse, aging, and more, rather than only fluffy vignettes about angels.

This was a very interesting collection to read, and I look forward to reading more by this writer. I was thoroughly surprised and yet fulfilled. I enjoyed the voice of this author, one of wisdom and candor about life and death. There is a sweet, melodic flow of the verses, leading most poems to sound like a lullaby. I had chosen this book from a little library, and I am glad to have found it.

Here are the poems I enjoyed most. The ones with asterisks beside them are my favorites.

“Vestibule”

“The Chiming of the Hour” *

“Turning Back” *

“What Everything Could Be”

“Song of the Gods”, “Another Song of the Gods”

“Testimony”

“The Eve of Ever After”

“Moon Daughter”

“Song 378” *

“What Else Means Death” *

“Exeunt”

“The Maenads”

“Lessons of the Elements: Earth” *

“Song 437” *

“The Boatloads”

"The Suicide"

“The Suicide”

Written by Amy Tollyfield

Review written by Diana Iozzia

           

            Poetry is always a fickle read for me. At this point in my reading experience, I have concluded that sadder, angrier, and darker poetry can be a fantastic read for me, or something I would like to avoid like the plague. Sometimes, I draw a line straight down the middle.

            With “The Suicide” I found poems I enjoyed, but I also found poems that were just not the right style for me. Some of Tollyfield’s poems are similar to Silvia Plath, whose poems and prose I have always enjoyed. Quite a few of the poems also reminded me of the book, “Girl, Interrupted” as well as Plath’s “The Bell Jar”.

            Amy Tollyfield’s poetry is full of similes, metaphors, and allusions. I do like a great allusion, but some of the mentions seemed necessary only to complete the rhyme couplet, as the typical style is 1212 or 12 32. For example, I thought rhyming “Pocahontas” with “orthodontist” was a bit of a stretch. I remember my younger adolescent years when I used a rhyming dictionary and came up with similar rhymes. To continue, I also enjoyed Tollyfield’s use of different colors to describe actions, emotions, and more.

            I personally felt that the majority of the poems in this collection were not for me. I enjoyed reading the collection, but I do think poetry is very subjective. The poems I enjoyed most are:

“Ask”

“Rosé”

“Big Sea”

“Dice”

“Johanna”

“Tide”

Courtesy of Olympia Publishing, I received a complimentary copy of this book for reading and reviewing purposes.

“You, Me, The Sun, and the Stars”

“You, Me, The Sun, and the Stars”

Written by G.P. Loehr

Review written by Diana Iozzia

            “You, Me, The Sun, and the Stars” is a poetry collection, with many poems centering around love, heartbreak, and faith. This book grants a cute, Southern American charm, if that was intended or not. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, through the perspective of the author. Loehr speaks of many emotions in a very natural and believable way. The reader can imagine the emotional experience he has been through and sympathize, relating in their own ways to their own loves. For instance, I related to quite a few of his poems surrounding long-distance love, because I myself am in a long-distance engagement. I felt very at peace reading Loehr’s books. I can imagine reading this on a nice, wooden porch with a glass of something cold and sweet.

            To continue, I enjoyed that many of Loehr’s poems have similar themes. Certain colors, days, times, and themes of nature are present throughout the book. The most noticeable recurring theme is the one of nature: the sun, the moon, the stars, the universe, day, night. I understand why he has titled the book after these. I often enjoy a theme in a poetry book’s organization. They feel more cohesive and as if you are experiencing the journey with the poet.

            I enjoyed many poems of his. I would like to share the titles with you:

“Tomorrow, We’ll Be Together”                           “These Summer Nights”

“The Foxtrot”                                                           “A Dream That You Inspired”

“Sunburst”                                                                “Shooting Stars”

“Atlas”                                                                       “Lullabies”

“Cycles”                                                                     “The Summer Rains”

            “Foxtrot” was my absolute favorite.

Courtesy of Olympia Publishing, I received a complimentary copy of this book for reading and reviewing purposes.

"I Wrote"

“I Wrote”

Written by Alice Bogen

Review written by Diana Iozzia

 The experience of reading “I Wrote” was absolutely wonderful. “I Wrote” was written by a seventeen-year-old poet. Jeez. Way to make the rest of us look unaccomplished! Alice Bogen’s poetry reflects a certain wisdom she has learned so far. Her writing also reflects a deep maturity and understand of her experience in the world. Her poetry is a large mix of different emotions, tales, and times in her life.

Her poems can be a bit sad or startling, but they have a genuine hope to them, which I find refreshing. There are many beautiful metaphors to nature, but they come across very realistic. Often, we find metaphors that just have sprinkles of random things thrown in. People are turtles, in the slow movements they make. He was the ocean after a storm. It can be a bit like Mad Libs, sometimes. However, Alice’s metaphors, similes, and other comparisons are very simplistic and believable.

To continue, an interesting technique that Bogen has implemented into her book is using general abstract themes or emotions like bravery, fame, happiness, youth, beauty and more. She creates original poems that are more than just their titles with a spin.

I enjoyed a multitude of poems in this book. They are:

 “I Wrote”                              “Happiness”                          “They”           

“Last May”                           “Youth”                                  “Beauty”

“Bravery”                              “Last Huge Breath”            “Life Shall Be Lived”

“Sacrifice”                             “Seen”                                    “The World is Not Enough”

“To Her”                                “Wings”                                 “To Leo”

“Acceptance”                        “Ears Don’t Lie”                  “Lion”

“Brother”                               “To M 2”                                “Goodbye”

“Consequences”                   “Sinners”                               “The Devil”

Courtesy of Olympia Publishing, I received a complimentary copy of this book for reading and reviewing purposes.