Although the price is rather steep, even for a textbook, this isn’t a book you can just read through, put back on the shelf and forget. For those that want an insight, both as reader, and perhaps more valuably, as writer, into the techniques of poetry in general, and those specific to the giants of poetry that make up the ultra-influential modernist movement, this is a book that can be returned to regularly. It is well structured, well researched, clearly written, and full of innovative insights.
Category: Non fiction reviews
A review of Everything I Never Wanted to Be by Dina Kucera
As with fiction, it’s all about voice: the fairy dust that brings words to life, gives them a heartbeat. Dina has a voice many authors would cheerfully give a limb for, and what’s truly amazing is I don’t think she has any idea she possesses such a gift.
A review of Brainstorm: Harnessing the Power of Productive Obsessions By Eric and Ann Maisel
This is no trivial message. It’s at the heart of a purposeful life, and in a world where nearly all of the media messages that are being bombarded at us are focused on the opposite – consume, scan, move fast from one interest to the next, and live life lightly, this is critically, utterly important. This is a book that should be read by everyone who wants to live their life in a way that is vital and leaves some kind of legacy.
A review of Classic Pin-up Art of Jack Cole edited by Alex Chun
In essence, these are single panel cartoons, beautifully composed and drawn as you would expect, accompanied by a gag or punchline. They are pleasing to look at and vaguely amusing, to be sure, but there is none of the surreal, chaotic, rollercoaster quality to be found in Cole’s comic book art.
A review of A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook by Bob Stahl and Elisha Goldstein
As the title suggests, this is a very practical and application oriented book. It comes with an MP3 CD with guided meditations that follow the written ones in the book. These meditations are softly and clearly spoken by the Stahl, and are designed to address a range of situations. They are deeply relaxing and can, in particular, help with high-stress situations where the mind won’t stop racing.
A review of The Hundred-Foot Journey by Richard C Morais
Morais keeps the plot both basic—a young man’s journey to become a top French chef—and elegant, as the book’s three main locations (Mumbai, London, and Paris) add a touch of the exotic. Hassan tells us about himself more through his experiences in the kitchen than anywhere else. He lives, he loves, he mourns the losses of his parents and mentors, but his greatest love is his kitchen.
A review of I’m Not Broken: I’m Just Different by Linda Brooks
Above all this book is the story of a journey – both for Bronson, and perhaps more powerfully, his mother, and their transition from disabled victims trying to get by, to super-abled victors changing the system and creating art and meaning in ways that open doors for others.
A review of The Well-Fed Writer: Financial Self-Sufficiency as a Commercial Freelancer in Six Months or Less by Peter Bowerman
The book is pitched in such a way that it can be used by those who are just starting out, people who will want to follow it’s step-by-step approach from cover to cover, or those more experienced, who can gain ideas and inspiration from what is working well for Bowerman and his colleagues.
A review of On the Smell of An Oily Rag by Ouyang Yu
Ouyang Yu is a poet who works the gap between languages, looking closely at our linguistic assumptions, etymologies, and correspondences. His latest book is a nonfiction created in a pen-notes style (biji xiashuo) inspired by ancient Chinese fiction.
A review of Just Kids by Patti Smith
The book is written simply, with a tender humility that shines the light on Mapplethorpe and other tragic geniuses of that era, tracing their guiding hunger, their successes, and ultimate failures. The book isn’t sad though—it’s transcendent. Smith is the survivor, her story extending well beyond the pages of the book.