A heartfelt, upbeat, but uneven collection of poems.
This debut volume of poetry explores various themes, from personal relationships to religious beliefs.
The poems collected here are arranged in alphabetical order, opening with “Aligned,” which discusses finding a connection with Earth and spirituality, and closing with “Writer’s Block,” about the desire to write when one should be sleeping. The pieces in between ponder all manner of subjects but with a devotion to Christianity at their hearts. “Foundations” underscores the importance of building a life founded in Jesus: “Laying sure foundations, / In Jesus Christ alone, / Building a lively temple for their home.” Some poems—such as “Death, Where Is Thy Sting?”—ponder the wonder of the soul’s ascension into heaven juxtaposed with human frivolity and materialism: “At the end of life, will I ask, ‘Could I have done more?’ / More for whom or what? / For a nicer house? More holidays? Or a car that is fast?” Other pieces address greed and climate change, the pain of divorce, and, in one unexpected diversion, the existence of fairies. Deshon’s poetic voice is a passionate, benevolent one, charged with positivity—as found in “Birthday Message”: “And may the day be yours to share, / Surrounded by those who deeply care, / Filled to the brim with earthly love, / Showered with heavenly blessings from above.” For Christian readers, there is something deeply reassuring in her steadfast belief that all will be well provided that one’s sights are set on “heaven’s open portal.” But the author’s unyielding insistence on rhyming often results in the gravity of her writing being lost: “Ozone layer, global heating, / Men, women, children get a beating.” In such instances, weighty issues become naïve singsongs. This frequently leads to inopportune word choices—for instance, the pains of humankind being reduced to a tizz simply to rhyme with His. The poet’s work is also punctuated by platitudes: “Like a fish needs a bicycle” and “A rolling stone, Gathering no moss.” The result is that despite Deshon’s palpable warmth and beliefs, this volume offers little that is new in terms of exploring humans’ earthly existence and relationship with a higher power.
A heartfelt, upbeat, but uneven collection of poems.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 978-1-6698-8750-8
Page Count: 154
Publisher: XlibrisAU
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Breathtakingly magical.
A powerful homage to the natural world, from England by way of Canada.
Combining poetic words (somewhat reminiscent of Mary Oliver’s poetry in their passion for the natural world) with truly stunning illustrations, this unusually beautiful book brings to readers the magic and wonder of nature. This is not a book about ecology or habitat; this is a book that encourages readers to revel in, and connect with, the natural world. Focusing on a particular subject, whether it be animal, insect, or plant, each poem (rendered in a variety of forms) delivers a “spell” that can be playful, poignant, or entreating. They are most effective when read aloud (as readers are encouraged to do in the introduction). Gorgeous illustrations accompany the words, both as stand-alone double-page spreads and as spot and full-page illustrations. Each remarkable image exhibits a perfect mastery of design, lively line, and watercolor technique while the sophisticated palette of warms and cools both soothes and surprises. This intense interweaving of words and pictures creates a sense of immersion and interaction—and a sense that the natural world is part of us. A glossary encourages readers to find each named species in the illustrations throughout the book––and to go one step further and bring the book outside, to find the actual subjects in nature. Very much in the spirit of the duo’s magisterial The Lost Words (2018), this companion is significantly smaller than its sprawling companion; at just 6.5 by 4.5 inches when closed, it will easily fit into a backpack or generously sized pocket. “Wonder is needed now more than ever,” Macfarlane writes in the introduction, and this book delivers it.
Breathtakingly magical. (Poetry. 6-adult)Pub Date: Oct. 27, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-4870-0779-9
Page Count: 120
Publisher: House of Anansi Press
Review Posted Online: Oct. 23, 2020
An odd but sometimes-moving imagining of the nocturnal thoughts of the presidents of the United States.
A fanciful look at the dreams of U.S. presidents throughout history.
Phillips, a painter and multimedia artist, offers readers a mix of fact and fiction in a book that’s not so much about the inner lives as it is about the sleeping lives of America’s leaders. Working backward from Donald Trump to George Washington (including separate essays for each Grover Cleveland administration), Phillips’ essays imagine each man’s dreams about various subjects, include his childhood, his parents, and sex. Each essay attempts to capture the personality of the president at hand, and some bring in the viewpoints of other people, as in a dialogue between John and Abigail Adams or the musings of Zachary Taylor’s horse, Whitey. The chapter on Gerald Ford has a blank space in lieu of an essay, while Millard Fillmore, who was also not elected to the office of president, gets a full examination. The essays’ focuses aren’t always what one might expect; for example, John F. Kennedy’s essay is about living under the shadow of his father’s ambitions, and Franklin D. Roosevelt’s is about the women in his life. This multimedia coffee-table book is full of the author’s own full-color paintings and illustrations, painted in styles ranging from surreal to abstract, and their effectiveness varies. Mainly, though, this book highlights the challenges of blurring the lines between reality and fantasy. In his quest to enter the presidents’ dreams, Phillips generally gets the history right and does a good job of capturing the essence of many presidential personalities and relationships. However, some of the sexual references can be overly graphic, as can some bodily descriptions, such as one about Cleveland’s testicles. As a result, this book can be unsettling at times. Still, its imaginativeness makes one wonder what the author would have made of the dreams of the current president, who defeated the man who called him “Sleepy Joe.”
An odd but sometimes-moving imagining of the nocturnal thoughts of the presidents of the United States.Pub Date: Feb. 21, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-57-861384-0
Page Count: 215
Publisher: Black Book
Review Posted Online: June 15, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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