Your Words Your World by Louise Bélanger

source: review copy via Poetic Book Tours
title: Your Words Your World
author: Louise Bélanger
genre: poetry
published: July 2, 2021
pages: 99


About:

Poetry For Your Soul – Stunning Photographs
Zoom to Heaven
The most beautiful love poem
Where God is not there
Promises…
A handful of cloud
Clowns…
During the night

These are some of the titles of the poetry you will read in this beautiful, inspiring collection complemented by captivating nature photographs.

Read poems about God and having a relationship with Him. Poems about trust, missing a loved one, childhood memories, Christmas, Heaven, Easter…

Other poems are lovely stories, the length of a page.
The poetry is easy to understand. It is for everyone whether poetry is your genre or not, you will enjoy it.

Advance Praise:

There are a number of 5-star reviews on Amazon, including this one: “Your Words, Your World is a beautiful collection of poetry, photographs, and story poems about God and the world He created, and the second book of poems by Louise Bélanger. It helps the reader look at the world in a new way. Among my favorite poems is Ordinary, about how God can take something ordinary, like a star or a body of water, and make it do extraordinary things. I also loved Dust, which reminds us that God created us all from something we don’t really like–dust. A War Erupted paints a beautiful and tumultuous picture of a thunderstorm. The Contest is a thought-provoking story poem about a conversation between flowers. Zoom to Heaven is probably my favorite of all, as it talks about what it would be like to have a Zoom conversation with a loved one in Heaven. Your Words, Your World takes a unique look at God and the world He created, and it makes me appreciate Him and this world all the more.” – BonnieD


++++++++++++++++++

My thoughts:
Your Words Your World by Louise Bélanger is a lovely collection of poetry and the author’s photography. The poems are mainly about God and how everything He created like the clouds, fire, the ocean and the flowers are extraordinary if you stop to think about it. These inspirational and spiritual poems are also about living your life with intent and having faith in pursuing your dreams. I’m a big believer in living with intent so this theme resonates with me. The pretty nature photography throughout adds a nice touch as you read the collection. I recommend this one if you enjoy spiritual poetry about everyday life.

One of my favorites in the collection is titled “I Want”
I want…
Creativity
To explode on the page

Stories and images
Invading my head

To crack open my heart
So it flows from the page

++++++++++++++++++++++++

“God lifts the veil”

Life can be so difficult
Keep planting, in faith
It always produces a good harvest
Whether you see it or not

++++++++++++++++++


About the Poet:

Louise Bélanger is a Canadian poet and the author of Your Words Your World and Your Words. Both books are beautiful, inspiring, and spiritual poems complemented by nature photographs. She started writing poetry in the spring of 2020. She poured her emotions onto paper, describing beautiful scenery and stories that came to life. With encouragement and help from friends, her dream came true. She loves photography and music, is an avid reader, and loves movies. Visit her website.

Available at Amazon.

Blog Tour Schedule:

Dec. 3: the bookworm (Review)

Dec. 6: The Book Connection (Review)

Dec. 15: Review Tales by Jeyran Main (Guest Post)

Jan. 5: Wall-to-Wall Books (Review)

Jan. 11: Just A Bookish Blog (Review)

Jan. 18: Christian Bookaholic (Review)

Jan. 19: Author Anthony Avina Blog (Guest Post)

Jan. 25: Author Anthony Avina Blog (Review)

Feb. 8: The Mary Reader and Instagram (Review)

Feb. 10: Savvy Verse & Wit (Interview)

Follow the blog tour with the hashtags #yourwordsyourworld #LouiseBélanger #poetrycommunity

Click here for the main tour page.

Special thanks to Serena at Poetic Book Tours — Where Readers Come to Poetry
@PoeticBookTours
Poetic Book Tours on Facebook

Disclaimer: This review is my honest opinion. I did not receive any kind of compensation for reading and reviewing this book. My copy of Your Words Your World came via Poetic Book Tours
.

Book Spotlight: Any Dumb Animal by A.E. Hines

Good morning all. I hope you are enjoying these summer months and reading good books. Today I am spotlighting a poetry book called Any Dumb Animal by A.E. Hines.

With every pre-sale purchase of Any Dumb Animal by A.E. Hines between June and November 2021, a group of anonymous donors will match dollar for dollar each sale and donate it to The Trevor Project.

The Trevor Project was founded in 1998 and is the leading national organization providing crisis intervention and suicide prevention services to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning (LGBTQ) young people under 25.

The publisher also is offering a limited time advanced sale price of $8.50 + shipping. Order here: https://mainstreetragbookstore.com/product/any-dumb-animal-ae-hines/

About the book:
Any Dumb Animal (Main Street Rag, 2021), the debut poetry collection by AE Hines, presents a memoir-in-verse as told by a gay man raised in the rural South who comes of age during the AIDS crisis. Flashing back and forth in time, a cast of recurring characters and circumstances are woven into a rich tale of survival and redemption, exploring one man’s life as a queer son, father, and husband, over a span of more than thirty years.



Advance Praise:
“This compellingly candid work speaks the language of courage, of breath-taking transcendence. Finely crafted, it is a remarkable debut collection. Take note, world: a powerful lyric poet has emerged. Take note and rejoice!” ~ Paulann Petersen, Oregon Poet Laureate Emerita

“I was amazed over and over at the bravery of these poems, never shying from the difficult moments in life, and all the while staying true to the clear-eyed, fearless vision of their author.” ~ James Crews, Editor of How to Love the World: Poems of Gratitude and Hope

“With a strong gift for storytelling and an eye attuned to detail, Hines ultimately shows us the beauty and knowledge made of experience.” ~Richie Hofmann, Author of Second Empire



About the Author:
AE Hines (he/him) grew up in rural North Carolina and currently resides in Portland, Oregon. His poetry has been widely published in anthologies and literary journals including I-70 Review, Sycamore Review, Tar River Poetry, Potomac Review, Atlanta Review, Crosswinds Poetry Journal and Crab Creek Review. He is winner of the Red Wheelbarrow Prize and has been a finalist for the Montreal International Poetry Prize. He is currently pursuing his MFA in Writing at Pacific University. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram.

Visit Poetic Book Tours for details on the blog tour.

• 

Impermanence by Ren Powell

source: free review copy via Poetic Book Tours
title: Impermanence
author: Ren Powell
published: 2021
pages: 60
genre: poetry

blurb:

We are the stories, and our bodies books…

This project began with meditation on the idea of impermanence. And with this image, with the body-as-story slowly losing shape. With our narratives falling apart, becoming loose elements that can/will be rearranged in another story. Which is what history is, after all.

The bust was made of plaster and paper mache and was photographed in various locations in the Jæren landscape of Norway. It was supposed to break up slowly in the waterfall during filming. However, it was taken by the current and slipped under an old mill house – trapped by the torrent of water, the wooden beams, and the rocks.

But, well, this is what happens when we try to plan our stories. Isn’t it?

my thoughts:
Impermanence by Ren Powell is a collection of poems about life and self reflection and the way that all things are connected. There is something relaxing about reading poetry. I dove in and out of this book for about a week reading a few poems at a time.

“nothing is ever
and for-ever is enough”-Impermanence by Ren Powell

There are different images throughout the book to go along with the poetry. Also throughout are photographs of a plaster bust in different locations such as the forest and I found this to be an interesting touch. I’ve seen hard copies of this one online and it looks like a beautiful book for any poetry lover’s collection. I found this a great read for National Poetry Month and I enjoyed it very much.

“What if there is music here
among the microbes
and what if they’ve carved sagas-
illegible ridges on your skin

What if one day you will be close enough
kin enough
to understanding.”-Impermanence by Ren Powell

Special thanks to Poetic Book Tours for my copy of Impermanence.

• 

The book is available at Mad Orphan Lit and Blurb.

Blog Tour Schedule:

April 20: The Book Lover’s Boudoir (Review)
April 28: the bookworm (Review)
May 12: Review Tales by Jeyran Main (Guest Post)
May 25: Soapy Violinist (Review)
June 8: Diary of an Eccentric (Guest Post)
June 10: Wall-to-Wall Books (Review)
June 18: Necromancy Never Pays (Review)
July 6: Book Connection (Review)

Follow the blog tour with the hashtag #Impermanence #RenPowell

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Disclaimer: This review is my honest opinion. I did not receive any kind of compensation for reading and reviewing this book. I am under no obligation to write a positive review. I received a free copy of Impermanence by Ren Powell via Poetic Book Tours.

Garden in a Seed by Nazanin Mirsadeghi

• 

source: free copy via Bahar Books
title: Garden in a Seed
author : Nazanin Mirsadeghi
published: Bahar Books (March 28, 2021)
genre: poetry
pages: 132
rated: beautiful

About:
GARDEN IN A SEED is a collection of modern poems touching on the subjects of self-worth, love, loss, and survival. The poems in this collection reflect the emotional struggles of women, especially when it comes to discovering their true and authentic voices. These short poems shed light on the enormous strengths hidden in the human soul. They remind us that despite experiencing despair and sorrow, we are all capable of healing.

My thoughts:
Right in time for National Poetry Month today I’d like to share my thoughts on a lovely set of poems I have recently read. Garden in a Seed is a beautiful collection of poems focusing on themes of love, heartache, bravery, hope and personal strength.
I dove in and out of this book over the course of a week and took the time to savor the words.

The poems are split into four sections: sprout, hail, nurture, endure and bloom. I really liked the section entitled “nurture”. This is one of my favorite poems in the collection:
“You kiss the fine lines
the universe has drawn
on my forehead
around my eyes
at the corners of my lips

you touch the ugly marks
life has left all over my skin

and you gently lift the sorrows
from my heart
with your soothing words
p 64. Garden in a Seed by Nazanin Mirsadeghi

The poems in this collection are not too long, some just a few lines full of emotion. I enjoyed reading these very much and I recommend this one if you are a poetry lover as well.

This is another favorite:
“you show up in waves
sudden and loud
crashing through
the serenity of my shore

always leaving with pieces of me
always leaving me pieces of you”
p.98, Garden in a Seed by Nazanin Mirsadeghi

Special thanks to Bahar Books for my complimentary copy of Garden in a Seed by Nazanin Mirsadegh.





About the author:
Nazanin Mirsadeghi is a Persian-American writer and translator. She has authored more than 20 books most of them being Persian language workbooks and children’s stories. She also has two poetry collections titled: “A Jarful of Moonlight” and “Garden in a Seed”. She lives in New York. You can find her on Instagram @nazanin.mirsadeghi – quoted from Amazon
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Disclaimer: This review is my honest opinion. I did not receive any kind of compensation for reading and reviewing this book. I am under no obligation to write a positive review. I received a copy of Garden in a Seed by Nazanin Mirsadeghi via the publisher . Some of the links in the post are affiliate links. If you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive a small affiliate commission. The book photo is my own.

Serena’s Poetry Challenge July 2020: If You Should Go by Countee Cullen

As part of Serena’s Poetry Reading Challenge I will be sharing the poem I enjoyed the most that month on the last Tuesday of each month.

One of the easiest, and possibly most difficult, will be getting people to sign up to read a poem-a-day through the Academy of American Poets Poem-a-Day service. The challenge is to read a poem-a-day for a week once per month and write about which poems were your favorite and why. You can write up a short blurb on your Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram, or your blog. I’d love for you to share your experience in the comments each month.

I took this poetry challenge on for 2020 and have been reading a poem a day in my emails. So far this year I have only shared one poem here on my blog due to everything going on but I’m hoping to begin posting a poem on the last Tuesday of each like I initially planned to. The poem I enjoyed most lately was one that I read in June called If You Should Go by Countee Cullen.

This was my first time reading this poet and I enjoyed the melancholy feel to it. It is a short and bittersweet poem. I especially like these lines…“Go quietly; a dream …When done, should leave no trace”.  What do you think?

If You Should Go by Countee Cullen
Love, leave me like the light,
The gently passing day;
We would not know, but for the night,
When it has slipped away.

So many hopes have fled,
Have left me but the name
Of what they were. When love is dead,
Go thou, beloved, the same.

Go quietly; a dream
When done, should leave no trace
That it has lived, except a gleam
Across the dreamer’s face.

You can read the poem here at Poets.org.

You can sign up for a Poem A Day over by clicking here.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Nothing in this post is available for download. The photo is my own.