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.

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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

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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

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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
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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.

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

Author Guest Post and Giveaway: Girls Like Us by Elizabeth Hazen

 

Good morning everyone. Please join me in welcoming Elizabeth Hazen as she stops by today to chat. There is also a link towards the end of the post to where you can enter to win a copy of her book. But first, here are the details about her latest collection, Girls Like Us….

Book Synopsis:

Girls Like Us is packed with fierce, eloquent, and deeply intelligent poetry focused on female identity and the contradictory personas women are expected to embody. The women in these poems sometimes fear and sometimes knowingly provoke the male gaze. At times, they try to reconcile themselves to the violence that such attentions may bring; at others, they actively defy it. Hazen’s insights into the conflict between desire and wholeness, between self and self-destruction, are harrowing and wise. The predicaments confronted in Girls Like Us are age-old and universal—but in our current era, Hazen’s work has a particular weight, power, and value.

Stanley Park by Sapphira Olson

source: review copy
title: Stanley Park
author: Sapphira Olson  (Twitter)
published: December 23, 2019
genre: poetry

blurb:
Stanley Park is a collection of 35 poems from parables author Sapphira Olson charting the story of two lovers through history as they are separated and then reunited all within the island of Stanley Park in Vancouver.

Olson weaves a beautiful and poignant narrative through a progression of emotional poetry taking the listener on a journey of hope driven by love.

Incorporating poems inspired by Squamish Nation history and legends, the collection explores themes of immortality, love, loss, the nature of consciousness, and culture.

Stanley Park itself is a beautiful 405-hectare public park that borders the downtown of Vancouver in British Columbia, Canada and is mostly surrounded by waters of Burrard Inlet and English Bay. The park has a long history and was one of the first areas to be explored in the city.

“What shall it profit you if you turn the whole world into a gasometer and lose your own souls?” (Thomas H. Mawson about Stanley Park in his 1912 address to the Canadian Club)

my thoughts:

I love reading poetry so when I had a chance to read Stanley Park I happily dove in.
This collection of 35 poems by Sapphira Olson revolves around two lovers who break up and then reunite. I enjoyed dipping in and out of this set of poetry and would go back and re-read a few lines in order to savor them fully. There are themes of nature, old legends and love flowing throughout these poems. The history of  Stanley Park in Vancouver is woven in throughout which was also a nice touch.