The New Book Review

This blog, #TheNewBookReview, is "new" because it eschews #bookbigotry. It lets readers, reviewers, authors, and publishers expand the exposure of their favorite reviews, FREE. Info for submissions is in the "Send Me Your Fav Book Review" circle icon in the right column below. Find resources to help your career using the mini search engine below. #TheNewBookReview is a multi-award-winning blog including a MastersInEnglish.org recommendation.

Showing posts with label Poetry: Earth Day. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Poetry: Earth Day. Show all posts

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Poet J. R. McRae Urges Celebration of Earth Day with Poetry

Sublime Planet: Celebrating Earth Day and the Universe
By Carolyn Howard-Johnson and Magdalena Ball
ISBN 9781482054705
Publisher: Compulsive Reader
Available as paperback or for e-readers on Amazon
"I recommend Sublime Planet particularly to those individuals who reside on this planet." ~ Suzanne Lummis, UCLA poetry instructor

Reviewed by J. R. McRae



SUBLIME PLANET,  includes a section called Sacred Lessons, Poems by Carolyn Howard-Johnson and one called Tipping Point with poems by Magdalena Ball .

Two very different poets, very different styles of writing, have produced a collection united by their passion for environment, for the world that touches their skin and imbues them with its presence with every breath they take.

This collection, is their tribute to their world, both physical and mental, our world.

It is replete with flashes of insight,

forcing myself to see
all these stories
left to grow
viral in rubbish

[from Toxic by Magdalena]

memorable lines that linger in the soul.

 
Writing in my sleep, metaphors that sit on the bridge
of my nose.


[from My Favorite Things by Carolyn]

The collection is sprinkled liberally with stunning images that catch and hold the eye –

Van Gogh brushed sea
marked with freighters,
lights twinkling.

smudged parentheses afar,
looming presences up close.

[From Malacca Strait by Carolyn]

grain of sand in your speculation oyster
truth taken for granted

[From Walking Into Eternity by Magdalena]

Acerbic or more subtly needling, comments, hit home –

Forgotten history meets trashtree

another landfill specimen
pink, fragrant, invasive
easing pangs

you wear like designer clothes.

[From Trashtree by Magdalena]

 

He unaware
he is endangered,
I unaware he might
be dangerous.

[From The Giraffe by Carolyn]

 
This is a collection to be savoured in quiet moments, in those reflective times with wine or coffee in a comfy couch.

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ABOUT THE REVIEWER
J.R.McRae once worked in a circus, as a Rare-Books Librarian, as a book-reviewer, as assessment package writer and Associate Lecturer, English Expression, for international postgraduates, University of Queensland. Her short stories and award winning poetry are in anthologies and journals, like Basics of Life, 100 Stories for Queensland, Stories for Sendai, The Spirit of Poe, Trust and Treachery, Poe-it, Quadrant, Long and Winding Road, Bound by the Secrets We Hide, Antipodes, Social Alternatives. Her Artwork/photography features in Ripples, ABC Pool, The Mozzie and Vine Leaves. As awarded children’s/education writer, J.R.Poulter, she has thirteen books, eleven digital and more coming 2013/14/15. Websites: http://www.jrmcrae_subversive.weebly.com, 


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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.

Monday, August 12, 2013

Midwest Book Review Celebrates the Environment

 
 
Sublime Planet
Celebrating Earth Day and the Universe
Magdalena Ball & Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Cover Photography  by Ann Howley
Genre: Poetry/Environment
CreateSpace, www.createspace.com
ISBN Paperback: 9781482054705 $12.95
Kindle www.amazon.com $4.95
 
Reviewed by John Burroughs, originally for  Burroughs' Bookshelf on Midwest Review
 
Award-winning poets Carolyn Howard-Johnson and Magdalena Ball present Sublime Planet, a poetry compilation with a strong ecological theme. Some of the free-verse poems have been previously published in a variety of print and online journals; now they are gathered into a single volume to celebrate Earth Day, and promote environmental awareness. Lucid and erudite, Sublime Planet succinctly reminds one that the body that it is part of a much greater ecosystem, and stirs the soul with its call to the duty of stewardship.
 
"The Giraffe"
 
A tongue generous
as my head he reaches
for me, barriers no match
for his long neck, sniffs
my hair, kisses my face.
He is unaware
he is endangered,
I unaware he might
be dangerous.
 
MORE ON MIDWEST REVIEW
 
Reviewer's Bookwatch
James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
278 Orchard Drive, Oregon, WI 53575
http://www.midwestbookreview.com
Submit queries for reviews at mwbookrevw@aol.com
as they are published and become available to the reading public.
Learn of more review opportunities at http://howtodoitfrugally.com/reviewers.htm including review-friendly sites like Midwest.
 
 
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The New Book Review is blogged by Carolyn Howard-Johnson, author of the multi award-winning HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers. It is a free service offered to those who want to encourage the reading of books they love. That includes authors who want to share their favorite reviews, reviewers who'd like to see their reviews get more exposure, and readers who want to shout out praise of books they've read. Please see submission guidelines on the left of this page. Reviews and essays are indexed by genre, reviewer names, and review sites. Writers will find the search engine handy for gleaning the names of small publishers. Find other writer-related blogs at Sharing with Writers and The Frugal, Smart and Tuned-In Editor.