Title: Walking Through Illusion
by Betsy Otter Thompson
http://www.betsythompson.com
Nonfiction: Spirituality
Originally reviewed by Jeff Maziarek for Amazon.
Five Star Review
Walking Thorough Illusion features a group of short stories about people in the Bible who had some association or awareness of Jesus. As a person who is not in any way drawn to conventional religion, I was at first skeptical regarding any value this book might bring to me. However, since it was recommended to me I decided to keep an open mind as I began reading it.
It took just a couple of chapters for me to get really drawn into this work. The author very creatively sets up each chapter (or story) as a fictional conversation between herself and Jesus about a particular topic, (e.g., obstacles, morality, approval, curiosity, death, time), but the content is by no means dogmatic in any way. I must admit I was very impressed the way in which the author was able to effectively distill the essence of the teachings of Jesus in a very practical, non-religious manner. In summary, I found this book to be very well-written, and both inventive and highly thought-provoking. I highly recommend it as a spiritual and personal growth resource. Here's one of my favorite passages from it:
"I believe that God is a power within - not a power that is only met upon death. If that's true, it simplifies things, don't you think? No more dialogues about whose God is valid and whose God is not since every soul is equally valid. No more wars in the name of God since God is you, me, and everyone. No more posturing that God told me to do this and God told me to say that since God isn't separate from the speaker. No more worries about taking the name of God in vain since you might as well be cursing yourself. No more religions claiming that they have the one true path, since every path that offers a person love is the path of true redemption. No more guilt for breaking God's rules since the rules we have are the ones we've given ourselves."
About the author:
Betsy Otter Thompson may be found at http://www.facebook.com/people/Betsy-Otter-Thompson/1026372698 and http://linkedin.com/pub/betsy-otter-thompson/23/549/a9b . She blogs at http://www.betsyotterthompson.blogspot.com and tweets at
http://www.twitter.com/betsyothompson.
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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. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :
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.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
A Salute to Spanish Poetry
John Howard Reid, Translator & Compiler
http://www.authorsden.com/johnhowardreid
ISBN: 978-0-557-26943-3
Originally reviewed by Joyce White for Amazon
I am enthralled at the discipline it must take to accurately and responsibly translate into English over 100 poems from Spain and Latin America. I imagine what we most want from such a translation is intelligence and honesty, sympathetically if possible, but accurately, too. To do this as eloquently as John Howard Reid does, I imagine it took a great love for the people, country and the arts.
The first Spanish author that caught my eye in Reid’s handy Index in the back of his book was Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1347-1616). He was the famed author of the popular Don Quixote as well as author of one of my favorite poems in this work, the Gypsy: When Preciosa beats her tambourine and her sweet music wounds the empty air, those are pearls that drop from her hands, flowers that float from her mouth…Her eyes are two suns with which she blinds yet sends light…Thus Love maintains his empire and thinks himself capable of performing even greater marvels.
Preciosa sounds very much like many artful compositions previously based on Greek mythology depicting tambourine-playing nymphs, maybe she is kin to Botticelli’s Venus or Picasso’s “Girl Playing the Tambourine.” Preciosa in Spanish means “to say that you are precious or beautiful.” It seems like Reid is on the same page as Cervantes when it comes to loving women, Greek Mythology, impressionism and poetry. The result is a scintillating look at how the forces of seduction and music can enrich and complicate life.
I also enjoyed the translation from the Spanish of Ruben Dario, in Ricardo Calvo’s poem, about Cervantes:
Worried and over-brimming with sorrow, I spend my hours of solitude in a dark and dismal mood, with the faithful Cervantes to sweeten my bitter moments and rest my aching head…An over-generous and loving Christian, Cervantes speaks with the clean, clear, burnished wisdom of a saint, that’s why I admire and love him…Thus the whole world rejoices in the immortal sadness of being divine.
So many of Reid’s words and images were like messages from the heart and would make a perfect gift for someone you love and a great learning tool for Spanish young people learning English.
I also enjoyed the poet and linguist, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s work, Charms of Little Women. (1807-1882)
I liked the lines…
If I was speaking in just, I’d say little women were as cold as snow and burn like fire. I’ll explain: They seem cold to all and sundry, but burn hot when they’re in love. In the bed of recreation, they are eager, jovial, pleasant and cheerful…In the house they’re wise and witty, yet helpful and docile. There’s much more to discover so pay attention here.
Longfellow once described men as dogs and women as cats. I wonder how he would describe the genders now in this day and age.
Another favorite poem of mine in this work, is In No Remedies for Love, where Reid translated from the Spanish of Francisco de Medrano, who was speaking to Amarili or better known as the Amaryllis; (flowering bulb) popularly given on Valentine’s Day to show one’s love:
He who believes that absence breeds oblivion has never loitered in the courts of love; for if he truly loved, what absence – even Death – could ever erase his thoughts, his memories, his hopes of love?...
And, my favorite lines…
Love makes a wound so deep, it reaches right into the soul! And it was your arrow, Amarili, that gave my heart this wound of happiness!...Five stars for Cupid and his determination, this author and Reid for selecting this poem.
Reid intertwined his knowledge of art and artists, his Christianity, his love of nature, the sun, moon and stars, his romanticism, and his love of assembly, into a modern patchwork of poetry everyone can understand, learn from and appreciate. A smooth and easy read… 5 Stars for Amazon.
Reviewed by Joyce White, author of Sculpting the Heart Book and Sculpting the Heart’s Poetry while Conversing with the Masters. Find her at http://www.sculptingtheheart.com/ or www.Authorsden.com/joycewhite
Author of Sculpting the Heart: Surviving Depression with Art Therapy and
-----
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. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :
John Howard Reid, Translator & Compiler
http://www.authorsden.com/johnhowardreid
ISBN: 978-0-557-26943-3
Originally reviewed by Joyce White for Amazon
I am enthralled at the discipline it must take to accurately and responsibly translate into English over 100 poems from Spain and Latin America. I imagine what we most want from such a translation is intelligence and honesty, sympathetically if possible, but accurately, too. To do this as eloquently as John Howard Reid does, I imagine it took a great love for the people, country and the arts.
The first Spanish author that caught my eye in Reid’s handy Index in the back of his book was Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (1347-1616). He was the famed author of the popular Don Quixote as well as author of one of my favorite poems in this work, the Gypsy: When Preciosa beats her tambourine and her sweet music wounds the empty air, those are pearls that drop from her hands, flowers that float from her mouth…Her eyes are two suns with which she blinds yet sends light…Thus Love maintains his empire and thinks himself capable of performing even greater marvels.
Preciosa sounds very much like many artful compositions previously based on Greek mythology depicting tambourine-playing nymphs, maybe she is kin to Botticelli’s Venus or Picasso’s “Girl Playing the Tambourine.” Preciosa in Spanish means “to say that you are precious or beautiful.” It seems like Reid is on the same page as Cervantes when it comes to loving women, Greek Mythology, impressionism and poetry. The result is a scintillating look at how the forces of seduction and music can enrich and complicate life.
I also enjoyed the translation from the Spanish of Ruben Dario, in Ricardo Calvo’s poem, about Cervantes:
Worried and over-brimming with sorrow, I spend my hours of solitude in a dark and dismal mood, with the faithful Cervantes to sweeten my bitter moments and rest my aching head…An over-generous and loving Christian, Cervantes speaks with the clean, clear, burnished wisdom of a saint, that’s why I admire and love him…Thus the whole world rejoices in the immortal sadness of being divine.
So many of Reid’s words and images were like messages from the heart and would make a perfect gift for someone you love and a great learning tool for Spanish young people learning English.
I also enjoyed the poet and linguist, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s work, Charms of Little Women. (1807-1882)
I liked the lines…
If I was speaking in just, I’d say little women were as cold as snow and burn like fire. I’ll explain: They seem cold to all and sundry, but burn hot when they’re in love. In the bed of recreation, they are eager, jovial, pleasant and cheerful…In the house they’re wise and witty, yet helpful and docile. There’s much more to discover so pay attention here.
Longfellow once described men as dogs and women as cats. I wonder how he would describe the genders now in this day and age.
Another favorite poem of mine in this work, is In No Remedies for Love, where Reid translated from the Spanish of Francisco de Medrano, who was speaking to Amarili or better known as the Amaryllis; (flowering bulb) popularly given on Valentine’s Day to show one’s love:
He who believes that absence breeds oblivion has never loitered in the courts of love; for if he truly loved, what absence – even Death – could ever erase his thoughts, his memories, his hopes of love?...
And, my favorite lines…
Love makes a wound so deep, it reaches right into the soul! And it was your arrow, Amarili, that gave my heart this wound of happiness!...Five stars for Cupid and his determination, this author and Reid for selecting this poem.
Reid intertwined his knowledge of art and artists, his Christianity, his love of nature, the sun, moon and stars, his romanticism, and his love of assembly, into a modern patchwork of poetry everyone can understand, learn from and appreciate. A smooth and easy read… 5 Stars for Amazon.
Reviewed by Joyce White, author of Sculpting the Heart Book and Sculpting the Heart’s Poetry while Conversing with the Masters. Find her at http://www.sculptingtheheart.com/ or www.Authorsden.com/joycewhite
Author of Sculpting the Heart: Surviving Depression with Art Therapy and
-----
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. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Wise Mind, Open Mind by Ronald Alexander, PhD
Title – Wise Mind, Open Mind: Finding Purpose & Meaning in Times of Crisis, Loss, & Change
Author – Ronald Alexander, PhD
Author's website link - http://www.ronaldalexander.com/ & http://www.youtube.com/user/ronaldalexanderphd
Genre or category – Self help, health-mind-body
ISBN – 978-1572246430
We are living in a time of crisis and many of us feel powerless over the anxiety, confusion, and despair that this can trigger. Yet, according to Ronald Alexander, Ph.D., not only are we not powerless over the impact of crisis, we can transform its effects so that we arise from it stronger and more aware. He offers a complete program for doing this in his new book, Wise Mind, Open Mind: Finding Purpose & Meaning in Times of Crisis, Loss, & Change (New Harbinger Publications, September 2009, paperback). In this groundbreaking book Alexander, a pioneer in contemporary psychology, shares his innovative program for using mindfulness meditation, creative thinking, and cutting-edge positive psychology tools to transform times of crisis into opportunities for greater personal awareness, clarity, and creativity. Alexander is available for interview. Here’s just some of what he can discuss:
CREATIVE TRANSFORMATION: A THREE-STEP ART. Alexander offers an original three-step plan for achieving creative transformation in the midst or wake of a crisis. It includes, Letting Go, Tuning Into your Core Creativity, and Moving Forward. In the first step you learn to let go of resistance to change, in the second you learn to tune in to your soul’s deep wisdom; and in third you learn how to move forward based on your newly acquired insight. Alexander offers step-by-step mindfulness meditations for moving through each of these stages.
A PRIMER ON MINDFULNESS MEDITATION PRACTICE AND CREATIVITY THINKING. Mindfulness practice is an exciting new area that blends the best of East and West. By adapting ancient wisdom practices of mindfulness and meditation to positive psychology and the therapeutic process it offers powerful tools for transforming difficult emotions and becoming more aware of oneself and the world. Alexander explains how and why these techniques are so useful in overcoming crisis.
YOUR WISDOM COUNCIL. Alexander recognized that even with powerful mindfulness tools at your disposal, getting through a crisis still requires a support system comprised of caring and wise individuals. It’s why he offers step-by-step help for building a “wisdom council of support” and explains the roles that each member should play. They include: peer, educator, coach, and dharma teacher.
CULTIVATING A WISE MIND & MINDSTRENGTH IN DIFFICULT TIMES. In Buddhism a wise mind is a state of consciousness that allows you to observe your thoughts without becoming emotionally invested in them. Alexander explains: “In wise mind you stop running with your thoughts wherever they take you and find yourself sitting with a sense of serenity and clarity, observing what your mind churns up and easily discerning its qualities, setting aside what’s unwholesome and taking delight in what’s wholesome.” Wise mind results from building mindstrength, the ability to use mindfulness to master thoughts, beliefs, and emotions and tap into the core creativity that empowers you to take positive and wise action. In WISE MIND, OPEN MIND, Alexander shows you how to cultivate mindstrength and achieve wise mind.
FOUR MYTHS ABOUT MINDFULNESS. Myths about mindfulness abound. Alexander debunks four of the most common ones: Practicing mindfulness meditation will conflict with my religious beliefs; I’m too restless and busy to learn to be quiet and practice any form of meditation; If I practice mindfulness it will put out the fire of my ambition and creativity; and If I practice mindfulness, what I’ll discover will be so upsetting that I’ll be paralyzed with fear.
About the Author:
Ronald A. Alexander, Ph.D., a psychotherapist, leadership consultant, and clinical trainer is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in California and Colorado. He is also the director of the OpenMind Training® Institute in Santa Monica, a leading-edge organization that offers personal and professional training programs in integrative mind-body therapies, transformational leadership, and mindfulness. This unique method combines the wisdom teachings of the East with positive psychology and creative thinking into a comprehensive, integrated, behaviorally effective mind-body program.
A pioneer in the fields of Somatic Psychotherapy, Holistic Psychology, Mindfulness, Leadership Coaching, Integrative and Behavioral Medicine since 1970, Alexander conducts professional and personal trainings in the US, Europe, Canada, Asia, and Australia. He is a long-time extension faculty member of the UCLA departments of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Entertainment and a lecturer in the David Geffen School of Medicine as well as an adjunct faculty member at Pacifica Graduate Institute and Pepperdine University. He is an associate member of the American Psychological Association, a clinical member of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists and a Diplomate in professional psychotherapy in the International Academy of Behavioral Medicine, Counseling and Psychotherapy.
Alexander teaches workshops and training programs at The New York Open Center, UCLA extension, Omega Institute New York, Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, Esalen Institute in Big Sur, CA, Exhale Center for Sacred Movement, CA, NY and Boston, Santa Monica Yoga Works, and throughout Europe, Canada, Australia and Asia. He has been a consultant and leadership coach working with the entertainment industry for over 30 years. Visit him at: www.ronaldalexander.com and www.openmindtraining.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. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :
Author – Ronald Alexander, PhD
Author's website link - http://www.ronaldalexander.com/ & http://www.youtube.com/user/ronaldalexanderphd
Genre or category – Self help, health-mind-body
ISBN – 978-1572246430
We are living in a time of crisis and many of us feel powerless over the anxiety, confusion, and despair that this can trigger. Yet, according to Ronald Alexander, Ph.D., not only are we not powerless over the impact of crisis, we can transform its effects so that we arise from it stronger and more aware. He offers a complete program for doing this in his new book, Wise Mind, Open Mind: Finding Purpose & Meaning in Times of Crisis, Loss, & Change (New Harbinger Publications, September 2009, paperback). In this groundbreaking book Alexander, a pioneer in contemporary psychology, shares his innovative program for using mindfulness meditation, creative thinking, and cutting-edge positive psychology tools to transform times of crisis into opportunities for greater personal awareness, clarity, and creativity. Alexander is available for interview. Here’s just some of what he can discuss:
CREATIVE TRANSFORMATION: A THREE-STEP ART. Alexander offers an original three-step plan for achieving creative transformation in the midst or wake of a crisis. It includes, Letting Go, Tuning Into your Core Creativity, and Moving Forward. In the first step you learn to let go of resistance to change, in the second you learn to tune in to your soul’s deep wisdom; and in third you learn how to move forward based on your newly acquired insight. Alexander offers step-by-step mindfulness meditations for moving through each of these stages.
A PRIMER ON MINDFULNESS MEDITATION PRACTICE AND CREATIVITY THINKING. Mindfulness practice is an exciting new area that blends the best of East and West. By adapting ancient wisdom practices of mindfulness and meditation to positive psychology and the therapeutic process it offers powerful tools for transforming difficult emotions and becoming more aware of oneself and the world. Alexander explains how and why these techniques are so useful in overcoming crisis.
YOUR WISDOM COUNCIL. Alexander recognized that even with powerful mindfulness tools at your disposal, getting through a crisis still requires a support system comprised of caring and wise individuals. It’s why he offers step-by-step help for building a “wisdom council of support” and explains the roles that each member should play. They include: peer, educator, coach, and dharma teacher.
CULTIVATING A WISE MIND & MINDSTRENGTH IN DIFFICULT TIMES. In Buddhism a wise mind is a state of consciousness that allows you to observe your thoughts without becoming emotionally invested in them. Alexander explains: “In wise mind you stop running with your thoughts wherever they take you and find yourself sitting with a sense of serenity and clarity, observing what your mind churns up and easily discerning its qualities, setting aside what’s unwholesome and taking delight in what’s wholesome.” Wise mind results from building mindstrength, the ability to use mindfulness to master thoughts, beliefs, and emotions and tap into the core creativity that empowers you to take positive and wise action. In WISE MIND, OPEN MIND, Alexander shows you how to cultivate mindstrength and achieve wise mind.
FOUR MYTHS ABOUT MINDFULNESS. Myths about mindfulness abound. Alexander debunks four of the most common ones: Practicing mindfulness meditation will conflict with my religious beliefs; I’m too restless and busy to learn to be quiet and practice any form of meditation; If I practice mindfulness it will put out the fire of my ambition and creativity; and If I practice mindfulness, what I’ll discover will be so upsetting that I’ll be paralyzed with fear.
About the Author:
Ronald A. Alexander, Ph.D., a psychotherapist, leadership consultant, and clinical trainer is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in California and Colorado. He is also the director of the OpenMind Training® Institute in Santa Monica, a leading-edge organization that offers personal and professional training programs in integrative mind-body therapies, transformational leadership, and mindfulness. This unique method combines the wisdom teachings of the East with positive psychology and creative thinking into a comprehensive, integrated, behaviorally effective mind-body program.
A pioneer in the fields of Somatic Psychotherapy, Holistic Psychology, Mindfulness, Leadership Coaching, Integrative and Behavioral Medicine since 1970, Alexander conducts professional and personal trainings in the US, Europe, Canada, Asia, and Australia. He is a long-time extension faculty member of the UCLA departments of Humanities, Social Sciences, and Entertainment and a lecturer in the David Geffen School of Medicine as well as an adjunct faculty member at Pacifica Graduate Institute and Pepperdine University. He is an associate member of the American Psychological Association, a clinical member of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists and a Diplomate in professional psychotherapy in the International Academy of Behavioral Medicine, Counseling and Psychotherapy.
Alexander teaches workshops and training programs at The New York Open Center, UCLA extension, Omega Institute New York, Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, Esalen Institute in Big Sur, CA, Exhale Center for Sacred Movement, CA, NY and Boston, Santa Monica Yoga Works, and throughout Europe, Canada, Australia and Asia. He has been a consultant and leadership coach working with the entertainment industry for over 30 years. Visit him at: www.ronaldalexander.com and www.openmindtraining.com.
-----
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. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Poetry from Vitori Reviewed
King of the Empty Kingdom: And Selected Works
F. D. Vitori (Author)
Paperback: 52 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace (August 16, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1453710388
ISBN-13: 978-1453710388
Genre: Poetry
Review originally published on Amazon.com:
King of the Empty Kingdom is a book of selected poems that profoundly revere human life and experience in all its beauty, ugliness, and perseverance. Each is tempered by the poet's keen awareness of mortality as evidenced in the title poem, The String, and Scream.
I find some of the love poems simplistic. Although not unenjoyable, they lack the gravitas of the other works included here. As the poet stated in his preface, some of these poems are from "a younger time". F.D. Vitori has a strong sense of language and self-expression, particularly in some beautiful turns of phrase:
"the infant grass glistened" from Birdsong.
"Each too small to fathom the event" from The Last of The First Moment.
"but the more you you touch the fire, the less it burns.
Or, there is less left to burn" from A Wayward Spiral.
"There is more darkness than can be lit by a candle." from With Eyes Lowered.
"I am a miserable tangle of thought and emotion,
The bastard son of perspective and notion" from The Truth in Me.
"The frog does not look up and wish to be a bird." from The Heralding.
There are potent recurring themes in these works that appeal to my personal tastes a great deal, such as love, hate, fate, humanity, survival, catharsis, and self-realization. This thematic pattern turns up often. Most notably in Color Blind, War, King, The Truth in Me, Time and Life, Visage, Father, and The Voice. It takes a lot of experience and working through the world's "babble" to achieve wisdom and self-realization. I use babble because the poet uses this word in both View and The Voice. In counterpoint to the drive for self-realization, the poet also cautions against hubris in King with:
"Take away my throne
and I am plain,
Therefore, even I can be slain."
The centerpiece of this collection is, of course, the title poem--King of the Empty Kingdom. This poem recalls the strong narratives and storytelling of the pre-Romantic and Romantic period poets such as Milton and Blake. King of the Empty Kingdom is artfully crafted with a solid narrative and thematically cohesive. The poem opens in sorrowful contemplation and ends in joyful appreciation of life, reasserting the poet's note that Life is "the most beautiful lady of all".
As a collective work, the poetry is a strong debut from a new voice in poetry that honors the traditions of the past.
Personal Favorite: Time and Life
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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. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :
F. D. Vitori (Author)
Paperback: 52 pages
Publisher: CreateSpace (August 16, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1453710388
ISBN-13: 978-1453710388
Genre: Poetry
Review originally published on Amazon.com:
King of the Empty Kingdom is a book of selected poems that profoundly revere human life and experience in all its beauty, ugliness, and perseverance. Each is tempered by the poet's keen awareness of mortality as evidenced in the title poem, The String, and Scream.
I find some of the love poems simplistic. Although not unenjoyable, they lack the gravitas of the other works included here. As the poet stated in his preface, some of these poems are from "a younger time". F.D. Vitori has a strong sense of language and self-expression, particularly in some beautiful turns of phrase:
"the infant grass glistened" from Birdsong.
"Each too small to fathom the event" from The Last of The First Moment.
"but the more you you touch the fire, the less it burns.
Or, there is less left to burn" from A Wayward Spiral.
"There is more darkness than can be lit by a candle." from With Eyes Lowered.
"I am a miserable tangle of thought and emotion,
The bastard son of perspective and notion" from The Truth in Me.
"The frog does not look up and wish to be a bird." from The Heralding.
There are potent recurring themes in these works that appeal to my personal tastes a great deal, such as love, hate, fate, humanity, survival, catharsis, and self-realization. This thematic pattern turns up often. Most notably in Color Blind, War, King, The Truth in Me, Time and Life, Visage, Father, and The Voice. It takes a lot of experience and working through the world's "babble" to achieve wisdom and self-realization. I use babble because the poet uses this word in both View and The Voice. In counterpoint to the drive for self-realization, the poet also cautions against hubris in King with:
"Take away my throne
and I am plain,
Therefore, even I can be slain."
The centerpiece of this collection is, of course, the title poem--King of the Empty Kingdom. This poem recalls the strong narratives and storytelling of the pre-Romantic and Romantic period poets such as Milton and Blake. King of the Empty Kingdom is artfully crafted with a solid narrative and thematically cohesive. The poem opens in sorrowful contemplation and ends in joyful appreciation of life, reasserting the poet's note that Life is "the most beautiful lady of all".
As a collective work, the poetry is a strong debut from a new voice in poetry that honors the traditions of the past.
Personal Favorite: Time and Life
-----
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. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Carol Smallwood Reviews Memoir by Supriya Bhatnagar
and then there were three
Supriya Bhatnagar
Serving House Books, Lexington, KY
2010
119 pages
$12.00 (paper)
ISBN: 978-0-9825462-9-1
Reviewed by Carol Smallwood
The memoir, and then there were three, is a slim book, a breathtaking look at a childhood in a diverse, changing India by Supriya Bhatnagar. The three refers to the family loss of her beloved father when Supriya was nine and her mother moves the two daughters from Bombay to Jaipur: "Even though Jaipur was a metropolis where streets had been paved, the city retained the inherent quality of the earth it lay upon."
Indian culture is deftly expressed by funerals, tea, shopping, street cleaners, and details such as her grandmother's hair: "This had been her hairstyle since the time she got married; it was just that the chignon was the size of a grapefruit when she got married, and the size of a walnut by the time she died." Supriya experiences the blackouts of the 1971 war with Pakistan, the heat and cold of India, and learns the significance of skin color. The haunting memoir includes universal types such as nosey neighbors, lecherous storekeepers--and what it was to be Hindu woman and not going into any temple during her menstruation: "Customs and traditions become ingrained in us to such an extent that to this day I follow this restriction without questioning its logic."
The author does not have an arranged marriage but after a long traditional courtship marries Anil who lives on the next street: "I loved the smell of Old Spice, his after-shave, and it was a familiar and strangely comforting smell as Daddy had used it everyday." She concludes that the loss of her 39-year-old-white collar worker father from heart attack made her grow up sooner.
It reminded me of God of Small Things by the award-winning Indian writer, Arundhati Roy, with its insight into human nature, the portrayal of the enduring complexities of India, its touches of humor, life through a child's eyes. I enjoyed the author's sharing her wide reading and deep appreciation of the classics growing up and concluded how her well-educated parents couldn't but have had an influence on her becoming the Director of Publications for the Association of Writers & Writing Programs headquartered in Virginia which supports writers and writing programs around the world.
The reviewer is Carol Smallwood. Her latest books are: Writing and Publishing: The Librarian's Handbook (ed.), American Library Association, 2010; Lily's Odyssey, All Things That Matter Press, 2010.
-----
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. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :
Supriya Bhatnagar
Serving House Books, Lexington, KY
2010
119 pages
$12.00 (paper)
ISBN: 978-0-9825462-9-1
Reviewed by Carol Smallwood
The memoir, and then there were three, is a slim book, a breathtaking look at a childhood in a diverse, changing India by Supriya Bhatnagar. The three refers to the family loss of her beloved father when Supriya was nine and her mother moves the two daughters from Bombay to Jaipur: "Even though Jaipur was a metropolis where streets had been paved, the city retained the inherent quality of the earth it lay upon."
Indian culture is deftly expressed by funerals, tea, shopping, street cleaners, and details such as her grandmother's hair: "This had been her hairstyle since the time she got married; it was just that the chignon was the size of a grapefruit when she got married, and the size of a walnut by the time she died." Supriya experiences the blackouts of the 1971 war with Pakistan, the heat and cold of India, and learns the significance of skin color. The haunting memoir includes universal types such as nosey neighbors, lecherous storekeepers--and what it was to be Hindu woman and not going into any temple during her menstruation: "Customs and traditions become ingrained in us to such an extent that to this day I follow this restriction without questioning its logic."
The author does not have an arranged marriage but after a long traditional courtship marries Anil who lives on the next street: "I loved the smell of Old Spice, his after-shave, and it was a familiar and strangely comforting smell as Daddy had used it everyday." She concludes that the loss of her 39-year-old-white collar worker father from heart attack made her grow up sooner.
It reminded me of God of Small Things by the award-winning Indian writer, Arundhati Roy, with its insight into human nature, the portrayal of the enduring complexities of India, its touches of humor, life through a child's eyes. I enjoyed the author's sharing her wide reading and deep appreciation of the classics growing up and concluded how her well-educated parents couldn't but have had an influence on her becoming the Director of Publications for the Association of Writers & Writing Programs headquartered in Virginia which supports writers and writing programs around the world.
The reviewer is Carol Smallwood. Her latest books are: Writing and Publishing: The Librarian's Handbook (ed.), American Library Association, 2010; Lily's Odyssey, All Things That Matter Press, 2010.
-----
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. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :
Monday, September 27, 2010
Librarian Reviews Nonfiction Anthology for Women
Contemporary American Women: Our Defining Passages
Compiled & edited by Carol Smallwood & Cynthia Brackett-Vincent
All Things That Matter Press [Somerville, ME], 2009,
250 pages,
Price: (paper $18.99).
ISBN-13: 978-0984259434.
Reviewed by Marian Matyn
This well written, easily read, and interesting book is a compilation of articles by women, all well-educated. The themes of the book cover passages of the average woman’s life. This includes physical, emotional, family, career, empowerment changes and challenges, reconnecting, dealing with, and accepting parts of our lives and histories. Importantly, it also covers the relationships women have with others, friends, family, and foes, that cause us to change, or evaluate our options. Some of these topics, such as one’s aging body, or the stress of career choices, difficult relationships and positive, affirming relationships, are those to which all women can relate. Other topics, such as surviving sexual abuse or the loss of a spouse, and the accompanying emotional traumas, are topics some of us have suffered, but all of us can feel empathy for those who endure.
Why read this “women’s book” and not another? Hope. The hope that is so affirming and omnipresent in this book is an essential thread that runs through the entire work, binding the stories together. Through all the changes and challenges of life, all the people who help and affirm, and those who seek to denigrate women, the authors not only endured their experiences, but moved forward into the future with hope.
This is not a depressing victim story from the past, and while the stories are autobiographical in nature, it is more than that. A strong sense of spirituality, and of empowerment, accompanies hope throughout the book, encouraging the reader. “That despite what weighs us down, even the tiniest movement or the smallest decision moves us closer to the light.” (p. 152, “Closer to the light,” Hope Payson) This is what the book is all about: that each of us, with hope, can make a choice that empowers us to move towards a brighter, happier, more fulfilling future.
Two of the stories which I continue to ponder long afterwards are “I couldn’t walk, talk or read: becoming a crow again” by Katie McKy, and “Returning to Russia: Returning home” by Yelizaveta P. Renfro. Both of these stories illustrate a turning point in the life of a girl or young woman. Katie McKy notes the moment she chose not to ridicule, but rather to befriend, a girl who fit in neither physically nor socially at school. Previously ostracized because of speech and walking challenges into a lowly school reading and social group called the crows, McKy chose to befriend another crow. As she notes “Suffering can bequeath us compassion. Of course, it can also curse us with bitterness. We get to choose. Of course, choosing well might mean becoming a crow once again, which I did. Rather, I just admitted to what I’d always been.” (p.7) McKy became a teacher, helping damaged children who had themselves become crows, and their parents.
The second story, “Returning to Russia: Returning home” by Yelizaveta P. Renfro, is the story of a self-destructive fifteen-year-old girl who is drinking, using drugs, smoking, destroying her bedroom, and flunking school. With her mother, Renfro traveled home to her ill Russian grandparents. She lived with them for a summer in a tiny, cockroach-infested apartment, lacking air conditioning or privacy. Here, she became aware of others and their dismal living conditions. Renfro kept a detailed diary and, later, typed her observations. She returned to California greatly affected, began writing, and left her old ways behind. Later, with her own daughter, Renfro recalled returning to her destroyed teenage bedroom to find her mother had cleaned it and spread a bedspread on her bed to welcome her home. “Only now do I realize that through such small actions we impose order, which is a kind of love… [Of her daughter, Renfro notes] “She will run away from me, too, literally perhaps, but certainly figuratively, I can only hope that she will return home again.” (p. 95) To me, this story demonstrates another individual making a choice, becoming aware of others around them, and choosing hope for the future, and hoping for the next generation.
Too often, the books I read in college women’s studies courses were about a woman’s endurance, and acceptance of an unhappy life with a father who did not appreciate or respect his daughter, a husband who did not understand her, or a dream abandoned. Her life was misery. It was all about negative relationships with men, no options for work or life, not having choices, working for less pay than a man, working in an unsatisfying job, and being discriminated against in many ways. My male college housemates once commented on how all the books in women’s studies were sad and blamed men. Well, it is a new century since I took women’s studies, and clearly the women in this book are more self-aware and have more options than the suffering women of the past. Part of that difference is education, providing women a chance for a quality job with pay and benefits, and laws preventing gross discrimination and allowing a vote. Like the book’s cover image of a woman looking towards the rising sun, the authors figuratively and collectively look towards the new day with hope, for an improved, empowered life, not just for them, but for all women.
Overall the writers tell us that highly educated, modern American women have options that allow us to determine our future and follow our dreams. It would be interesting to read stories from the life of women who are not as well educated as these writers. What do the women without a degree working at WalMart, trying to pay their bills, think of their lives? Or, what about the women who make negative choices? Do they find their lives inspiring enough to write about for the benefit of other women? Do they have hope? Perhaps that is a topic for a future book.
Reviewer Bio:
The reviewer is Marian Matyn , Archivist of the Clarke Historical Library and an Assistant Professor at Central Michigan University. The author of a number of archival and history articles, Marian is currently writing a book on Michigan circus history.
-----
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. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :
Compiled & edited by Carol Smallwood & Cynthia Brackett-Vincent
All Things That Matter Press [Somerville, ME], 2009,
250 pages,
Price: (paper $18.99).
ISBN-13: 978-0984259434.
Reviewed by Marian Matyn
This well written, easily read, and interesting book is a compilation of articles by women, all well-educated. The themes of the book cover passages of the average woman’s life. This includes physical, emotional, family, career, empowerment changes and challenges, reconnecting, dealing with, and accepting parts of our lives and histories. Importantly, it also covers the relationships women have with others, friends, family, and foes, that cause us to change, or evaluate our options. Some of these topics, such as one’s aging body, or the stress of career choices, difficult relationships and positive, affirming relationships, are those to which all women can relate. Other topics, such as surviving sexual abuse or the loss of a spouse, and the accompanying emotional traumas, are topics some of us have suffered, but all of us can feel empathy for those who endure.
Why read this “women’s book” and not another? Hope. The hope that is so affirming and omnipresent in this book is an essential thread that runs through the entire work, binding the stories together. Through all the changes and challenges of life, all the people who help and affirm, and those who seek to denigrate women, the authors not only endured their experiences, but moved forward into the future with hope.
This is not a depressing victim story from the past, and while the stories are autobiographical in nature, it is more than that. A strong sense of spirituality, and of empowerment, accompanies hope throughout the book, encouraging the reader. “That despite what weighs us down, even the tiniest movement or the smallest decision moves us closer to the light.” (p. 152, “Closer to the light,” Hope Payson) This is what the book is all about: that each of us, with hope, can make a choice that empowers us to move towards a brighter, happier, more fulfilling future.
Two of the stories which I continue to ponder long afterwards are “I couldn’t walk, talk or read: becoming a crow again” by Katie McKy, and “Returning to Russia: Returning home” by Yelizaveta P. Renfro. Both of these stories illustrate a turning point in the life of a girl or young woman. Katie McKy notes the moment she chose not to ridicule, but rather to befriend, a girl who fit in neither physically nor socially at school. Previously ostracized because of speech and walking challenges into a lowly school reading and social group called the crows, McKy chose to befriend another crow. As she notes “Suffering can bequeath us compassion. Of course, it can also curse us with bitterness. We get to choose. Of course, choosing well might mean becoming a crow once again, which I did. Rather, I just admitted to what I’d always been.” (p.7) McKy became a teacher, helping damaged children who had themselves become crows, and their parents.
The second story, “Returning to Russia: Returning home” by Yelizaveta P. Renfro, is the story of a self-destructive fifteen-year-old girl who is drinking, using drugs, smoking, destroying her bedroom, and flunking school. With her mother, Renfro traveled home to her ill Russian grandparents. She lived with them for a summer in a tiny, cockroach-infested apartment, lacking air conditioning or privacy. Here, she became aware of others and their dismal living conditions. Renfro kept a detailed diary and, later, typed her observations. She returned to California greatly affected, began writing, and left her old ways behind. Later, with her own daughter, Renfro recalled returning to her destroyed teenage bedroom to find her mother had cleaned it and spread a bedspread on her bed to welcome her home. “Only now do I realize that through such small actions we impose order, which is a kind of love… [Of her daughter, Renfro notes] “She will run away from me, too, literally perhaps, but certainly figuratively, I can only hope that she will return home again.” (p. 95) To me, this story demonstrates another individual making a choice, becoming aware of others around them, and choosing hope for the future, and hoping for the next generation.
Too often, the books I read in college women’s studies courses were about a woman’s endurance, and acceptance of an unhappy life with a father who did not appreciate or respect his daughter, a husband who did not understand her, or a dream abandoned. Her life was misery. It was all about negative relationships with men, no options for work or life, not having choices, working for less pay than a man, working in an unsatisfying job, and being discriminated against in many ways. My male college housemates once commented on how all the books in women’s studies were sad and blamed men. Well, it is a new century since I took women’s studies, and clearly the women in this book are more self-aware and have more options than the suffering women of the past. Part of that difference is education, providing women a chance for a quality job with pay and benefits, and laws preventing gross discrimination and allowing a vote. Like the book’s cover image of a woman looking towards the rising sun, the authors figuratively and collectively look towards the new day with hope, for an improved, empowered life, not just for them, but for all women.
Overall the writers tell us that highly educated, modern American women have options that allow us to determine our future and follow our dreams. It would be interesting to read stories from the life of women who are not as well educated as these writers. What do the women without a degree working at WalMart, trying to pay their bills, think of their lives? Or, what about the women who make negative choices? Do they find their lives inspiring enough to write about for the benefit of other women? Do they have hope? Perhaps that is a topic for a future book.
Reviewer Bio:
The reviewer is Marian Matyn , Archivist of the Clarke Historical Library and an Assistant Professor at Central Michigan University. The author of a number of archival and history articles, Marian is currently writing a book on Michigan circus history.
-----
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. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :
Saturday, September 25, 2010
The Great First Impression Book Proposal
Subtitle: Everything You Need To Know To Impress a Publisher in Twenty Minutes or Less
ISBN: 9781453690956
The Great First Impression Book Proposal (The How To Do It Frugally series of booklets for writers)
is available for Kindle, too.
Yeah, this is my blog so I get to let you know about my new books here, too! (-:
Ta da! Here is a new booklet I just self published. It was once an Amazon Short, but Amazon gave up on their shorts and it became unavailable. So it’s back by popular demand. I hope you’ll all take a look at it. I know The Great First Impression Book Proposal: Everything You Need To Know To Sell Your Book in 20 Minutes or Less works. Like all my books it’s based on my own experience with publishing, promoting and with working with my clients. And, if you love it, I’d love a review on Amazon—just a few sentences.
http://budurl.com/BookProposals
Anyway, I was able to bring this little booklet to you for only $6.95. These two booklets Great Little Last-Minute Editing Tips for Writers: The Ultimate Frugal Booklet for Avoiding Word Trippers and Crafting Gatekeeper-Perfect Copy (It's also available for Kindle), are the seeds of a new easy-and-fast-learn series of booklets for writers.
Happy Writing, Editing, and Promoting!
Carolyn Howard-Johnson
----- 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. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :
Subtitle: Everything You Need To Know To Impress a Publisher in Twenty Minutes or Less
ISBN: 9781453690956
The Great First Impression Book Proposal (The How To Do It Frugally series of booklets for writers)
is available for Kindle, too.Yeah, this is my blog so I get to let you know about my new books here, too! (-:
Ta da! Here is a new booklet I just self published. It was once an Amazon Short, but Amazon gave up on their shorts and it became unavailable. So it’s back by popular demand. I hope you’ll all take a look at it. I know The Great First Impression Book Proposal: Everything You Need To Know To Sell Your Book in 20 Minutes or Less works. Like all my books it’s based on my own experience with publishing, promoting and with working with my clients. And, if you love it, I’d love a review on Amazon—just a few sentences.
http://budurl.com/BookProposals
Anyway, I was able to bring this little booklet to you for only $6.95. These two booklets Great Little Last-Minute Editing Tips for Writers: The Ultimate Frugal Booklet for Avoiding Word Trippers and Crafting Gatekeeper-Perfect Copy (It's also available for Kindle), are the seeds of a new easy-and-fast-learn series of booklets for writers.
Happy Writing, Editing, and Promoting!
Carolyn Howard-Johnson
----- 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. As a courtesy to the author, please tweet and retweet this post using this little green retweet widget :
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