BOOKBROODER

Photo by RDNE Stock project on Pexels.com

A collection of sixty poems, if I could count them properly—I loved all the poems in this anthology. Not a single poem I disliked. And I congratulate the people behind this work—all the poets and editors who took the decision to compile the best poems they received. Those who love poetry will find here a potpourri of poetic works published by many poets of varying backgrounds that have the potential to appease your ‘poetic polydipsia’. The selection is powerful and an amazing read. Some of the poems that I would like to mention are:

‘I can’t throw love out the window’ by JJ Celli. You can witness ‘Arab-and-Americanness’ in the Maha Hashwi’s poem. You will find so many poetic methods to express your grief in “Ways to Grieve” by Grant Davis. ‘Bit my tongue a little too hard’, is an emotional conversation with Ma, by Muskaan Singh.

“I may have inherited my father’s tinderbox temper, but from you, I learned my tongue between my teeth.”

Anna Kushner’s “to my child that could have been” was a motherly craft. In Abby Bland’s poem, you will hear the sounds of shells crumbling and eggs cracking. Jillian Calahan says, she had been having trouble writing lately, and then she decided to play with new words, and thus a poem was formed: “There is a word for that,” which is a nice novelty.

” And did you know there is a word

for a knife fight?

Its snickersnee

And callipygion is when one possesses

beautiful and shapely buttocks “

There are a couple of beautiful poems from Sakshi Patel. Samuel Faulk, in his disability-based poems, deals with the mentioned topic so well. You will find in one poem a cat making biscuits on stomach’, cats and dogs doing crossword over coffee. ‘Trespassin’ by Teichman was another poem that tinkled with its poetic tools.

I recommend this collection to all who love to inquire into a new poetic canvas in 2024. Thanking NetGalley and Publishers for providing me with an advanced copy, I say a big yes to this collection with the first Four lines of this anthology,

“Say yes to swimming and wild blackberries

to hundred of chickens grazing in the yard

to rolled down car windows and ukulele music

to the wind kissing your face.”

This is a little, cute book with wisdom and rhythm.
This is science and poetry together. Learn about the planets and also learn about some poetic tools.
Do you know what a ‘cinquain’ is? its a poem written using a specific number of syllables. Five lines. Only a few words, like a haiku. What if two ‘cinquains’ are put together? What’ll you call it? Then learn something, not only about planets but also about ‘paired dwarves’ and ‘Kuiper belt’.
Earth and Mars are similar in geography. Volcanoes, canyons, polar ice-caps, and impact craters are similar. They both have seasons, and their days are also of the same length.

This book has colourful illustrations, scientific knowledge, and poetic charm all together. You can gift this book to your kids or younger ones. It will not matter if your kid wants to become an astronaut or a poet once he grows up; it can help with both ambitions. And you can also sing some poems to your grandparents. It will work for all.

Here are four random stanzas from a ‘villanelle on Venus’, poem,

“Venus spins slowly the opposite way,

Earth-like in size, air hazy with Sulphur.

The bright light we see at the start of the day.

Her Sky is Deep orange, her Rocks are dark Grey,

Volcanoes pour lava on mountains and craters

Venus spins slowly the opposite way.

covered in clouds that reflects the sun’s rays

storm – lighting flashes through layer on layer

the bright light we see at the end of the day.

Sunrise in the West, months pass in a day.

Her axis is straight- no seasons to savor

Venus spins slowly the opposite way.”

The book is written for a specific audience: young people and educators. A general reader can also gain knowledge about the solar system around us with the help of ballads, acrostic poems, sonnets, etc. It was fun reading. I recommend it for the purpose mentioned.

I thank NetGalley and ‘Kids Can Press’ for providing me a copy.

Central Avenue Poetry prize 2024

When planets sing their own poem!