Book: Joy Street by Laura FoleyGenre: Poetry
Rating:★★★☆ ☆
For: a TLC book tour
From: TLC Book Tours
Short Synopsis: This is a tiny little book comprised of several poems about the author's life, covering everything from her relationship with her partner to interesting dreams to her father's WWII experiences.
My Response: You know, I didn't really know what to expect when I said yes to this blog tour. A poetry book! Intriguing! But I suppose I have a bit of a narrow view as to what poetry is, not necessarily rhyming but maybe some sort of standard form with a rhythm and pattern. While some of these poems had that, some of them seemed more like simple thoughts. . . very small observances on life worded in a poetic way. So I guess that's poetry too! So I'm not sure if there is a proper definition of poetry, but if there is, I don't know it.
With that being said, I enjoyed the experience of reading these poems and flew quickly through the book. I especially liked the various visuals used to describe things like "rain hammering it's monstrous fists" and "sun-kissed cheeks." One of my favorite poems was about breast feeding in public, something I can relate to!
But the best thing I found about this unique reading experience is that it has inspired me to think that I too could write a little book of poetic observations about my life. I mean, I know it's harder than it looks, I know this for a fact, but I could try! And it would be a fun endeavor I think. I just may have to add this to my list of writing things to do. It will be fun to see what happens.
Bottom Line: I enjoyed this foray into a genre with which I'm not very familiar. Even though I know nothing about poetry, I still "got" it and enjoyed the experience. If you are interested in this book, you can find it here on Amazon.
Let's Talk About: Poetry! Where do you stand? Is it something you read and "get", read and "don't get" or don't read at all? Do you write poetry? And if so, what advice do you have for me if I want to have a go at it?
More About the Author:
(From the TLC website)
Laura Foley is the author of four poetry collections. The Glass Tree won the Foreword Book of the Year Award, Silver, and was a Finalist for the New Hampshire Writer’s Project, Outstanding Book of Poetry. Her poems have appeared in journals and magazines including Valparaiso Poetry Review, Inquiring Mind, Pulse Magazine, Poetry Nook, Lavender Review, and in the anthology, In the Arms of Words: Poems for Disaster Relief. She won Harpur Palate’s Milton Kessler Memorial Poetry Award and the Grand Prize for theAtlanta Review’s International Poetry Contest. She lives on a woody hill in South Pomfret, Vermont with her partner Clara Gimenez and their three dogs. Please visit her website for book information or more poems: laurafoley.net.
For Other Reviews, check out these links on the book tour schedule:
Monday, January 5th: I’d Rather Be at the Beach
Tuesday, January 6th: Lit and Life
Wednesday, January 7th: Book Dilettante
Wednesday, January 7th: Savvy Verse and Wit
Friday, January 9th: Diary of an Eccentric
Monday, January 12th: It’s All About Books
Monday, January 13th: Unabridged Chick – review and interview
Wednesday, January 14th: Peeking Between the Pages
Thursday, January 15th: Peeking Between the Pages – author guest post
Friday, January 16th: Patricia’s Wisdom
Monday, January 19th: Books Without Any Pictures
Tuesday, January 20th: Worducopia
Wednesday, January 21st: Suko’s Notebook
Thursday, January 22nd: Suko’s Notebook – author guest post
Tuesday, January 23rd: Bookgirl’s Nightstand
Saturday, January 24th: Wordy Evidence of the Fact
Monday, January 26th: Bell, Book & Candle
Wednesday, January 28th: Musings of a Bookish Kitty – author guest post
Thursday, January 29th: Musings of a Bookish Kitty
TBD: Everything Distils Into Reading
Carol Lynch Williams calls books in verse "short choppy lines" I consider poetry, verse, and anything else like that the same thing now. Is this only on Kindle?
ReplyDeleteKami: There is a paperback of it.
DeleteI used to like poetry, even wrote some as a teenager but I don't like all poetry. If I don'tunderstand it I just would rather not. Close minded, I know.
ReplyDeleteJenny: Agreed! (about the not understanding bit.. not the close minded bit!)
DeleteI used to like poetry, even wrote some as a teenager but I don't like all poetry. If I don'tunderstand it I just would rather not. Close minded, I know.
ReplyDeleteI love poetry, and I guess I probably read it more than most people. I tend not to like narrative poetry very much -- this is a collection of narrative poems -- but this collection was well done.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad that you liked the collection and joined the tour. :)
As for advice on writing poems, just write as it comes and break up the lines as you like. Once you have a first draft, you can play with word choice and line breaks and stanza placement.
Serena: You are the poetry queen! :) Thanks for the tips.
DeleteI hope they help! I've got a post coming up later this week talking a little bit about what makes a poem a poem.
DeleteI loved the idea of the poetic little observations; I'm like you, I think I could do that. That may be as far as my creative juices ever go.
ReplyDelete