Lyrical, inspiring poetry
581584
Daily inspiration for every occassion or just to enjoy anytime. Lyrical poetry!
2051952
James Toma has out done himself once again with his latest book of inspiring and intelligently crafted poems. James beautifully uses his words to create an atmosphere of joyful exhilaration and emotional sentiment. Whilst reading each poem the reader will immediately be taken back by James" unique style that is a fresh of breath air and an enjoyable expeeience. I highly recommend this to anyone that enjoys poetry.
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Reviewed by Rachel Rose
I am not a poet who uses prompts. Generally, I have adhered to the notion that poems should come through sheer force of inspiration or will, without help from outside forces.  But when I learned that Kelli Russell Agodon and Martha Silano (two poets whose work I admire; disclaimer: I am acquainted with the former) had published this book, I decided to investigate. I'm happy to report I found much to admire, and much to inspire as well. Organized with a prompt for each day of the year, The Daily Poet is also a literary, linguistic and artistic romp that will encourage poets to let their imaginations roam, to risk thinking of language and innovation in new ways, and to delve into the serious play that is creating poetry. Consider, for example, January 27th, where the prompt requires you to circle all of the words that interest you in a newspaper article, and then to use these words in new ways. The authors came up with "fracking" as one example, and suggested "fracking one's heart." What an exciting turn of phrase! All poets, whether emerging or launched, can benefit from the encouragement and inspiration that The Daily Poet offers. It also delivers a poetic education, incorporating links to poems read by famous poets en route. If I had one request, it would be more prompts that engage with traditional forms. While there are terrific poem prompts for list poems, ekphrastic verse and couplets (among others) I know I'm not alone in loving the rigorous challenges of formal verse, and students tend to respond to such prompts with some of their best work. But this is a minor quibble--The Daily Poet delights. Now excuse me; I'm off to write a Curse. (June 2nd).
1280326
This poet's use of metaphor and symbolism is both unique and  inspiring.............. I can read Rubin's poems almost like a prayer.  It is a beautiful collection that draws one away in relish and awe, covering a range of subjects, ranging from visions of Monet, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Betsy Ross and Lizzie Borden!  She also speaks with such fervor about her grandmother and her son.  This collection is so diverse which makes it both interesting and adds an element of surprise.
I "Found" this slim volume in a book donation basket at my place of employment just a few years ago before retirement, and I bless the decision to pick it up.  Needless to say. I love to sit, if only for a few minutes, and cherish each morsel. For poetry-lovers, this is highly recommended, or just for the soul that might want a bit of enchantment.
4282362
"Ruff Poems from the Heart" is a masterpiece from a new and talented writer. The book is collection of poems that inspire and motivate. Ms. Ruff in a "Thoreaun" sense inspires the reader to be all that he can be. Her poems reminds us of things we often think and feel but not able to verbalize.
You learn that "you cannot solve a problem with the same mind that created it." That "its what you expect, what you think about that expands."  Once you have read the collection of poems you will learn how to avoid all thoughts that weaken you....that you do not have problems---you only think you do.
I short I found her poems to be refreshing, inspiring and highly motivational.  I look forward to more and better things from this "new star."
4876374
The poems included in this book show a wonderful wealth of  original thought. The flights of the poet's imagination are quite impressive and remarkable. We find here bold and new images. The poet with strong imagination is able to create the song of the soul in these poems.
3736341
This book is so inspiring and heartfelt. The poems are beautifully written and flows within the mind as you read them.
4401923
This is a very nice little book of inspirational poems.  I particularly liked "People of Many Colors" and "Skin."  It is a "quick read" but it inspires deep thought.
2855417
I'm not usually one for poetry, as school had drummed any desire for free verse, epic stanzas, or rhyming couplets out of me long ago, with the possible exception of dirty limericks. I received this book as a gift, and I'm really glad I read it, even though it took me a while. The poems are touching, heartfelt and poignant, and there isn't a hint of posturing, as some poets are won't to do. Grief is experienced by us all, and Williams captures it in his poetry with sincerity and honesty that is quite refreshing. He brings a perspective of nature into his poems as well, like a subtle reminder that we are all part of nature, no matter how we try to ignore it.
Maybe Williams has turned my head and gotten me back into poetry, at least, for a little bit. Well done!
795221
This beautiful, poised book of poetry by Jane Ellen Glasser is a raft taking us upstream and down, but like the title of one poem, "A river would never insist," she doesn't jump the bank of the reader's life, preferring instead to trust the alchemy of "moon, tide and weather." A superior imagination, superior intelligence and  superior skill with language are the bones of each poem in The Red Coat.

The strength of Glasser's metaphors and images are often startling. We can feel the poet's compassion for even a homely lizard and her respect for all life in "Garbage." Saving it from drowning, the speaker tips a rain-pooled garbage can, and the lizard is released, "out, out out/a green bullet/onto the heaven/of wet grass." Here is a poet who believes in the inter-connectedness of all things. A fire burns, everything is loss. Yet "From nowhere a cardinal blazes/a red gash on a black canvas."

Part philosopher, part artist and all poet she guides us like a muse through art galleries. Who wouldn't want to jump into the canvas of Manet's Dejeuner sur l'herbe "one shimmering afternoon" or swirl around the dance floor in Botero's The Dancers? The images leap off the page into our laps.

Only a muscled soul could write of love and aching loneliness in a way that break the heart open. In "Dolor of the Abandoned House," a house abandoned by its long-time owner swoons: "Suspended in time, I wait/the way a dog waits, listening/for footsteps, the kiss of her key."

Nothing is delievered from on high in these poems. In fact everything feels like it's been discovered, even the questions: "Tell me what it feels like/to lose something/one leaf at a time" ("Blind Girl Talking to a Tree").

Here is a generous and powerful book of poems born out of struggle and determination to live as fully as possible. The collection closes with these vows: "I will ride the day to new places," I will honor the body's complaints/forgive mirrors/their honesty."//I will wear gratitude like a red coat/forbearing the shifting/seasons of hope and doubt."

Like the speaker in William Meredith's "Crossing Over," Glasser has learned to "walk light," and we are the richer for it.

Mary McCue, poet
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Wildly Into the Dark was one of the first poetry collections I ever purchased, and although it was not the first one I finished, it was the beginning of a journey into a poetic world that has inspired me in so many ways. It is the collection I find myself in the most, and I truly believe that anyone can carve apart any poem in this wonderful book and find themselves served upon the page.

Gregson is a wanderer, lover, and insightful appreciator of the world; his poems range from odes to the woman of his dreams to evaluations of his mental health, and observations about the natural world. The poems are written in strong, descriptive, poignant free verse that makes every word both accesible to newbies in the poetry world and poet-junkies alike. There's so much substance in this collection and poems for every mood.

Some of my favorite pieces evaluate and question the depth of our language and the seemingly impossible task of channeling intense emotion into a few lines of verse. Not only is every word in "Wildly Into the Dark" chosen carefully, Gregson also evaluates the rhetoric of those in the public sphere with sharp commentary on the way words are misused throughout our lives. Sprinkled in to the political commentary are anecdotes of love; snapshots of perfect hours sandwiched between trials of darkness and beams of light. Even if you've never been in love, you can't help but feel every emotion deep in your heart and swoon.

There are too many amazing poems in this collection for me to pick a favorite, however, I will allow Tyler Knott Gregson to speak for himself with this particular poem which, to me, defines the importance and wisdom of this collection:

"They asked me what poetry was,
and as few things have,
it stole my speech for a moment.
All I could think to say
was that poetry is taking an ache
and making it
sing."

If you are looking for poetry to ignite your heart, heal a piece of darkness taking over your life, challenge the all consuming nature of the negativity streamed into our minds through every screen, or inspire you to travel and admire nature, please, pick up "Wildly Into the Dark."
You won't regret it.
4085462
"Places and Times, Reflected" is a must have book for anyone who enjoys poetry. In this collection the author approaches intelligent reflections of himself on his surroundings, past and present and approaches everyday topics pushing them past the ordinary. The places he has visited, people he has known, the countryside, clouds, mountains, rivers, the sea, come alive in his easy, lucid verses, easy to connect with and explore.
Whether in the charming lines of "Old Main Lawn"  "In the swing of the sea" or in the moving "Franconia: In Memory of David Shogren" or in the thought-provoking "Mundane Splendors" and "The Nittany Sonnets", imagery flows with visual and verbal beauty.
The poet's words illustrate thoughts like no other. These lines from "The Nittany Sonets" are a fine example:
Why expend the effort
to accomplish anything when one is
already complete? The mundane splendors
feel just fine, or so everyone tells them"

Turfa is a great nature poet who is delighted in the macrocosmic ("Savoring the stillness of hallowed space....Few places calm me as the woods")

The poet's insights run thought sensitive and beautifully fluent, quiet and reflective verses, delightful to the mind and the ear.

I will finish -just because I love it - pointing the first stanza of At times I want to ride". This poem is twenty brilliant lines that, in its imagery and scenic luminosity, blends a celebration of life and language.

At times I want to ride a chestnut horse
over wide, undulating, endless steppes,
with hooves pounding out a staccato beat,
our heads lowered to enhance speed,
pointing toward the elusive white stag
ever within our sight, ever out of reach,
leading to verdant valley far away."

~Alicia Salabert (Alice Sea)
2024548
Beautiful and moving collection of poetry. I found such inspiration and peace from reading this incredible book
4933707
I don't usually gravitate toward contemporary poetry as I often find it either incomprehensible or depressing. But I was given Elizabeth Claman's book, Where the Women are Flying, as a present and I love it. Basing the poems primarily on her own life, she writes of the many facets of her relationship with her mother, daughter, granddaughter, and lovers. Other poems are about the seasons, or trips to various parts of the globe. While there are deeply painful passages of abuse and betrayal, Claman's deep connection to nature and spiritual groundedness shine through. Her skill with words and phrases is masterful. The overall impression is one of lyrical, soaring beauty and hope. I will definitely buy copies for many friends and relatives!
970954
I found this beautiful collection of poems about writing to be very inspiring and reaching across the years to speak just as truthfully about the writing process today as it did when it was written.
2202258
This is a strong debut by a promising poet. From the first poem to the last, Steger Welsh maintains a provocative voice that both engages and challenges the reader to look at the ordinary world and its "rules" in a new way. Whether she is dissecting grammar vis-a-vis God ("Grammar in the Kingdom of God") or exploring her own loss and grief through the rhythms of the natural world ("Laws of Falling Things"), this writer combines keen wit and grace to create deftly realized poems. She is particularly attentive to the natural world around her, the weather and trees and birds of her neighborhood, and uses her observations to create surprising and sometimes heartbreaking metaphors for love, marriage, loss, death. This book is a comfort and a joy to read. In her poem "Rapid Eye Movement", a meditation on dreams and their relation to reality, the last lines read: "On these waves come bobbing/coded ransom notes from the soul,/messages smuggled back to the dreamer, who in the morning, disbelieves." These poems are like those smuggled messages--illuminating yet mysterious, yielding more and more upon each reading.
1784362
This collection of free verse is by a poet currently living in my own area of southernmost Texas, thus it's no surprise to find it expressing a poignancy befitting the borderlands of the U.S. and Mexico. My favorite poem in this relatively brief volume is "Born of water," which symbolizes the narrator's stages of traveling not only geographically but, as a result, through jarring changes in life. That one was nearly surpassed in my estimation by "I have lost so much," with its revelatory reply to those who question the narrator's accent.

The subtitle is an early hint not just of the book's division as 2 "chapters," but also the bilingual format. I deem myself more practiced in English and was thereby able to spot bits of that text that still could've been improved. Yet with my effort to read the Spanish also, I was able to compare and to realize what the original tongue was conveying. This became immediately evident in the Prologue, which frankly baffled me in its English rendition, yet unexpectedly came across more clearly in Spanish (even while its vocabulary was a workout for me).

I couldn't help notice the element of water as the book's prominent theme; I also appreciated the nod to Nahuatl in the poem "Three hearts." I loved the way each of the final seven entries is named after a different animal, though I admit these were the most difficult for me to grasp -- this may be more due to my own difficulties with the genre of modern poetry. Nonetheless, I found the imagery enthralling, notably with the "Coyote" as the female leader of a pack; and the "Butterfly," specifically the transformation and journeying of the monarch.