Comments for Of Dreams and Realities

Of Dreams and Realities: 03/08/09

One of my on-going goals as a reader is to read more poetry. It's a type of writing outside of my normal comfort zone. Of Dreams and Realities is a "collection of poems that examines the little things in life that are often overlooked." (GoodReads description) While the subject matter covered in this collection is enlightening in it's quaintness, the execution of the verse fell flat for me.

The poems are typically quatrains with a standard rhyming scheme except that the words don't always rhyme when they should and there are often too many syllables squeezed in to upset the meter. These poems would have been better as free verse.

Visually the typesetting is distracting. Each poem is set with it's own typeface and size. Some are large. Some are small. Some are serif and some aren't. There is no rhyme or reason to the typesetting for any given poem. Finally there is at least one poem repeated in the collection with hints at sloppy copy editing on top of the bizarre typesetting.

Other poetry collections I've reviewed include: Forgive My Trespassing by Cynthia Blomquist Gustavson, Gag by Lovechild, Strike Anywhere by Dean Young, One Crossed Out by Fanny Howe, and Some Ether by Nick Flynn.

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Month in review

Reviews:
Alphabet Mystery by Audrey Wood
The Best Friend I Ever Had by David Nuffer
Beyond the Blue Event Horizon by Frederik Pohl
Black Rainbow by Barbara Michaels
The Bomb That Followed Me Home by Cevin Soling
Catalog by Eugene Mirabelli
The Chemist by Janson Mancheski
Culture Shock! California by Mark Cramer
The Dead Fathers Club by Matt Haig
Duck on a Bike by David Shannon
Duck for President by Doreen Cronin
Heechee Rendezvous by Frederik Pohl
How Do Dinosaurs Go to School? by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague
The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
Jane Austen Ruined My Life by Beth Pattillo
Keeping Hannah Waiting by Dave Clarke
Little Heathens by Mildred Armstrong Kalish
Love in 90 Days by Diana Kirschner
The Night We Buried Road Dog by Jack Cady
Of Dreams and Reality by Frank L. Johnson
Our Man in Havana by Graham Greene
Purplicious by Elizabeth and Victoria Kann
School Days by B. G. Hennessy
The Secret of Lost Things by Sheridan Hay
Sister Margaret by Rhonda Parrish
A Surprise for Rosie by Julia Rawlinson
Texas Bake Sale by Charles Coleman Finlay
There's a Wolf at the Door by Zoë B. Alley
Tiger Burning Bright by Theodora DuBois
Venice by Adrian Stokes and John Piper
Winding Broomcorn by Mario Milosevic
The Whole Shebang by Timothy Ferris

Ulysses:
Episode 2: Nestor: Kif
Episode 3: Proteus: Georgia Nicholson
Episode 4: Calypso: Parasites Lost
Episode 5: The Lotus Eaters: Down to the River to Pray

Miscellaneous:
Historical Fiction

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Of Dreams and Realities: 03/08/09

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