Tag: poetry collection

Violet Bent Backwards Over the Grass – Review

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Celebrity’s books and poetry collections haven’t been something I’ve bothered with in the past. I tend to have more of a cynical approach to them because more often than not they only get a book deal because of their popularity and can’t write. Unless the book is written by a ghost writer, the books tend to be a disappointment. It’s harsh but I see them as money grabs. However, I am always open to be proved wrong in my assumptions so when I found out that singer Lana Del Rey had released a poetry collection my interest was spiked.

In my teenage years Lana Del Rey’s songs were a stable in my playlist, she just had a way with words that I loved so much. That’s the reason I picked up her poetry collection and not some other celebrities’ book – she could write good lyrics and there is a cross over between lyric writing and poetry.

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Changing priorities as a writer – what happens when you don’t want to write that book?

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The academic year is coming to a close meaning I’m drawing ever closer to the end of my second year at University. It’s been a very odd year with all my classes being online, but I’ve been very busy and growing so much.

I started my degree wanting to write novels, it came to no surprise to anyone who knew me. It’s been a childhood dream of mine, and I’ve been writing for so many years. I knew it would be possible to achieve this dream, I just had to work hard for it.

The dream was to one day become a full-time author and by the end of my first year I had my first book outlined, the plot was sorted and all I needed was to write it. I was excited, but also tired. I put it down to the global pandemic, I’d had to leave University very fast, the UK got put into lockdown and life changed overnight.

I tried to get excited during lockdown, trying to convince myself that this was an amazing time to sit down and write this book. I couldn’t go anywhere, I wasn’t at University with my friends to distract me, shops were closed too, same with events. In my mind this was the perfect time to write.

But I didn’t want to write the book and before I knew it, it was September, I was back at University.

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A familiar stranger book review

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Recently I had the pleasure of reviewing A familiar stranger by Matthew Williams. I was given a copy of the book for the purpose of being reviewed by Matthew. I’m not getting paid to write about it, and the fact that I was given the copy of the book won’t impact my review of it, so don’t worry you’ll still be getting my honest thoughts.

The collection is based around the realities of living a modern day life. It covers topics from mental health to politics, big life events and day to day encounters. There is at least one poem in there for everyone.

The author isn’t afraid to play around with layout and stanza length to, it’s a contemporary collection. You’re not going to get bored with this collection, every poem has it’s own unique spin. It’s a credit to Matthew’s ability as a poet.

The layout of this collection is very well thought out, it add to the pleasantness of the reading experience. There’s four chapters within the collection, off of which could be their own collection as they stand if I’m honest. These chapters, living, loving, falling and rising, will then be the theme of the poems that follow. Continue reading “A familiar stranger book review” →

My favorite read of 2019 – Branches

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Since starting university I’ve read so many great books… and some not too great ones. But rather surprisingly my favorite read of this year wasn’t a part of my required reading. In my poetry class we had the opportunity to chose what collection we wanted to analyse and review. Without any hesitation I told my professor that I was going to chose Branches by Rhiannon McGavin. I didn’t even own the collection at the time, I had to order it as soon as I got back to my flat.

I’d come across Rhiannon’s work via YouTube, she has a channel called The Geeky Blond where she shares not only her poetry but general life chatter. She’s one of the people who influenced me to become a poet. I’m not sure if it’s her personality or delivery of her work that I enjoy more but either way she’s a joy to watch.

Branches is everything I love about her work, it’s the perfect poetry collection in my eyes, every poem is a pleasure to read. When reading it I have the book in one hand and a pencil in the other. Ideas I’ve had whilst reading the poems are scribbled in the margins. Some pages have big stars in the corners for the ones I really love. Words are underlined and stanzas and circled. Continue reading “My favorite read of 2019 – Branches” →