Tag Archives: poetry

Book Review of Joso Skarica’s From Within

Poet, Joso Skarica sent me a copy of his most recent collection, From Within. I’ve also seen it on the KDP free list at least once and those of you in US & GB can win a copy here.

Description:
This collection of poems was never meant to be read by anyone else but yours truly; let alone be published in a book format. They were created more than a decade ago by a young man who utilized poetry as a form of unconscious auto-psychotherapy. I have decided to unveil these poems as a testament of courage, boldness and brutal honesty that I was capable of at that particular time in my life. I am not sure whether that is the case today.

Review:
I find reviewing poetry really difficult. It’s often so personal that it can be hard to find the art in the emotional onslaught. But Joso asked me to give this collection a read, so I did. These are raw, often dark poems. But they have a good rhythm or meter and present their imagery in imaginative ways. I could really relate to some of them, but some went to dark places I’ve never visited. These were foreign landscapes that left me feeling a lot like a voyeur. Junkies, whores, rent boys, God, and sodomy (sometimes in the same poem) were not infrequent characters. Another Sun IS Rising was my favourite, For The Real People made me cringe, Jimmy Was a Teenage Hustler made me sad, Doors made me laugh, and Before the Rain left me breathless. But familiar or not, every single one of these poems made me FEEL, and in the grand scheme of poetry, isn’t that the point?

Boook Review of Koraly Dimitriadis’ Love and Fuck Poems

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I won this book on Goodreads, and was intrigued by the title. Who has the gall to so title a book, I wondered. After reading it, I know.

Here is the description from the back:
Sexually repressed, separated Greek girl on a rampage. There’s no love here, just fucks. But is she fucking him or fucking herself? Love and Fuck poems. A 52 page story told through poetry. No fluff, no birds and trees, just honest, raw, poetry.

I think to fully appreciate this little book of prose I need to assess the whole package, because it is meant as a work of art as a whole. As you can see it is just a simple bi-fold pamphlet. It reminds me of a church program, or maybe someone’s personal moleskine as much as an actual book. But, I believe this is purposeful. The preface states quite clearly that Dimitriadis wanted it self-published to make a statement about art and the publishing industry, which would be pointless if it wasn’t easily identifiable as not meant the mass market. I like this aggressively indie mentality, though I do feel it is a little compromised by the fact that it is being translated into Greek (and presumably published) by a Cypriot publisher. Why not make the same statement there?

The personal journal feel continues throughout the book. Like the hearts on the cover, there are a number of doodles throughout the book and even a handwritten poem. Dimitriadis’ handwriting looks just like my little sisters BTW. This sense of the personal is the perfect environment for the poetry too. It is deeply personal, and some of them are painful to read. There is no shortage of grit. Many of the women in them (I won’t be so presumptuous as to assume they are all Dimitriadis herself) feel damaged, displaced and very post modern. But there are unexpected tender moments that remind the reader to breathe.

I don’t know a lot about poetry. The back of the book has a number of accolades from other awarded poets, so I trust that those who do know about the art know a good one when they read it. All I can go by is my reactions to these poems. I found about half of them sublime and the rest I neither liked nor disliked. I’m glad to have had the chance to read them, and recommend Love and Fuck Poems for those who like in-your-face realism in their art. I’m a fantasy writer myself, so…