Review of Artwords
Posted: 18 Apr 2024, 19:30
[Following is a volunteer review of "Artwords" by Beatriz M. Robles.]
Artwords by Beatriz M. Robles consists of a collection of poetry that incorporates visual imagery into the structure of the poems. There are three basic types of poems included, and the author alternates between each type throughout the book. The first type is a calligram, where the word formatting is shaped into an image of an ordinary object. The second is redactive or found poetry, where the author took pages of other’s writing, and highlighted specific words to create a new poem. The third includes photography, where the author took pictures of ordinary objects and printed poems onto the objects. The poems are generally themed around provoking deeper thought about object descriptions, often through use of suggestive double meanings, as well as drawing attention to ordinary objects and creating artwork out of them.
I found the calligram poems to be the most compelling, both from a visual sense as well as a poetic one. The shape of the poem draws the eye in a unique way, and the poems worked to provoke the most thought, as they were laced with double entendre and not-so-subtle sexual connotations. Although, no profanity was used and all double-meanings could be innocently applied to the object described. This led to an interesting reading experience. In contrast, the redactive poetry and photographed poetry were equally visually stimulating, but the poems themselves were more difficult to read. These poems had less nuance compared to the calligram poems, and appeared mundane in comparison.
Because this book is so visually interesting and the poems incorporate different images and font color, I would recommend viewing a hard-copy of this book rather than an online or eBook version. On a small scale provided by an eBook, it was difficult to read some of the more colorful poems or ones that were written in small text. Another difficulty I had in reading this book was the presentation of the redactive poetry. The words highlighted did not flow in a seamless way, nor were they always easy to understand on first reading. Several of the redactive poems required you to puzzle out which words were highlighted, as some were jumbled in order, or covered up by the author/artist’s doodling around the margins of the words. While this added to the interest of the visuals, it negatively drew attention away from the overall writing.
Overall, I would provide this book with a rating of 4 out of 5. The poetry was visually stimulating and many of the poems included were thought-provoking enough that I find myself thinking of them even after closing the pages. However, there were some elements of the visual poetry that detracted from the overall readability. Clarity in formatting could resolve many of these issues.
I would recommend this book to any young adult or adult who is interested in poetry matched with visual imagery and enjoys a less traditional reading experience.
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Artwords
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on Smashwords
Artwords by Beatriz M. Robles consists of a collection of poetry that incorporates visual imagery into the structure of the poems. There are three basic types of poems included, and the author alternates between each type throughout the book. The first type is a calligram, where the word formatting is shaped into an image of an ordinary object. The second is redactive or found poetry, where the author took pages of other’s writing, and highlighted specific words to create a new poem. The third includes photography, where the author took pictures of ordinary objects and printed poems onto the objects. The poems are generally themed around provoking deeper thought about object descriptions, often through use of suggestive double meanings, as well as drawing attention to ordinary objects and creating artwork out of them.
I found the calligram poems to be the most compelling, both from a visual sense as well as a poetic one. The shape of the poem draws the eye in a unique way, and the poems worked to provoke the most thought, as they were laced with double entendre and not-so-subtle sexual connotations. Although, no profanity was used and all double-meanings could be innocently applied to the object described. This led to an interesting reading experience. In contrast, the redactive poetry and photographed poetry were equally visually stimulating, but the poems themselves were more difficult to read. These poems had less nuance compared to the calligram poems, and appeared mundane in comparison.
Because this book is so visually interesting and the poems incorporate different images and font color, I would recommend viewing a hard-copy of this book rather than an online or eBook version. On a small scale provided by an eBook, it was difficult to read some of the more colorful poems or ones that were written in small text. Another difficulty I had in reading this book was the presentation of the redactive poetry. The words highlighted did not flow in a seamless way, nor were they always easy to understand on first reading. Several of the redactive poems required you to puzzle out which words were highlighted, as some were jumbled in order, or covered up by the author/artist’s doodling around the margins of the words. While this added to the interest of the visuals, it negatively drew attention away from the overall writing.
Overall, I would provide this book with a rating of 4 out of 5. The poetry was visually stimulating and many of the poems included were thought-provoking enough that I find myself thinking of them even after closing the pages. However, there were some elements of the visual poetry that detracted from the overall readability. Clarity in formatting could resolve many of these issues.
I would recommend this book to any young adult or adult who is interested in poetry matched with visual imagery and enjoys a less traditional reading experience.
******
Artwords
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon | on Smashwords