Official Review: Museum Exhibit by Tom Browm

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Melisa Jane
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Official Review: Museum Exhibit by Tom Browm

Post by Melisa Jane »

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Museum Exhibit" by Tom Browm.]
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3 out of 4 stars
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I enjoy reading poetry books because poets, unlike other authors, aren’t afraid to talk about sensitive topics or give their opinions on matters no one dares to talk about. Although other romance books also talk about love and relationship, poets do it with such admirable artistry and creativity that the reader’s mind is left wondering and longing for a perfect love life. Museum Exhibit by Tom Brown is a collection of poems, some short and some long, that covers a wide range of themes.

This book has 121 pages and contains around 105 poems. The poet uses these poems to portray his feelings. For instance, he uses “Puppet Master” to brag about his expertise and his ability to manipulate and control women. He also uses “Pure Gold” to equate genuine love to a bar of pure gold by arguing that true love, just like gold, can pass through fire without getting destroyed. While most of the poems are meant to entertain and communicate feelings, there are some, such as “Doing the Impossible Against All Impossible Odds”, that motivate the readers and show them the importance of hard work.

I liked several things about this book. To begin with, the poet used several stylistic devices while conveying the messages. For instance, in most poems, he used vivid descriptions, hence enabling the reader to visualize events and better understand them. For instance, in the first stanza of the fifth poem, Neo-Classical Bronze, the poet writes:
Take it in the cradle of your hands
Raise it like a baby to the heavens.
Such stylistic devices made the reading more fun and practical. I also liked that, although all the poems were written by the same poet, they are very diverse and cover a wide range of topics.

Normally, poems cover topics that other artists deem too sensitive to cover. Whenever I pick a poetry book, I’m often psychologically prepared to read about things I can’t find in other books, topics such as suicide, abortion, and violence. However, this book doesn’t seem to talk about any of these. Reading through the poems, it almost feels like the poet focused on the structure without considering the themes to be covered. Still, on the structure, I don’t think some of these writings are poetry at all. For instance, the third poem, Attic Greek Krater, is more of freewriting than a poem.

In conclusion, this was a delightful book with several poems. Reading it was not only entertaining but also educating and thought-provoking. I rate it 3 out of 4 stars. I've deducted one star because, although I enjoyed it, it didn’t meet my expectations in terms of the choice of topics covered and, to some extent, the structure of some poems. I recommend it to those who love reading poems that do not involve emotional investment. Those who expect it to cover sensitive topics may be disappointed.

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Museum Exhibit
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Smmwallace
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Post by Smmwallace »

This book of poetry sounds interesting and different. Thank you for your honest and informative good review!
Holly Fleming
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Post by Holly Fleming »

My favorite thing about poetry is getting a poet's perspective on deeply vulnerable topics. It's disappointing to hear that the poet didn't do that. Thank you for this review.
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Post by S P »

This is a very interesting and analytical review. It's always good to hear when poetry inspires you to think a little longer about certain issues, although it's definitely a shame that the poet didn't write about some more emotional topics.
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