Official Review: Poetry for the Soul by Bhunga Enoch Noyila

[mewsmash]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Poetry for the Soul" by Bhunga Enoch Noyila.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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I've always been a fan of poetry, in both reading and writing it. Therefore, I was highly excited to sample a poetry book from a somewhat unknown author. After reading the acknowledgements of Poetry for the Soul and the short blurb included about the author, Bhunga Enoch Noyila, I wanted nothing more than to enjoy this book wholeheartedly. This was because the author seemed like such a wonderful, kind, passionate man, that I would feel terrible slandering his abilities. I cannot leave a 4/4, or even a 3/4 review for this novel. Not only is it poorly edited in grammar, but the poetry seems contrived and is all done in a similar meter. Much of the meter is uneven and does not flow well, and words are often used to rhyme with the identical word. However, the passion of the author is visible throughout every single poem, and therefore, I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars.

The first issue of this short book is most certainly the grammar. The titles of the poems are not capitalized aside from the first word in them. This might be a confusing explanation, so let me give you an example. It's like if I titled a poem: "The Incredible World of Book Reviews", yet wrote the title in the book as "The incredible world of book reviews." It jarred me when I first noticed it, and repeatedly snapped my focus from the actual content of the poem to the poor grammatical editing. This bothersome feature is even visible on the title page, which was incredibly unprofessional. Since the book is poetry, there were not many other grammatical mistakes. However, the fact that this mistake is visible in every page of the book was very frustrating.

Another issue I had with the collection was the similar style of all the poems. All of the poems are free verse, of a similar length, do not rhyme, and have a nearly identical meter. This makes the book seem repetitive, and as if the author can only write one style of poetry. I enjoy having variety in my poetry books, and would have loved to see some rhyming poetry, poems with a different meter, and poems of a different format. Luckily, there is variety in the subject matter of each poem, as the topics vary from the author's own heritage, to experiences from his childhood, to tributes to his beloved family. The mixture of sad and happy emotions conveyed were a nice change of pace.

Though the poems in the book did not rhyme, the author often "rhymed" two consecutive lines using the same word. An example of this would be ending a line with "chair," and then ending the next one with "chair" to give the illusion of a rhyme. This is something often frowned upon in the world of songwriting, and it certainly didn't do the poems any justice. The language used in the poems is very repetitive, though in a more irritating and less smooth way than most poetic repetition. I've never been a fan of incredibly simplistic language in poetry like the author uses, but that might just be a personal preference.

The most positive aspect of this poetry book is the clear amount of passion and emotion that the author places into each poem. Though they might not be the most beautiful or skillfully written poems, there is clearly a lot of effort put into each one. The memories and wishes imbedded into the poetry is clear, and it makes reading the collection a very pleasant experience. There is almost a childlike wonder in each poem, and it makes every single one a fun experience to read.

I definitely believe the author has potential in his poetry. Though they are, in my opinion, nowhere near polished enough to publish yet, the work that the author put in is clear. With a few more years in practice, the author could really accentuate the emotional aspects of his poetry, and refine his work to avoid spelling errors and broaden his abilities. Some of the poetry worked well with the author's ability, but much of the book fell flat and felt contrived, since everything in the book was so similar. That's why I rate this collection of poetry 2 stars out of 4 stars. However, I rate the author's drive and passion a perfect 4/4.

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Poetry for the Soul
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Like mewsmash's review? Post a comment saying so!

[SarojiniP]

The review can inspire the poet to present the art in a proper form.

[Darakhshan Nazir]

Thank you for an honest review . I don't think I'll ever read this novel

[Kelvin001]

I love the honesty displayed in the review. It certainly inspires

[holsam_87]

How unfortunate, I would also find the grammatical errors to be jarring as well. Thanks for the honest review.