3 out of 4 stars
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Picture Frames a book of Poetry by Joseph Simmons is a collection of poems that deals with a myriad of themes in the poet’s own idiosyncratic way. The poetry collection is essentially in the form of a non-linear narrative. It amalgamates commentaries, conversations and much more into a single work of art. I feel like this poetry collection is suitable for people of all ages as the intensity of the content varies from poem to poem.
The title of this poetry collection is quite unique and suggestive. It crystallises the central idea that the poet will grapple with in the text. The idea of “poetic pictures” is quite intriguing, and the poems do justice to this idea by capturing a single moment of heightened emotion. I feel that the title threw me off for a second, but when I realised that this was a work of poetry, I was invariably drawn to it. The title fits right in with the rest of the narrative, which is fragmented into a collection of poems, where each poem is a picture.
The poems in themselves stand out even as separate pieces, but when put together, they strengthen the entire narrative. Each poem is lyrical, and there is an abundance of usage of repetition in the poems. But the repetition in each case is deliberate and adds structure and rhythm to the rest of the poem. A shining example of this fact is the first poem “Not So Much”, the poet focuses on a certain verse by repeating it a number of times and this makes the poem more lyrical and beautiful.
The poet does not have any particular rhyme scheme that he has used over the length of these poems. He instead chooses to experiment with not just words but also sentence structures. Both rhyming and free verse poems are a part of this collection and such a variety enhances the beauty of the overall narrative.
Another interesting aspect of the poet’s art is the excessive but careful use of punctuation. The poems are not entirely fluid. They are structured into certain fragments by the usage of punctuation. It almost seems like the words are puzzle pieces that are cut into different shapes to create a coherent entity.
I feel that the author has a distinctive writing style, even though his poems may feel anachronistic at times. His poetry mirrors romantic poetry in some aspects, and that is beautiful in its own right. His poetry is not affected by the modern trends and fads and has its own unique style. I also love the poet’s experimentation with font size. Though it may seem silly at first, it enhances the meaning of the poems.
I feel that this poetry collection certainly deserves a 3 out of 4 stars. I certainly feel like this work could have been edited more extensively, but other than that, this was a wonderful read.
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Picture Frames a book of Poetry
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