4 out of 4 stars
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As a reader and as a poet I wanted to explore Raed Anis Aljishi’s book called Bleeding Gull – look, feel, fly. The cover art is simple and yet impactful with the choice of font, color and the image of the bird on the front. The description about the short poems, including material about autism and cancer further compelled me to try the collection.
From the first poem in the collection I realized I had made the right choice to read the book. The speaker in the poem has a strong presence, voice and compelling subject. I relished in every line of the poem especially, “Growing on the chosen dust.” The author has a deepening wisdom and writes poetry at an excellent craft level. I smiled reading the second poem, the third poem and every one that followed after in the collection. Whether the subject was about flowers, a crow of death, wrinkle lines, and a poem’s smoke or visions of rats, the images contained in the poems were strong.
Sometimes while reading poetry, it is hard to see the poem. Sometimes while reading poetry, the reader cannot connect with the speaker. Because in every poem I enjoyed the vivid imagery and connected with the speaker, I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. I would recommend this poetry collection to any reader who enjoys poetry or wishes to give it a chance. The lines are beautifully written and there is a simple yet enjoyable elegance similar to the cover art on the front of the book. I would recommend this book studied by any class of literature. From the world of academia, I can imagine this book being enjoyed and discussed in a poetry course at college or in the graduate level. I would recommend this book to people who don’t even enjoy poetry, because it has the potential to open him or her to greatness. Because I believe this book could convince others to open their eyes to poetry, I believe my rating of 4 stars is highly justified. I would rate the book one of the greatest I have read in a long time and I have read many collections of poetry in my years.
I enjoyed the subject in every poem; I enjoyed the tone and the narrator’s connection to the subject. I enjoyed the book so much that I can’t think of one thing I didn’t like about the book.
I imagine the author takes time in their writing and craft. I would enjoy to read more of their work and recommend it to other readers. It brings me great joy to find a poetry collection that is enjoyable throughout and I found it today.
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Bleeding Gull - look, feel, fly
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