Review of Love and Resistance
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Review of Love and Resistance
[Following is a volunteer review of "Love and Resistance" by Marie J. Mond.]
Love and Resistance by Marie J. Mond is one of two books of contemporary poetry I have appreciated within the past few years. While ostensibly a book of poems about romantic love, especially its tragic side, this poetry collection covers more ground.
The recurring theme that affected me most strongly was expressed in poems such as “Blurred Lines”, “The Guard”, and “Before the End.” The lines between the “good guys” and “bad guys” really do blur in these pieces. One is written from the point of view of a person dying from lethal injection. It shocked me into acknowledging the humanity of someone I would normally dismiss as worthless. That is what poetry should be able to do, that the evening news cannot.
Many poems specifically deal with the struggles women face, pieces such as “I’m On Fire”, “Disguised”, “My Son the Visitor”, and especially “Good Woman.” I found the closing line of that poem to be devastating in its truth.
Others like “Window” and “Text Message” sound like they are written from a man’s point of view. “Text Message” was another one I loved for its rawness.
That was my major criticism of this book though, that it was not clear whose distinct voice I was listening to. Only the opening poem, “Loving You Is a Sin” by May Lene Reodique, is credited to a specific author. And I found that poem to be as lukewarm as its author’s biographical sketch from the introduction. While the poem is well-written, it only affected me as much as a solid pop song I might hear on the radio from a mainstream artist like Taylor Swift. The introduction mentions that May Lene writes poetry as one of her hobbies and tends to write whatever comes to her mind. She has a degree in Fishery Education from a prestigious university in the Philippines. She founded two online literary groups and won first prize last year in a contest by Skylark Poetry International, which is a Facebook group. This lady can also be followed on a Wattpad account under the screen name “sexysweetangel23.”
To mix social media platforms like Facebook with literature is to diminish the value of the writing; it’s unavoidable. And that is particularly true of poetry. While there is nothing wrong with being a well-rounded or multi-faceted individual, that is not what I look for in a poet. I don’t particularly care if a poet can be described as “sexy” or “sweet.” And I certainly don’t prefer poets to be angels. Unless they are rebel angels, like John Keats or Percy Shelley.
I mentioned that I had found value in another book of modern poetry. That book is A Rosary Made of Air by Joseph Massey. I consider it a superior work, partly because it is written by a man who admits that he is deeply flawed and that much of his work has come from a place of genuine pain. Reading his book, I could tell that all the poems, even the ones I liked less than others, came straight from his heart and soul. Every single one felt that way.
By contrast, the longer I read Love and Resistance, the more I felt it was essentially about commercialism. I don’t think it is likely that Marie J. Mond could have written all the poems in this volume aside from the opening one (by May Lene Reodique); the subject matter and points of view are too diverse to come from the same author. This appears to be a collection of the best submissions to that Facebook group, Skylark Poetry International. If that is the case, then every poem besides the opening one has been left anonymous. I do fault the author/publisher for this. I would have liked to know whose mind came up with a lot of this fine poetry. The paltry way this book is laid out is against the true spirit of poetry.
Because of the aforementioned complaints, this book merits four out of five stars. If it was presented in more of a heartfelt, rather than a cheapened, commercial way, I would award it a perfect five out of five. The strength of the poetry is enough to merit four out of five. There are several great poems herein, many more good ones, and none I would consider absolute duds. Even the opening and closing poems that were chosen complement each other well enough, though they were not as strong as some of the content in between. This book was also a novelty by being typo-free, as well-edited as one could hope for.
And if the only poem in this book was “Rag Doll”, it would still be worth reading. That piece resonated with me more than any other. It is one that deserves to be read aloud. And savored. On the evening I first read it, and again this evening as I began to critique the book as a whole, I realized that the words to that poem summarize everything I currently feel about life itself, better than any words I have to offer.
******
Love and Resistance
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Love and Resistance by Marie J. Mond is one of two books of contemporary poetry I have appreciated within the past few years. While ostensibly a book of poems about romantic love, especially its tragic side, this poetry collection covers more ground.
The recurring theme that affected me most strongly was expressed in poems such as “Blurred Lines”, “The Guard”, and “Before the End.” The lines between the “good guys” and “bad guys” really do blur in these pieces. One is written from the point of view of a person dying from lethal injection. It shocked me into acknowledging the humanity of someone I would normally dismiss as worthless. That is what poetry should be able to do, that the evening news cannot.
Many poems specifically deal with the struggles women face, pieces such as “I’m On Fire”, “Disguised”, “My Son the Visitor”, and especially “Good Woman.” I found the closing line of that poem to be devastating in its truth.
Others like “Window” and “Text Message” sound like they are written from a man’s point of view. “Text Message” was another one I loved for its rawness.
That was my major criticism of this book though, that it was not clear whose distinct voice I was listening to. Only the opening poem, “Loving You Is a Sin” by May Lene Reodique, is credited to a specific author. And I found that poem to be as lukewarm as its author’s biographical sketch from the introduction. While the poem is well-written, it only affected me as much as a solid pop song I might hear on the radio from a mainstream artist like Taylor Swift. The introduction mentions that May Lene writes poetry as one of her hobbies and tends to write whatever comes to her mind. She has a degree in Fishery Education from a prestigious university in the Philippines. She founded two online literary groups and won first prize last year in a contest by Skylark Poetry International, which is a Facebook group. This lady can also be followed on a Wattpad account under the screen name “sexysweetangel23.”
To mix social media platforms like Facebook with literature is to diminish the value of the writing; it’s unavoidable. And that is particularly true of poetry. While there is nothing wrong with being a well-rounded or multi-faceted individual, that is not what I look for in a poet. I don’t particularly care if a poet can be described as “sexy” or “sweet.” And I certainly don’t prefer poets to be angels. Unless they are rebel angels, like John Keats or Percy Shelley.
I mentioned that I had found value in another book of modern poetry. That book is A Rosary Made of Air by Joseph Massey. I consider it a superior work, partly because it is written by a man who admits that he is deeply flawed and that much of his work has come from a place of genuine pain. Reading his book, I could tell that all the poems, even the ones I liked less than others, came straight from his heart and soul. Every single one felt that way.
By contrast, the longer I read Love and Resistance, the more I felt it was essentially about commercialism. I don’t think it is likely that Marie J. Mond could have written all the poems in this volume aside from the opening one (by May Lene Reodique); the subject matter and points of view are too diverse to come from the same author. This appears to be a collection of the best submissions to that Facebook group, Skylark Poetry International. If that is the case, then every poem besides the opening one has been left anonymous. I do fault the author/publisher for this. I would have liked to know whose mind came up with a lot of this fine poetry. The paltry way this book is laid out is against the true spirit of poetry.
Because of the aforementioned complaints, this book merits four out of five stars. If it was presented in more of a heartfelt, rather than a cheapened, commercial way, I would award it a perfect five out of five. The strength of the poetry is enough to merit four out of five. There are several great poems herein, many more good ones, and none I would consider absolute duds. Even the opening and closing poems that were chosen complement each other well enough, though they were not as strong as some of the content in between. This book was also a novelty by being typo-free, as well-edited as one could hope for.
And if the only poem in this book was “Rag Doll”, it would still be worth reading. That piece resonated with me more than any other. It is one that deserves to be read aloud. And savored. On the evening I first read it, and again this evening as I began to critique the book as a whole, I realized that the words to that poem summarize everything I currently feel about life itself, better than any words I have to offer.
******
Love and Resistance
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: The Reverend Psychopath by Dr Andrew Rynne
