This is not a Spectacle: Chapbook
by Isabelle Kenyon
Book Details
Title: This is not a Spectacle: Chapbook
Author: Isabelle Kenyon
Genres: Poetry
Length: 28 Pages
Publisher: Amazon Digital Services LLC
Publication Date: 14th September 2017
Format: E-book (Kindle), Paperback
ASIN: B075D86TBS
Price: $2.99
Book Decsription
The chapbook explores our diverse society, exploring taboo subjects, people and events which, in turn, repulse and intrigue us.
It is an expression of anger from those in society who least want to be stared at.
'THIS IS NOT A SPECTACLE' is the first anthology from Fly on the Wall Poetry. An extended edition of this work is also available.
The above description was taken from Amazon.
Review
Rating
Personal Rating: 4 stars
Goodreads Average: 4.3 stars
Amazon Average: 4.2 stars
Note: The extended edition seems to be liked better, sitting at 4.7 stars on Amazon
Reflection and Relevance
I found that a lot of the poems themed upon the notion of social justice. In fact, the opening poems deal with poverty, domestic violence and homelessness. In the style in which Isabelle writes, as a reader I could picture these scenarios, even if I have not personally experience them. The imagery describes excellently the environment in which the poem takes place. These poems provide a lot of material on what to reflect and think about.
Other poems reflected the reality of today: teenagers, the internet, as well as body hair and beauty standards. What I liked about these poems is that they are presented to an emotional voice behind them. They are not simply abstract and neutral in tone: they evoke both reflection and emotion. As the title of the book suggests, the people or situations of these poems are not spectacles, they are not freak shows - we should not be staring and judging at those who are less fortunate.
Personal Poetry
My favourite poems are A Letter to my Younger Self and the poems written about the author's grandmother, Olga. Maybe as these experiences come directly from the author herself, they were somewhat easier to relate to and understand. We get to see her experience through her eyes. In the poem of Identity: Granny Olga, there is a balance between the descriptive, and the emotions which are unspoken. These poems are much harder to describe objectively; reading them is a must!
Summary
Overall, although there were a couple of poems which did not amaze me, the rest of the chapbook is totally worth the read. I have found myself rereading some of the poems more than twice or thrice. I would recommend getting acquainted with Isabelle Kenyon's poetry, as I firmly believe that you will not regret it.
For those of you who may have missed the announcement, Isabelle Kenyon has released an anthology of poems on mental health. Read the announcement here: Announcement: Please Hear What I'm Not Saying (Anthology). She is the editor of this project, and over a 100 poets have contributed their poetry!
I am delighted to have found your page. Great in depth review, after I get through my current reading I may add this to my list.
Nontheless I will be a fan watching your work further @poetrybyjeremy
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Thank you! I truly appreciate that. I do post book reviews every couple of weeks or so; depends on how much reading time I get. This was my fourth review I believe.
I have big news coming up! I will have a poetry collection of my own coming up. I'm hoping to receive a proof copy by the end of next week, so then I can confirm the dates of release.
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I am looking forward to this collection. My eyes will be peeled. I also have some poetry upon my own page, some of others, but also some of my own. I would love to get a review from yourself upon it, particularly the drug dealer poem.
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Sure, I'll go read that. I realised you have a lot of resteems, so it's a bit difficult to find your own work on your profile. If I may suggest, you should use 5 tags on each post, so you make most use of it.
Furthermore, we have a community of poets, Steem Poets United, you might be interested in joining our discord (https://discord.gg/vHnhzq3) and share your poetry there. Using the tag poetsunited helps and gives you a chance to be featured in our daily dose and our weekly curation!
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I am privileged to be on this platform, very excited!
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