I had recently applied for
Blogadda's book review program. I got selected, and got a compilation of poems - Ah Poetry to review.
Ah Poetry is a collection of poems by a few poetry enthusiasts. They come from all walks and professions, geographical locations , and share the same enthusiasm for creativity. Some of them learning the basics, while some showing their mastery at the discipline.
On opening the package, i first came across a note personally signed by Nirav Sanghvi, CEO of Blogadda. Also i found a bookmark along with the book. Good to see Blogadda working well to build reputation, highly appreciable.
The book was a fun experience to read. Noticed some facts that i never cared about. Found out some really nice words for using in life.
The book is full of poets( 57 poets in total - some really aces at it, while some trying evidently showing their inexperience). The 170 poem collection is exhaustive, and yet gives a unique vision to what occurs in life with us. The first poet that caught my eye was a software engineer Amanpreet Singh (
amanamagus.wordpress.com) with "Vacant Horizons". The way he's depicted turbulence in mind, its quite good. I could connect with what he was trying to express, and that made it more worth it.
A retired school teacher, Mr Amiya Chatterjee(
flamboyantbeggar.blogspot.com), was a delight to read. I absolutely adored all three creations of his. The way he's played with words does show his mastery at poetry. Its style reminded me of the poetry i used to read in english grammer books in Calcutta during my childhood. Fine english, excellent execution, i was simply bowled over.
Then came a honest confession by Anand Madhukar(a civil servant,fyi). His 'Letter to my father' was a honest apology, that is worth appreciation.
Then there was Kunal Sen(
www.kunalsen.in). He showed how a cinematic three-act structure of poetry can be a great entertainment. His localised Bengali romantic poems were a delight to read, not often i get to read such poetry.
Then came a poem from Leenkuna Reddy - a housewife from Mumbai. Initially, i found her creations very common(i've gone through similar execution of the same idea many a times), but then came "Meandering Lines". It's an enactment of a emotional scene. Though the concept is well familiar, the execution was very unique and well narrated. She's shown she can write for bollywood (i'm serious).
Just after Leenkuna was Madhav Bhandarkar(
dreamingfingers.wordpress.com) . Though i couldn't get his first creation in the book well, his last creation "Loyal Husband" made up for it(made it up very well). He shows great creativity in depicting the loyalty of a husband for his late wife.
Also i'd like to mention Pratibha Sofat, a software engineer by profession. Her poem "Dreams" was a very honest attempt at poetry.
Well, there are so many of them, that i can keep on writing endlessly on each one of them. But time and space always become a contraint.
The book's a mixed collection of honest attempts by people, who in their life, have jotted down their experiences, their feelings with creativity and honesty. Some do make me feel interrupted from the flow, while others just leave me wanting for more. My rating for the book - 3.5 out of 5. The good part is very good, the not-so good part poems are average. Overall, i can say the book as a mixed collection. Maybe i'll send them my poems for review.
I Googled, and found out that these guys had started a facebook page, viewable at
http://www.facebook.com/AhPoetry . Those interested can go there for more.
