Book Review: Blossoms and Foliages by Daisy Bala

Book: Blossoms and Foliages: A Bouquet of Poems
Author: Daisy Bala
Genre: Poetry
Format:PDF
Pages: 67

A Delicious Poetic Buffet for Nature Lovers

Blossoms and Foliages by Daisy Bala is a beautiful bouquet of Nature poems. The book starts with an amazing quote of Vincent Van Gogh:

"If you truly love Nature, you will find beauty everywhere."

The poet intends to make her readers fall in love with the everyday marvels of Nature that we so often take for granted. And I must say she has done a fabulous job. Now every time, you will see raindrops on leaves, sunset in a beach, or a rosebud, you will have the inclination to admire them longer. 

The words that the poet has used are delicious and appealing. The first two poems, "The Blushing Bud" and "The Chiming Bluebells" made me fall in love with the poet's imagination and her ability yo convey it through words. 

"Pink rosy blush

Aromatic, aesthetically pleasing

Attracting pollinators.

The flirtatious bumblebee,

Buzzing around the beguiling beauty!

How beautifully and aesthetically the poet has described the beloved-lover relationship between a blushing rose and a bumblebee!

"It is an indulgent bluebell spread

Promising chiming good times ahead."

William Wordsworth wrote "Daffodils" when he was mesmerized by an array of daffodils blooming in the field. Daisy's poem on bluebells made me remember one of my favorite poet Wordsworth's "Daffodils". 

The poet has also used the backdrop of Nature to pen down some philosophical poems such as "Walk your Path", "The Clarity" and "The Calming Effect". 

Walking on the beach barefoot, soaking in the beauty of Nature symbolizes Oneness with the Universe. It is indeed a great form of meditation. I loved these lines in "The Calming Effect":

"The sun, the sand and the spume

Mildly meditate me, relieving my anxiety

The grains beneath my toes

Exfoliate my thinking"

Being a Nature lover, the book "Blossoms and Foliages" made my heart sing with delight. I loved the imagery and the other figures of speech that the poet has skillfully used in her poems. It is a feel-good book that makes us realize we all have the gifts of Nature to savor every day. Isn't that a blessing? Read the book now to feel it. 

Highly recommended to poetry and nature lovers!

You can download your free copy of the book here: https://www.theblogchatter.com/download/blossoms-and-foliages-by-daisy-bala/

(Free for a limited time)

Book Review: Insta Women #BlogchatterEbook

Robert Browning, the famous Victorian poet popularized dramatic monologues. I remember reading Porphyria's Lover by Browning in my post graduation and getting totally enthralled by it. So, when I came across the book Insta Women written by Nupur Maskara whose subtitle says dramatic monologues by drama queens, I knew I have to read this one. And I am glad I picked the book. 

Overview

Insta Women is a collection of dramatic monologues by famous women written by Nupur Maskara. The book is divided into 6 sections:

• Indian Queens with Steam
• Herstorical Women
• Feisty Feminist
• Working Women with Verve
• Sassy Sports Women
• Artistes who lived their art

I enjoyed reading each section because it was a pleasure to come across some wonderful women from mythology, history, art, sports, and science who have shaped our worldview and status as women today.

Detailed Analysis

The book starts with one of my favorite characters, Draupadi's monologue. This is the only monologue in the book that is written in rhymed lines. The rest of the monologues are written in free verse. The bold monologue shows Draupadi's rage and sarcasm. I loved the lines when she says:

"Karna calls me characterless for having five

husbands. Did I ask for them, that bee-hive?"

The next poem that I liked in the Indian Queens section is Noorjahan's monologue. It beautifully shows the pain, rage, strength, and vulnerability of the charismatic queen. I liked the way Noorjahan ended her monologue by the following lines:

"Finally, a lady of leisure

Architecture gave me pleasure

My monuments are my legacies

They don't let me down

Unlike miserable men."

I also enjoyed reading the monologues of Hazrat Mahal and Bandit Queen. In the next section called "Herstorical women", there were monologues by Theodore, empress of Eastern Roman empire, Nzinga of Angola, and Khutulun, the Mongol warrior princess. 

The author has researched about each woman and portrayed their story in such a way that it felt the historical characters are right in front of me, talking to me and motivating me. Kudos to the author for blending history and poetry with such ease. 

The third section called "Feisty Feminists" is undoubtedly my favourite. The women in this section talk about how much they struggled to give women the status of equality. The monologues are about their battle to get women the right to vote, the right to hold property, and the right to get custody. This section has powerful monologues by feminists such as author Caroline Norton, Ernestine Rose, Susan Anthony, Betty Freiden, and Gloria Steinem. 

Quoting some lines from the monologue by Ernestine Rose:

"Life and death

Pleasure and Pain

Recognize no sex."

Lucy Stone's assertiveness is rightly portrayed in the following lines:

"I refused to pay tax

Till I could vote:

"Women today will never know

At what price their right to free speech

Has been earned."

The fourth section is about monologues of working women who had to struggle due to their gender. Agnodice, the physician had to disguise as a man because the law did not allow women to practice medicine. Mary Lyon, the educationist opened a school for girls where author Emily Dickinson studied. Emmy Nother, the mathematician kept on excelling in maths although it was considered un-ladylike.

The fifth section is about monologues of sportswomen like Annie Edson Taylor and Marie Marvingt. The sixth section is about monologues of artists such as Artemesia Gentileschi, the painter and Mademoiselle La Maupin, the opera maestro. I loved the following lines spoken by Artemesia Gentileschi:

"I chose to paint women

Someone had to

A man wasn't going to show us

The way we were. would he?"

Final Words

I absolutely enjoyed reading the book. Knowing about the fascinating and courageous stories of such powerful women was indeed a treat. It also made me realize how much the woman of the past had fought for our liberty and equality. We should never take it for granted. I loved the author's choice and command of her subject. The poems flowed effortlessly, pulling me deep within each monologue. Highly recommended to every woman! Read it whenever you feel low or need some motivation in life. 

Insta Women is like watching a theatre where the characters come alive in front of you, luring you to enter their fascinating world. 

You can download a copy of the book from: https://www.theblogchatter.com/download/nupur-maskaras-insta-women/

The book review has been written as part of the Blogchatter Book Review Program

Book Review: Postcards from Memory

Book: Postcards From Memory

Author: Samir Satam

Publisher: First Step Publishing

Genre: Poetry

Pages: 132

Price: 180 INR

Blurb: Every moment that passes is not coming back. Yes, there might be moments in future, like the one you just experienced. But it's not going to be the same again. The one that was, was one like itself. It cannot be replaced. It's gone... Long gone... Dissolved in this crazy tasting, highly intoxicating drink of life. In an attempt to capture these bits and pieces that keep dissolving to give their distinct flavors to this colorful cocktail, I end up scribbling on my pad. This book is a bouquet of such moments that started with my mindless scribbling and ended up in verses. Sweet, Bitter, Sour, Sublime... Each piece has a taste of its own.

My Rating: 3.5/5

My Review: 

There is a beautiful poetic touch to the title of the book "Postcards from Memory". As poets, we all try to capture moments and preserve them in our poems so that we can look back at them again and again. So in this book, the poet has tried to capture the most memorable and savory moments of his life in a delicate way.

The book is divided into ten sections: Idle Morning| Temptations | Love, lies and a little nostalgia | Ramblings | A point of view | Stolen Moments | Lost Moments | Longing | One for the road | Flirting with Death

I especially loved the poems under the section Idle Morning, Temptations, A point of View, Flirting with Death and Longing. The observation skills of the poet are definitely worth applauding because he has written about everything under the sun. His emotional quotient and simplicity are the added plus points that make this book a soothing read. 

You can find poems on coffee and cakes that will literally make you hungry. There are poems on serious subjects such as global warming and honor killing that will make you think. You will also get to read beautiful, emotional poems on love, life, self-discovery and death.

The language used in the poems is simple and lucid. Therefore, no one will find any difficulty in comprehending the meaning of the poems. There are crisp, short poems as well as longer ones.

Here is a short poem from the collection under the section Longing that can give you an idea of the depth and simplicity of the poet.

Embroidered on her mind is a calm face,

Un-weaving its threads, she weeps in pain,

Nicks, 

Cuts,

Twists,

Pulls at stitches on the surface,

Until the face is completely erased,

Leaving back a faint trace,

Like the violence of an incomplete poem on a poet's page... 

However, on the flip side, there are quite a few poems in the book that could have been much better. There are some incessant long poems that aren't impactful or touching. 

Overall, the book is a mixed bag comprising some very good poems and some average poems. 

If you are fond of poetry, you can go for this book. The wide range of poems will give you a nice reading experience.

Buy the book here!