Stephanie Jane recenzis Petals de Anna Casamento Arrigo
Emotionally uplifting poetry
5 steloj
In my review of Anna Casamento Arrigo's memoir, Weeds Beneath The Open Meadows, I commented on her evocative writing style and her 'poet's soul'. I felt that reading one of her poetry collections would also be a wonderful experience and that was absolutely the case for me with this newest work, Petals. I became deeply immersed in many of the poems, Anna's distinctive compositions sparking myriad emotions for me as I read. Petals draws from a wide range of life experiences for its inspiration and, although Anna's circumstances are very different from my own, I frequently felt a strong connection to the imagery she creates - one woman to another across thousands of miles.
I especially loved how Anna references the natural world and the vivid stream-of consciousness approch that features in a lot of the poems. Each line might be only a single word, yet it is a perfectly …
In my review of Anna Casamento Arrigo's memoir, Weeds Beneath The Open Meadows, I commented on her evocative writing style and her 'poet's soul'. I felt that reading one of her poetry collections would also be a wonderful experience and that was absolutely the case for me with this newest work, Petals. I became deeply immersed in many of the poems, Anna's distinctive compositions sparking myriad emotions for me as I read. Petals draws from a wide range of life experiences for its inspiration and, although Anna's circumstances are very different from my own, I frequently felt a strong connection to the imagery she creates - one woman to another across thousands of miles.
I especially loved how Anna references the natural world and the vivid stream-of consciousness approch that features in a lot of the poems. Each line might be only a single word, yet it is a perfectly chosen one so my mind conjured up beautiful images as my heart interpreted the emotional theme. A few of these poems have now also become songs (viewable on YouTube) and watching these collaborative efforts was a lovely experience too. Petals itself also includes a number of Anna's abstract artworks so this book is much more than simply a poetry collection.
On finishing reading, I felt emotionally uplifted and calmed, and dipping into Petals to revisit favourite poems over the past few days has reinforced this reaction. For me, good poetry reaches within us differently and more deeply than prose work. It tells us truths about ourselves, one person's highly individual moments being recognisable and universally understood. Petals is one such collection that I am grateful to have had this opportunity to enjoy and to reflect upon.