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Ahavati
Tyrant of Words
United States 116awards
Joined 11th Apr 2015
Forum Posts: 14270

HadesRising said:Brand new chapbook is up on Amazon. Acronyms From Hell. Check it out and I hope you enjoy.

ACRONYMS FROM HELL: FROM HADES RISING (CHAPBOOK Book 1) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07SVWYB6K/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_qbL.CbEMP8RB3


SatInUGal said:Sending my 1996 self-published book (25 copies, most lost now, I was around 20 years old at the time) to a non-destructive bound book scanning service. Soon, I will have it digitally in all ebook formats :)

Congratulations to you both.

JohnnyBlaze
Tyrant of Words
United States 23awards
Joined 20th Mar 2015
Forum Posts: 5572

Ahavati said:Angel Vomit
Terry Smith
Soapbox Monkey Press, 2019
ISBN: 9781095461143

Firstly, Smith’s second book will whet the soul; I’m uncertain you can read it dispassionately without relating to it personally.   I mean who hasn’t discovered and lost love?  There is such a delightful wonder in young love consisting of physical discovery;  however, I did not interpret this book in such a manner, despite the inference of a new love between two people.  I perceive young love as young in spirit more so than relationship ( not to be confused with love at any age evoking a youthful feeling ).  Angel Vomit projects more of a mature love, something that comes to fruition after a lifetime of seeking by two people, “Their love was apocalyptic/ destroying all the other loves/ they had ever known (“For the Love of Chaos“).  

In just three short lines of the opening poem, Smith has revealed the direction of his book. ‘We are all searching/ for that someone/ [. . .]/ [who] will remove the shackles/ and free us/ from ourselves’ (“Freedom”), we immediately get the feeling that the characters in this book have done exactly that.  This book begins with love poetry that doesn't depend on lust or the silly to solidify it.  Love presents itself in the first part; an idealized love, an observant love . . . “ [. . .]/ if you look into her eyes/ and allow yourself/ to feel her rhythm/ you will see the stars/ as they were/ at the beginning/ and hear the waves/ of ancient oceans” (“Out of the Corner of My Mind...I Saw Her”).  It also reveals the narrator’s feelings as he struggles with expression, “I tried to explain my feelings/ but how do you explain a sunrise/ to a blind man/ or the call of the whip-poor-will/ to someone who’s ears/ refuse to sound/ [. . .] (“How She Moves Me”).  

Secondly, Smith discloses an epically open heart, particularly in the second half of the book, when the paradigm of the relationship unexpectedly shifts,  ‘Your love faded like twilight’s eve/ into darkness/ and passions that once ran wild/ now resemble amber/ [. . .] / their echos/ reveal to us/ that we/ cannot withstand/ the truth” (“Culinaire du Purgatory”).  Smith demonstrates the ability to release love without drama, fights, or the ugliness so associated with breakups.  He doesn’t accuse, demean, nor riddle the past with inferences of blame.

Without You

Once
we cast the same shadow
now the bast
space between us
leaves a lump in my throat
as deep
as the oceans
&
I cannot
swallow
nor
breathe. . .
[. . .]

A veil is written between the narrator’s occurrence, reminiscence, and the longing associated with separation to his inevitable acceptance of fate, “Searching the bottom/ of this whiskey glass/ for answers/ to questions/ I never dare ask/ when I am sober/ but even after the bottle/ is long gone/ I still end up empty/ & continue to drown/ holding that last/ ice cube/ like it was/ the iceberg/ that sank/ the Titanic. (“Whiskey Sins”)  

Smith’s sensual description is as tender as his heartbreak is real. If you're (un)fortunate enough to experience unrequited love ( as most ), this book matches your heart's vibration. Honest, moving, and heartbreaking all at once; bittersweet and almost too rending to read,  Angel Vomit weaves together a relationship that I feel is only half-told.  It mixes love with loss and desire with despair.  While the ending is a solid reflection on solitude that accumulates at the end of a love affair,  it left me wanting more of the narrator's story beyond the culmination of his contemplation in the following poem:

The Grand Buffet

I lye awake
at night
wrestling
with my monsters
while I know
somewhere
she is sleeping

And, somewhere inside of us, from compassion, or perhaps empathy, but definitely experience, we wrestle with a past that periodically raises its head too.  That is exactly why we want to know more of the story. We crave hope and happy endings despite the inevitability of hurt.  We crave this because of what we accept, what we take away from each circumstance and experience that brings us closer to truth.  Angel Vomit allows us to dream beyond painful endings.

For this, and its raw vulnerability, I recommend it.


Footnote:
Terry Smith is currently battling stage three esophageal cancer. The purchase of his books and/or any donation to his gofundme page will greatly assist him with medical expenses.

https://www.gofundme.com/cancer-treatment-and-surgery-costs


Holy heck! Another comprehensive review. The realm of Poetry definitely can benefit from a lot more insights such as this. ❤📝

SatansSperm
Dangerous Mind
13awards
Joined 19th Nov 2015
Forum Posts: 3112

JohnnyBlaze said:

Holy heck! Another comprehensive review. The realm of Poetry definitely can benefit from a lot more insights such as this. ❤📝


I agree Ahavati lets you know she has truly read and invested in the words to be so detailed in her reviews ...I for one appreciate that very much, Terry

Ahavati
Tyrant of Words
United States 116awards
Joined 11th Apr 2015
Forum Posts: 14270

JohnnyBlaze said:

Holy heck! Another comprehensive review. The realm of Poetry definitely can benefit from a lot more insights such as this. ❤📝


❤📝 I Love my Number One Fan. XO

SatansSperm said:

I agree Ahavati lets you know she has truly read and invested in the words to be so detailed in her reviews ...I for one appreciate that very much, Terry


You're very welcome, Terry. It was an honor.  I'm reading Sid & Mary (Opal) now.

JohnnyBlaze
Tyrant of Words
United States 23awards
Joined 20th Mar 2015
Forum Posts: 5572

Ahavati said:❤📝 I Love my Number One Fan. XO  

What's not to be a fan of? 💜💑💋 Smart is SEXY. ❤ Poetry Smart, even moreso. 😋💜

Kinkpoet
Tyrant of Words
United States 11awards
Joined 9th May 2019
Forum Posts: 1030

My book, Twisted Words 1: Poetic BDSM Adventures,
published with the nom de plume, Raibeart Bruis,
is available in Kindle format from Amazon (warning: extreme content):

https://www.amazon.com/Twisted-Words-Poetic-BDSM-Adventures-ebook/dp/B078N539T6/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=raibeart+bruis&qid=1560533385&s=gateway&sr=8-1


Ahavati
Tyrant of Words
United States 116awards
Joined 11th Apr 2015
Forum Posts: 14270

Kinkpoet said:My book, Twisted Words 1: Poetic BDSM Adventures,
published with the nom de plume, Raibeart Bruis,
is available in Kindle format from Amazon (warning: extreme content):

https://www.amazon.com/Twisted-Words-Poetic-BDSM-Adventures-ebook/dp/B078N539T6/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=raibeart+bruis&qid=1560533385&s=gateway&sr=8-1



Congratulations,  Kinkpoet.  

Ahavati
Tyrant of Words
United States 116awards
Joined 11th Apr 2015
Forum Posts: 14270

Josh said:
My one and only poetry book to date was self-published (as Inner Journey Books) on Amazon in January 2016.
(I referred to it in passing in my poem "A Mind Off-Grid" (uploaded 2nd April, 2017). Ahavati's sharp eye noted it and pointed me to this page - thank you).

Currently only available as an e-book (kindle version)
There are 55 poems, some of which I have put on DUP.

Its title is:  
"Wandering Monks & Orphan Pilgrims (poetry for the inner journey, book 1)"

The link is:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wandering-Monks-Orphan-Pilgrims-Journey-ebook/dp/B01AVHGYA6/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1491775394&sr=1-7&keywords=joshua+Bond


Forthcoming in 2017 I hope:
"Slow Man Awakening (poetry for the inner journey, book 2)"


Josh, do you have an alternate format? I don't do kindle - I actually enjoy flipping pages.

Josh
Joshua Bond
Tyrant of Words
Palestine 40awards
Joined 2nd Feb 2017
Forum Posts: 1687

Ahavati said:

Josh, do you have an alternate format? I don't do kindle - I actually enjoy flipping pages.


I don't do a paper version - yet - let me think about it. I will get back to you. (NB: I tend to classify this book now as somewhat 'juvenilia' - but to me it marks a precious and necessary phase on the journey).

Ahavati
Tyrant of Words
United States 116awards
Joined 11th Apr 2015
Forum Posts: 14270

Josh said:

I don't do a paper version - yet - let me think about it. I will get back to you. (NB: I tend to classify this book now as somewhat 'juvenilia' - but to me it marks a precious and necessary phase on the journey).


I know you'd mentioned a latter publication, so I wasn't sure if that ever came to fruition.  Also, many of the authors here, such as Jade, self-published through LuLu.  The quality is excellent, so if you are considering publishing - it's a good place ( from what I hear ).  

Lozzamus
Fire of Insight
United Kingdom 1awards
Joined 19th Feb 2019
Forum Posts: 18

Hi, I have self-published two novels, Secrets, a psychological thriller, and EggHead (YA). I've also published an autobiography.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1788762312/ref=dbs_a_def_awm_hsch_vapi_tpbk_p1_i1

https://www.feedaread.com/profiles/143/

The book - My Musical Journey by Lawrence Estrey - covers a range of topics, including gangs, religion, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Part of the story takes place in Manchester. In the narrative, music and the piano play a pivotal role, creating a distraction from the chaos all around.

You can catch a taster by visiting my sister WordPress site.  mypianobio.wordpress.com The book contains additional material.

Ahavati
Tyrant of Words
United States 116awards
Joined 11th Apr 2015
Forum Posts: 14270

Sid & Mary (Opal)
A Journey into the wasteland

Terry Smith
Soapbox Monkey Press, 2019
ISBN: 9781092636742

Straight out of the gate this book grabs your attention with an ominous overshadow referencing the book of Revelations:  Revelation 6:2-8:

Through umbilical breath
she rode the pale horse
delivered into the wasteland
& death followed
like a shadow


(“Opal”)

Okay, so what did I just read in its entirety?

   • Darkness of being: Trapped in a cage/made of marrow/a cemetery of
      souls. . .
(“Forgotten to smile”)
   • Experience: The only thing/I learned in church/was the definition/of
      the word/hypocrite
(“Concrete and Steel”)
   • Existence: I lit a match/in the darkness/to illuminate/the way/[. .
      .]/even the exquisite/pain as the match/burnt down/[. . .]/could not wash my
      eyes clean
(“Striking Sulfur”)
    • Recovery: I only go there for the donuts/the chairs are hard and
      cold/[. . .]/the violinist on my left/a first chair of sadness
(“Musical Chairs”)
   • Survival:   Just enough money/to buy a pack of smokes/[. . .]/& some
      new clothes/from the goodwill
(“An american slumdog millionaire”).
    • Love : Her lips/ Were like an apple/ in the garden of Eden (“Her
      lips”)
    • Death: You died/two days/before your birthday/[. . .] (“Cemetery
      in my lungs")

This book is all of that and more, e.g. - self-harm, addiction, etc.  It is one of those books that drags you in on a personal level.  We’ve all experienced ( or will ) our dark soul of the night. If you can’t relate to that, then you’ll relate to feeling lost. Or abuse of some sorts. Or, unrequited love.  Or surviving a circumstance or situation when you’re down on your luck and there’s nowhere else to go but up. For me, this was one of those books.

At only 52 pages, the title speaks the truth: outlining a young couple living a life of sex, drugs, and rock & roll in the wasteland, and is dedicated to “All those souls whose voice is never heard.”  I was immediately transported back to the era of “Make Love Not War” when hippies were considered dirty, lazy, and voiceless – falling through the cracks of society.

Though I feel as though some pieces are missing ( and perhaps it is best they are ), it is very well-written poetry and will not disappoint you.  

Footnote:
Terry Smith is currently battling stage three esophageal cancer. The purchase of his books and/or any donation to his gofundme page will greatly assist him with medical expenses.

https://www.gofundme.com/cancer-treatment-and-surgery-costs

Ahavati
Tyrant of Words
United States 116awards
Joined 11th Apr 2015
Forum Posts: 14270

Lozzamus said:Hi, I have self-published two novels, Secrets, a psychological thriller, and EggHead (YA). I've also published an autobiography.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1788762312/ref=dbs_a_def_awm_hsch_vapi_tpbk_p1_i1

https://www.feedaread.com/profiles/143/



Thank you for sharing.  I am very anxious to read My Musical Journey.

Ahavati
Tyrant of Words
United States 116awards
Joined 11th Apr 2015
Forum Posts: 14270

Brando said:I have three self-published books that are available on Amazon.

Hardware After Hours (ISBN-13: 978-1478380801)
Treachery (ISBN-13: 978-1722381394)
Trade and Dishonesty (ISBN-13: 978-1722239282)


Just ordered the first, Brando.

Jade-Pandora
jade tiger
Tyrant of Words
United States 154awards
Joined 9th Nov 2015
Forum Posts: 5134


Ahavati said:

Just ordered, Jade.


🙀*squeeks!*
😽 Omgosh, thank you, dear Sage!

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