Official Review: Short Poems, Long Tales by Rashid Osmani
Posted: 27 May 2021, 21:37
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Short Poems, Long Tales" by Rashid Osmani.]
In Short Poems, Long Tales, Rashid Osmani provides the audience with 101 poems written on a multitude of topics. As the title suggests, each poem is quite short. Most are less than one page and the longest spills over just barely onto a second page. Despite their short length, they also live up to the “long tales” portion of the title. Each poem has much more depth than the short lengths would suggest. The topics are extremely varied, as well, and touch upon nearly every existential idea. These range from gender to religion to death, broken families, and life passing by.
In the preface, Osmani points out how difficult it is to rate a book of poetry, blaming it on the way humans have been created. Our feelings get in the way. They will be charged during one poem, but then left disappointed with the next. I feel this is a great way to preface this review, as well. I admit to genuinely enjoying one poem while finding the next to be wanting.
I see this as a good thing; I believe there is something for everyone within Osmani’s works. In each one I could feel the author’s frustration or anger or contentment. For readers looking for something on the sweeter side, I recommend “Toy Contentment”. However, for those wanting a poem to match their sorrowful mood, I suggest “No Invitation”. Personally, I resonated with the poem “Older” where the author writes “When younger/I didn’t know I’d get older” (pg. 48).
Osmani writes with an interesting style. The poetry does not rhyme and the varying lengths of each line give an interesting flow to the words, even as I read them in my head. There is a sense of dark and dry humor used throughout, which, I believe, adds to the intriguing nature of some of the works that left me wondering how I had never thought of that perspective.
I found no real negative aspects. I, of course, have my personal feelings about each poem. I thought some were cut off too abruptly, leaving me waiting for more. Then there were some that I admit to not understanding completely. However, these are not any negative points that should detract from the overall effect of the book.
Having found only one error, I believe the poems were professionally edited. Based on this and all the positives, I rate this book four out of four stars.
Due to the wide range of topics covered, not all the poems would be suitable for every reader. Readers should be advised that, although there is no explicit content or language, there are some more intense topics covered that might be a bit difficult for younger readers. There are also many religious references where Osmani recognizes the possible existence of a soul or an after-life on one line and then takes it back on the next. However, I do not believe these are enough to hinder a religious or non-religious person from enjoying the overall works. Therefore, I would recommend this book to nearly any reader looking for some quick, thought-provoking reads.
******
Short Poems, Long Tales
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
In Short Poems, Long Tales, Rashid Osmani provides the audience with 101 poems written on a multitude of topics. As the title suggests, each poem is quite short. Most are less than one page and the longest spills over just barely onto a second page. Despite their short length, they also live up to the “long tales” portion of the title. Each poem has much more depth than the short lengths would suggest. The topics are extremely varied, as well, and touch upon nearly every existential idea. These range from gender to religion to death, broken families, and life passing by.
In the preface, Osmani points out how difficult it is to rate a book of poetry, blaming it on the way humans have been created. Our feelings get in the way. They will be charged during one poem, but then left disappointed with the next. I feel this is a great way to preface this review, as well. I admit to genuinely enjoying one poem while finding the next to be wanting.
I see this as a good thing; I believe there is something for everyone within Osmani’s works. In each one I could feel the author’s frustration or anger or contentment. For readers looking for something on the sweeter side, I recommend “Toy Contentment”. However, for those wanting a poem to match their sorrowful mood, I suggest “No Invitation”. Personally, I resonated with the poem “Older” where the author writes “When younger/I didn’t know I’d get older” (pg. 48).
Osmani writes with an interesting style. The poetry does not rhyme and the varying lengths of each line give an interesting flow to the words, even as I read them in my head. There is a sense of dark and dry humor used throughout, which, I believe, adds to the intriguing nature of some of the works that left me wondering how I had never thought of that perspective.
I found no real negative aspects. I, of course, have my personal feelings about each poem. I thought some were cut off too abruptly, leaving me waiting for more. Then there were some that I admit to not understanding completely. However, these are not any negative points that should detract from the overall effect of the book.
Having found only one error, I believe the poems were professionally edited. Based on this and all the positives, I rate this book four out of four stars.
Due to the wide range of topics covered, not all the poems would be suitable for every reader. Readers should be advised that, although there is no explicit content or language, there are some more intense topics covered that might be a bit difficult for younger readers. There are also many religious references where Osmani recognizes the possible existence of a soul or an after-life on one line and then takes it back on the next. However, I do not believe these are enough to hinder a religious or non-religious person from enjoying the overall works. Therefore, I would recommend this book to nearly any reader looking for some quick, thought-provoking reads.
******
Short Poems, Long Tales
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
