Review of Shine a Light
Posted: 01 Mar 2022, 20:02
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Shine a Light" by Nicky Corcoran.]
Shine a Light is an anthology, consisting of over twenty poems written by Nicky Corcoran. In these poems, the author takes us through several of her real-life experiences, from growing up in the 1960s to recent times. Through her stories and inspirations, one thing is clear: we must join hands and do better to make ourselves and the world a better place. We kick off with the poem, "Adolescence," which gives us an insight into her view on the changes to her body, vulnerability, and fears that she experienced in adolescence. In the same vein, other poems call to mind the different ways life throws us unforeseen challenges that can be overwhelming. Nevertheless, we must learn from our mistakes and do better.
While the author mostly explores things from her perspective, the first aspect of the book I like is how relatable it is. From the fear of growing up, mental health, and the significance of education to menopause, happiness, and relevant issues in the world, like racial discrimination, hate crimes, religion, sexual orientation, child abuse, and sexism, the themes explored in the poems cut across areas in life that readers will find easy to connect to, even to the point that it'll feel as though the author is speaking directly to them.
The author favors a free-form style of poetry and utilizes simple sentences, so the messages behind the poetry are very easy to grasp. Her passion in passing her messages is admirable, and she does well to communicate the urgency of working together to tackle the issues that affect the world. A good example was in the poem, "Come Out," which highlights how difficult gay people have had it in a world where they constantly face discrimination. It was even shocking for me to learn that the WHO once listed same-sex attraction as a mental illness, and Nicky Corcoran does a brilliant job of providing victims of this discrimination with positive encouragement to come out and live their lives.
Unfortunately, the book was not well organized. The author includes a brief explanation to inform readers of her inspiration for the poems. While I found these explanations insightful, it was confusing since I couldn't tell when a poem was concluded because there was little or no spacing at certain points. I also found a lot of errors while reading through this concise read, which made my reading experience even more difficult.
Overall, the book touched on several relevant and relatable themes and evoked a range of emotions while interestingly providing a unique perspective on some of the topics. Therefore, I enjoyed the book's contents. Its presentation needs a lot of work, however. On that note, I will settle for rating Shine a Light two out of four stars. If these issues are rectified, the book will be perfect. Readers who enjoy insightful poetry will find this book interesting.
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Shine a Light
View: on Bookshelves
Shine a Light is an anthology, consisting of over twenty poems written by Nicky Corcoran. In these poems, the author takes us through several of her real-life experiences, from growing up in the 1960s to recent times. Through her stories and inspirations, one thing is clear: we must join hands and do better to make ourselves and the world a better place. We kick off with the poem, "Adolescence," which gives us an insight into her view on the changes to her body, vulnerability, and fears that she experienced in adolescence. In the same vein, other poems call to mind the different ways life throws us unforeseen challenges that can be overwhelming. Nevertheless, we must learn from our mistakes and do better.
While the author mostly explores things from her perspective, the first aspect of the book I like is how relatable it is. From the fear of growing up, mental health, and the significance of education to menopause, happiness, and relevant issues in the world, like racial discrimination, hate crimes, religion, sexual orientation, child abuse, and sexism, the themes explored in the poems cut across areas in life that readers will find easy to connect to, even to the point that it'll feel as though the author is speaking directly to them.
The author favors a free-form style of poetry and utilizes simple sentences, so the messages behind the poetry are very easy to grasp. Her passion in passing her messages is admirable, and she does well to communicate the urgency of working together to tackle the issues that affect the world. A good example was in the poem, "Come Out," which highlights how difficult gay people have had it in a world where they constantly face discrimination. It was even shocking for me to learn that the WHO once listed same-sex attraction as a mental illness, and Nicky Corcoran does a brilliant job of providing victims of this discrimination with positive encouragement to come out and live their lives.
Unfortunately, the book was not well organized. The author includes a brief explanation to inform readers of her inspiration for the poems. While I found these explanations insightful, it was confusing since I couldn't tell when a poem was concluded because there was little or no spacing at certain points. I also found a lot of errors while reading through this concise read, which made my reading experience even more difficult.
Overall, the book touched on several relevant and relatable themes and evoked a range of emotions while interestingly providing a unique perspective on some of the topics. Therefore, I enjoyed the book's contents. Its presentation needs a lot of work, however. On that note, I will settle for rating Shine a Light two out of four stars. If these issues are rectified, the book will be perfect. Readers who enjoy insightful poetry will find this book interesting.
******
Shine a Light
View: on Bookshelves