Official Review: His Gift to Me:Poetic Humanities

ciecheesemeister · Post by **ciecheesemeister** » 12 Feb 2020, 13:02

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "His Gift to Me:Poetic Humanities" by Vanessa King.]

4 out of 4 stars

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“His” Gift to Me: Poetic Humanities is a brief but substantial volume of poetry written by Vanessa King in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The book also contains illustrations which I assume were drawn by the author. While the author is evidently a devout Christian, her work is not preachy. The poetry is written in an unpretentious rhyming style.

I give “His” Gift to Me: Poetic Humanities an enthusiastic four out of four stars. Poetry is a subjective medium so counting errors is difficult if not impossible, but I believe that the book was professionally edited. It read smoothly and was formatted concisely. There was nothing that I disliked about the book. Although the author is African American and Christian and I am white and agnostic, her words spoke to me. Although the poems in this book were written an average of forty years ago, they are still valid today. Take, for example, this verse from the poem H.E.L.P., which was written in 1981 about the author’s experience attempting to obtain public assistance.

“But while sitting there, the thoughts of “What is the president gonna do!?” Crossed my mind and should have for most others there too. He’s cutting out funds, that’s sure to displease; For these funds are someone’s only sure way, at this time, to accommodate their needs.”

The president at that time was Ronald Reagan, but those lines could have just as easily been written about Donald Trump, who has proposed cuts to food stamp programs and to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. This poem made me angry, not at the author but at the fact that nothing has changed for the better in close to forty years. This poem should make the reader angry. It should make the reader want to fight to protect society’s vulnerable members.

I believe that women will relate to Ms. King’s poetry more than men are likely to, but I think that men will learn something if they read her words and truly give them some thought. Many of the poems address subjects such as single motherhood and being betrayed by men more interested in playing the field than being a partner. She writes of the reality of being taken in by the charms of such men and pulls no punches when addressing the fact that the onus of being pregnant out of wedlock always falls on the woman although the man most certainly played his part as well.

I recommend “His” Gift to Me: Poetic Humanities to readers who appreciate gritty, realistic, autobiographical poetry. I do not think that the author’s faith prevents enjoyment of her work for non-Christians, but readers who prefer to avoid religious references of any kind will probably prefer to give this book a pass.

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His Gift to Me:Poetic Humanities
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xoxoAnushka · Post by **xoxoAnushka** » 14 Feb 2020, 23:54

It sounds like an intriguing, educational, and thought-provoking collection of poetry. Nice review!

Amy747 · Post by **Amy747** » 15 Feb 2020, 00:25

Its nice to see that the poems were still relevant to today and that they appealed to people of a different race and religion.

Magnify3 · Post by **Magnify3** » 16 Feb 2020, 14:27

Great review! I like the title of the book too. Unfortunately, I struggle to understand poetry so I will give this one book a pass. Thanks for this review!

David755 · Post by **David755** » 20 Feb 2020, 05:03

It really touched me. I'm a Nigerian and I know what religion as done to my country... Here in Nigeria we are killing ourselves and we forget that religion was just a gift from the white men who came to Africa to tender it as a gift to us but it as become a crime in Nigeria today.... I really appreciate the author for his good work....

gayscott · Post by **gayscott** » 21 Feb 2020, 15:55

I feel sure I would enjoy reading this book, especially by a christian author. Our views on life would be similar and especially our values. I completely understand how writing this probably helped her deal with the struggles of her daily life. I often find myself writing poetry for the same reason, and I hope someday my work will be of comfort to others also. I'm sure her work has touched many lives.