Official Review: Dazzle em wyth Bryllyance or Baffle em w...

[drwcroaker]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Dazzle em wyth Bryllyance or Baffle em wyth Bullshyt" by Frederick Williams.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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James Baldwin said, “You have to decide who you are and force the world to deal with you, not with its idea of you.” Accomplishing this while incarcerated in a Texas prison must seem an impossible task. Yet, poet Frederick Williams in his book Dazzle’em Wyth Bryllyance, or Baffle’em Wyth Bullshyt speaks on maintaining individuality and identity while refusing to be just a faceless number.

Williams takes Baldwin’s advice and forces the world to deal with him and pay close attention to what he says by the unique way he says it. Williams replaces certain letters with others and, at first glance, his poems appear to be gibberish. However, it is not too difficult to puzzle out what he is doing, and the words become clear in the context of the sentence. For instance, in the first poem titled “Behold,,,,,,,”, Williams introduces himself:

“GET OUT MI WAI”,
or there’z a PRYCE TO PAI,
to FREDERICK MARTIN WILLIAMS aka “PAWAKY”!

Wasting no time, Williams penned this poem on “Dai 1 of MANI”, giving the date 12-10-2018 and the place, Hotel ’69 and J.C.C.F. (Jefferson County Correctional Facility) in Beaumont, Texas.

Written to be spoken aloud, the poems are alive with a clear rhythm. Hopeful and God-seeking, Williams writes of finding a “konnektyon with the ALMYGHTI DYVYNE KREATOR” and how “You Kan’t make a BETTER pazt, but you KAN KREATE a BETTER FUTURE.” His body may be behind bars, but Williams refuses to be completely imprisoned, saying that his “Spyryt, Mynd, and Soul” are with his family and his people.

Though Williams gets carried away with his use of capitalization, commas, and quotation marks, these choices seem to indicate where to pause and when to shout. Williams falters when he experiments with different poetic forms: one an acrostic, one written to the “jyngle bellz rhythm,” and one possibly meant to be a reverse poem or an attempt at boustrophedon. In any case, in combination with his creative spelling and punctuation choices, these poems were the most difficult to decipher and appreciate.

Williams, a.k.a. PAWAKY, writes with intelligence, wit, and heart-on-his-sleeve emotions. His language is sometimes crude and profane, sometimes loving and sweet, but always honest and true to his identity. Williams knows who he is and does not accept the anonymity of the institutionalized. Though a challenge to read, Williams poetry speaks his rushing wind of individuality, clearing the night skies to allow 4 out of 4 stars to brightly shine.

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Dazzle em wyth Bryllyance or Baffle em wyth Bullshyt
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[Honest-reviewer]

I’m not a fan of poetry. But by your review it seems like you enjoyed reading this. Thanks for your brilliant review.

[Vic Chimezie]

Oh my...... You just reminded me of James Baldwin. The title of this book dragged me here to enjoy your detailed review. Good job and thanks for the recommendation.

[Dominik_G]

Sounds like a great book of experimental poetry which I'm always into. I'd definitely like to read Dazzle’em Wyth Bryllyance, or Baffle’em Wyth Bullshyt. Thank you for your review!

[Wy_Bertram]

This seems quite interesting, albeit a little difficult to comprehend. I don't usually enjoy poetry, but the author's style is a hook. Thank you for review.

[Elvis Best]

This sounds like a very unique book. Thanks for your informative review. Good job!

[Lizziemarcel]

Mmmmhhh...poetry isn't really my thing. But, this look quite unique. I'll give it a try.

[Priyanka2304]

This sounds like a great book. Thanks for the review.

[Kanda_theGreat]

I'm always eager to check out various poetic licence's employed by poets.
Nice review.

[LinaJan]

I love the idea of this novel approach to writing!

Thank you for such a nicely-written and informative review!

[Prince Chime]

Your review is crisp. God job there

[Prince Chime]

Your review is crisp. Good job there

[Dentarthurdent]

Firstly, awesome review!
I'd probably write such a book off as pretentious or needlessly difficult, but your perspective on why Williams does this made all the difference.

The statement, "Williams knows who he is and does not accept the anonymity of the institutionalized." is very powerful and succinct in its simplicity. I really enjoyed this review.

[Ellylion]

I am a big fan of poetry, and I believe that creativity knows no boundaries when it comes to it Sounds like a unique poetry collections for sure. Thanks for a great review!

[jenny delacruz]

Upon seeing the title, I thought this is a book of different language (maybe German or something). Thanks for clarifying that on your review, it all makes sense to me now Great review!