Official Review: Diary of the Silent Soul by Maya Simone
Posted: 17 Oct 2020, 01:39
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Diary of the Silent Soul" by Maya Simone.]
From the pangs of sorrow to the joys of finding another kindred spirit, poet Maya Simone shares her innermost thoughts in her aptly named book, Diary of the Silent Soul. This collection consists of poems written between 2017 and 2018. Each poem is presented in chronological order as a diary entry with the date printed at the top of the page. A brief memoir is included at the beginning of the book. This gives readers a sense of what Ms. Simone was going through at the time. The poems themselves capture all of the raw, unapologetic emotions that she experienced. Each piece is succinct yet powerful and thought-provoking. I could sense the passion she felt as she penned each poem.
In addition to love poems, these heart-wrenching writings cover more serious topics, such as stereotypes, racism, and even suicide. In terms of formatting, I noticed that the text alignment is different for each poem. For example, in the third poem, all of the lines are arranged along the page’s right margin. However, in the fifteenth poem, the stanzas are aligned with the left margin. While this is a matter of personal style and preference, it may be distracting for some readers. Most of the poems are typed in lowercase letters with only a few words and letters capitalized for emphasis. The rhythm of every poem varies, so there is no set pattern.
The book’s compelling and creative title sets the tone for an outpouring of emotion. I enjoyed the writer’s effective use of similes, metaphors, and personification. These musings could be read aloud as a stirring spoken word performance. I really like the concept of the book – diary entries written in the form of poetry. Instead of recording her experiences in prose, the author chose to express herself in a more artistic way. Her writing style is reminiscent of Alice Walker’s pensive works.
Despite its positive attributes, there are a number of issues with this publication. First of all, the plain gray cover design makes this book easy to overlook, and it belies the brilliance within. Because poetry is a form of art, the cover image should reflect that in some way. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words. Additionally, the PDF version that I read opens to display two pages at a time, but every left-hand page is blank. This disrupts the flow of the book. The text also contains many spelling errors and punctuation inconsistencies. Furthermore, I was a bit confused by the last page, which simply had the word “Proof” typed in the center. I wondered if this was actually the end or if some pages were missing. As a result, the conclusion is unclear. Profanity is only used once in the text. There is some mild sensual content and implied violence in the book. Readers who are uncomfortable with same-sex relationships may be hesitant to read this book.
In summation, I will say that poetry is very personal, so I commend this young writer for being brave enough to share her feelings with the world. There is a lot of potential for this book. The presentation just needs to be refined. I suggest redesigning the cover image and title font to make them more attractive. Also, since the text is so short, sketches and/or photos could be added to provide more depth and visual stimulation to the poetry. After much consideration, I have chosen to rate Diary of the Silent Soul 2 out of 4 stars. I was really torn when deciding what rating to give this book. I wanted to give it a higher score, but there were simply too many issues to ignore. With some proper editing, this can be a great book for fans of poetry.
******
Diary of the Silent Soul
View: on Bookshelves
From the pangs of sorrow to the joys of finding another kindred spirit, poet Maya Simone shares her innermost thoughts in her aptly named book, Diary of the Silent Soul. This collection consists of poems written between 2017 and 2018. Each poem is presented in chronological order as a diary entry with the date printed at the top of the page. A brief memoir is included at the beginning of the book. This gives readers a sense of what Ms. Simone was going through at the time. The poems themselves capture all of the raw, unapologetic emotions that she experienced. Each piece is succinct yet powerful and thought-provoking. I could sense the passion she felt as she penned each poem.
In addition to love poems, these heart-wrenching writings cover more serious topics, such as stereotypes, racism, and even suicide. In terms of formatting, I noticed that the text alignment is different for each poem. For example, in the third poem, all of the lines are arranged along the page’s right margin. However, in the fifteenth poem, the stanzas are aligned with the left margin. While this is a matter of personal style and preference, it may be distracting for some readers. Most of the poems are typed in lowercase letters with only a few words and letters capitalized for emphasis. The rhythm of every poem varies, so there is no set pattern.
The book’s compelling and creative title sets the tone for an outpouring of emotion. I enjoyed the writer’s effective use of similes, metaphors, and personification. These musings could be read aloud as a stirring spoken word performance. I really like the concept of the book – diary entries written in the form of poetry. Instead of recording her experiences in prose, the author chose to express herself in a more artistic way. Her writing style is reminiscent of Alice Walker’s pensive works.
Despite its positive attributes, there are a number of issues with this publication. First of all, the plain gray cover design makes this book easy to overlook, and it belies the brilliance within. Because poetry is a form of art, the cover image should reflect that in some way. After all, a picture is worth a thousand words. Additionally, the PDF version that I read opens to display two pages at a time, but every left-hand page is blank. This disrupts the flow of the book. The text also contains many spelling errors and punctuation inconsistencies. Furthermore, I was a bit confused by the last page, which simply had the word “Proof” typed in the center. I wondered if this was actually the end or if some pages were missing. As a result, the conclusion is unclear. Profanity is only used once in the text. There is some mild sensual content and implied violence in the book. Readers who are uncomfortable with same-sex relationships may be hesitant to read this book.
In summation, I will say that poetry is very personal, so I commend this young writer for being brave enough to share her feelings with the world. There is a lot of potential for this book. The presentation just needs to be refined. I suggest redesigning the cover image and title font to make them more attractive. Also, since the text is so short, sketches and/or photos could be added to provide more depth and visual stimulation to the poetry. After much consideration, I have chosen to rate Diary of the Silent Soul 2 out of 4 stars. I was really torn when deciding what rating to give this book. I wanted to give it a higher score, but there were simply too many issues to ignore. With some proper editing, this can be a great book for fans of poetry.
******
Diary of the Silent Soul
View: on Bookshelves
