Review of Wordsmith

[Joyful17]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Wordsmith" by Tracey Howard.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Life is bittersweet. Once in a while, we find ourselves in relationships that seem to be promising but gradually become toxic, leaving lasting brandmarks on trusting hearts. Wordsmith by Tracey Howards takes the reader on an intense journey of life's experiences.

This book contains over 50 poems. The themes of the poems include childhood scars, disappointment, loneliness, friendship, and many other musings of the author. Some of the poems are quite lengthy, spanning over 3 pages, while others are restricted to a page. It is the author's hope that her journey of self-discovery can help others in their own journey.

The author's description of herself as a wordsmith and not a poet caused me to approach the poems with mixed feelings. However, the very first poem got me hooked. The words were blunt and raw, the imagery so real, and the feelings cascaded in a neat flow of words. These characteristics stand out in a great number of the poems in this book.

The poem titled One Touch described what could've been: the pleasant relationship that could've been formed if only the request was made. The repetition of 'I would' and 'if you would only' made the poem feel like a beautiful song passing a sad message. It was a lovely piece.

My most favorite poem is Reflections. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this poem was directed to the reader. I was quite interested in its message which was a wish. Thankfully, this wish is easy to fulfill because the author's poems are really memorable. A quote from the poem said, 'I want to be a passionate interlude burning brightly in your mind, drawing you back to me time and again. Like a skilled courtesan, I want to flirt with your world, snare your emotions.'

I fell in love with many other poems in this book. Sarcasm employs the skillful use of questions to expose the folly of being judgemental of others. Still Waters not so Deep artfully describes the sad realities of a one-sided relationship. There were many other gripping poems in the book. Also, the liberal use of literary devices gave life and beauty to the poems.

On page 90, I found a poem titled Open Season. It seemed to me that the title of the poem does not match its content. This is my only dislike about this book. However, this is only a minor matter of preference.

I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. It was exceptionally well edited. I had a lovely time combing through the well-structured poems and honest emotions. Readers who love deep, emotional poems will find this book interesting.

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Wordsmith
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[Chinaza Nnabuenyi]

The author seems to know very much about life experiences, I love poems. Good review.

[Prisallen]

Poetry is not my preferred genre, but after reading your review, I'm really curious about this book. It certainly seems to capture the author's emotions quite well. Thanks for your wonderful review!