Review of Home of the Blues:

Post by **Christabel Uzoamaka** » 12 Jul 2022, 08:07

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Home of the Blues:" by Joe Griffin, Ph.D..]

2 out of 4 stars

Share This Review

Sometimes you leave a place, but it never leaves you. Your experiences also shape who you are. For Joe Griffin, Ph.D., his heart never left Mississippi, where he grew up, and his experiences as a black man have shaped him into a motivated and resilient man, a man that sees beauty in love. He shares his emotions in Home of the Blues: Poems for the Spirit, Heart, and Soul. Griffin has a successful teaching career, a passion for basketball, and two sons. He currently resides in California, but he has Mississippi in his heart and has let his roots inspire his book.

Home of the Blues has three parts: Blues (In My Spirit), Love (In My Heart), and Motivation (For the Soul). The poems in Blues (In My Spirit) have a common theme of melancholy and derive inspiration from the author’s background in Mississippi, his effort to move past his pains, his thoughts on race, and being misunderstood. The poems in Love (In My Heart) showcase his adoration for a woman he showers with a lot of praises, as well as his love for his sons and things that bring him joy. Motivation (For the Soul) rounds up on a positive note and shows Griffin’s resilience despite challenges thrown his way.

Most of the poems are straightforward. Some poems even make use of colloquial language. The result of this breezy writing style is that readers who do not like excessive metaphors but enjoy short, heartfelt writings will enjoy most of the poems in this book. Some poems, like Take Your Gift and Run and Be True, ignited a fire in me to be original and at peace. And some other poems had a commendable rhyme scheme and rhythm. I read “For the Record” like a song because of its great flow.

While most of the poems had careful thought and meaning behind them, I found the casual writing irksome. I found many poems in the Love section monotonous. In the poems praising a woman, the author used the same words repeatedly. He kept calling the woman smart, sexy, intelligent, and ambitious, which soon got exhausting. I would have liked to see some more tang to Griffin’s writing instead of the poems being plain. The essence of poetry is to pass a person’s thoughts and emotions in style, which is why literary devices exist. But the only visible literary devices the author used were rhyme and rhythm.

This book seemed to be a well-edited one since I did not find any grammar or spelling errors. But I cannot say that the book received exceptional editing, as the amateur nature of the picture placement and overall writing was obvious. Holistically, I would rate this book 2 out of 4. Some poems had meaning, uplifting messages, and a good flow, but the lack of literary devices made the poems lose flavor. As I stated earlier, this book will suit readers who enjoy poetry but don’t want to deal with metaphors and the like.

******
Home of the Blues:
View: on Bookshelves

Ndagire Hassifah1 · Post by **Ndagire Hassifah1** » 14 Jul 2022, 13:00

Thanks for the insightful review. I believe the author will make some improvements to make the book more enjoyable to readers.

Post by **Onyinyechi Orji** » 15 Jul 2022, 02:05

I wonder what a poem would look like when it doesn't have metaphors. Metaphors give poems their meaning. Thanks for the insightful review.

Chimereucheya Okoroafo · Post by **Chimereucheya Okoroafo** » 18 Jul 2022, 06:28

From what you've written, we can all acknowledge that it would need more work. Nice review.

Favi001 · Post by **Favi001** » 18 Jul 2022, 07:01

Thanks for the very detailed review. Hopefully the writer will put in more work on the book because it sounds good but could be better.

Oluwasogo Familusi · Post by **Oluwasogo Familusi** » 23 Jul 2022, 05:32

I think the poems would have been more interesting if the author had implemented other literary devices apart from rhythms. Thanks for an honest review, I think I'll just pass on this.

Shadreck Rogers · Post by **Shadreck Rogers** » 27 Jul 2022, 17:33

I like that this book features some poetry. Poetry is my favourite subject. I like the book.

Eze Michael · Post by **Eze Michael** » 23 Aug 2022, 08:58

A fascinating work of poetry that revolves around the author's memory of Mississippi. I'd love to read this work of poetry, and I hope to not be discouraged by the words that the author used. Thanks for your honest review.