Review of Screw Prince Charming

[Timothee22]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Screw Prince Charming" by Louise Alexandra Erskine.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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There are several aspects of Screw Prince Charming that intrigue me. First of all, the "Here's to men..." lines the poem begins with are a great asset to the poem. I see it as having lines that are revolutionary and encouraging. Men who are already on the path of defiling societal stereotypes of how men should behave will be encouraged to be more human than manly. Other men will also take a cue from them.

The subject of being human and the need to be perfect can also be seen in the poem's title, Screw Prince Charming. I like the fact that the poet subtly introduces it at this point. It also piques readers' curiosity about what to expect from the poem.

Then reading through the lines in the poem, one will discover that the poet's persona speaks from personal experiences, ones that teach lessons on the subjects of faded love, emotional and physical abuse, and true love as opposed to the ongoing hookup culture. They all tell the real story of our world today. I must commend the writer for this. This is the aspect of Louise Alexandra Erskine's writing that I love the most because it is realistic and attainable in today's society. It shows how people go into relationships with idealistic expectations of love etched in their minds and somehow neglect the most important things that qualify as true love. Many individuals go through the pressure of being perfect for their partners, who neglect that they are humans and fall out of love or are rejected when their expectations are not met. This leaves the other party broken.

Some rejections come in the form of emotional and physical abuse. Men and women alike are subjected to these in relationships. The poet persona's tone at this point is sad because sometimes people get what they didn't bargain for while going into relationships. The person they once knew turns into another person overnight. However, the poem's persona gives hope to those who are walking in those shoes or have walked in those shoes when she says that "a person who feels disposable will treat you like a commodity." "It's a reflection of their self-worth, not your value~understanding someone's behavior doesn't mean excusing it." (page 11).

This brings me to another aspect of the poem that is highly commendable. The poem gives hope to those who have walked these heart-wrenching paths. They are charged to "back up off the floor, take what they learned, and use it to change the f**king world!" (page 26). Instead of languishing in sorrow and pain, the writer teaches that it is normal to go through certain things and that from them, we must take our lessons and rise because "It seems to me that the ability to stumble and then to rise is the very art of being human." (page 57).

Lastly, another positive thing about the poem is that I deduced that the poet's persona preached about not giving up on humanity or love no matter what one has been through. This can be seen in the following line: "My heart had grown quiet, a graveyard of broken dreams, buried to stop the hurt then you were my resurrection." (page 57).

The need is not also to give up on oneself because "even in graveyards, the roses still grow." (page 28).

The only thing about the poem that didn't sit well with me while reading was that I felt the poet's persona's notions of love were sometimes a bit too idealistic. But this doesn't override the many positive things that the poem has in store.

I found no errors while reading, and all those things that would have counted as errors were poetic licenses deliberately used by the poet to achieve a distinctive style of writing. Therefore, I accord Screw Prince Charming a rating of 5 out of 5 stars

I recommend the reading of the poem to a mature audience because of the eroticism and strong language that the poem leans towards in certain parts of the poem.

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Screw Prince Charming
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[Wren Michaels]

What a great title for a poetry book. Great review. This sounds like a really fresh take on love and societal perception on the subject.

[Mercy Sos Christopher]

Sounds like an interesting book. Will look forward to reading it. Thanks for being honest in your review

[Chandelier Eden]

This poem hits the heart. I like the comfort it seeks to bring, because something, if not a lot of times, walking this path can be painful, and just having someone who can understand and seek to comfort, is comforting enough.