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[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Soul Poetry" by Anita Bacha.]

Soul Poetry: Inspirational Poems Verses & Quotes by Anita Bacha

This anthology of 101 poems followed by a short collection of quotes and verses displays recurring themes of love, relationships and worship. The verses can be further subdivided into poems addressing a current lover, lost or betrayed love, parents and children, and gods. Intertwined throughout the poetry are Buddhist principles of detachment, the inner divinity of all beings, karma, and the eternal spirit and reincarnation.

Poems that stand out as enjoyable for me are "Breath of Life", in which life is personified and speaking advice to the reader; "The Crying Slippers", "The Socks" and "Disloyal", which lament lost love; "The Sea", in which the ocean is personified as the sun's female lover; and "Love aka Love", which is reminiscent of Shakespeare's verses addressing the rose.

As I read I tried to suspend my own biases and expectations of poetry except for one: I need to understand what I'm reading. I do not expect it to be blatant, but after several readings I should be able to "get it". With many of these poems I just do not. Instead of feeling drawn in by the writing I often feel alienated by it, like an outsider witnessing inside stories and conversations, especially with the many allusions to unfamiliar people and concepts. Because of this some pieces I did not enjoy are "Ode to Shiva", "You and I are One, we are GOD!", "The Flute", "Richard Parker the Manchild", and verses referring to Apsara and Avatara.

In the "Verses and Quotes" section there is a glaring absence of citations attributing credit to the original writers. If Bacha wanted to eliminate clutter within the body of the book, she could have listed the citations at the end instead of attached to each quote, but she does neither. One of the quotes I like in this section is, "Love is not a big thing; Love is a million little things".

I did enjoy some of the pieces in this collection, but overall I found myself not understanding most of it and having to research some of the names included, which detracted from the enjoyment of the book. Readers who enjoy love poems and poetry rooted in Buddhist principles will enjoy reading Soul Poetry. Readers who prefer humorous verse may not like reading Bacha's anthology, as there are no funny poems included here. I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars.

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Soul Poetry
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Like Eatsleaves's review? Post a comment saying so!

Thank you for your review. I really enjoyed reading what you thought about this book. I have not read many poetry books but I am looking to read more. I enjoyed one of the last books of poetry I read.

Thank you for your response! Apologies for my late reply..I've just now seen your comments. I encourage you to continue reading poetry...a good collection (and one I've reviewed for this site) is called Everyone is Happier Than You by James Zerndt...check it out, there is a good mix of comedy, tragedy, and everyday life. Happy reading!

Thank you for your review. I don't read too much poetry but am looking for some good ones

Thank you for your response. I hope you do keep trying poetry...there is some great stuff out there. And it doesn't all have to be lofty. In fact, I prefer when it isn't. Dr. Seuss is still one of my favorites! He used such clever turns of phrase and true life wisdom I find still unmatched in the world of poetry (for adults or children). He was brilliant. Maurice Sendak is another one. His book Where the Sidewalk Ends is a classic. Recent writing by James Zerndt (see above) is great too. If you keep looking I'm sure you will find poetry that resonates with you.

AA1495 wrote:Thank you for your review. I don't read too much poetry but am looking for some good ones

Same here! I usually don't read much poetry as well. I haven't really found many poetry books in the local library yet, hopefully I can find some. Thank you for the great review!