Official Review: Bar Fight by Angela Khristin Brown

[Chigozie Anuli Mbadugha]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Bar Fight" by Angela Khristin Brown.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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Bar Fight by Angela Khristin Brown is a collection of seventeen poems that explore various themes such as friendship, love, separation, and loss. These are universal themes that readers from different cultures can easily understand and enjoy reading. The poems are mostly free verse with neither rhyme nor rhythm. Two of the poems were written in prose form without stanzas and with minimal punctuation. The author’s biography is inspiring. Angela Khristin Brown graduated from college, and obtained postgraduate degrees in creative writing, despite being born with a learning disability.

In the poem "Broken heart," the author discussed domestic violence. Many people are trapped in relationships in which they are subjected to physical and verbal abuse. It takes much determination for victims of domestic violence to speak out. The last two lines of the poem: "I won't stand being hurt by the one I love" speak of the victim's resolve to stand up against abuse. I also liked the poem “I” on page 9 of the book in which the author expressed self-doubt about her writing ability. This is seen in the last line of the poem: “Afraid I can’t find the right words to say.” In the third stanza of the same poem, she had expressed the hope that people will read her works and realize she has excellent writing ability. I think many authors can relate to this because it is common for them to oscillate from confidence in their ability to wondering if anyone would want to read what they have written.

The two poems that were written in prose form without stanzas were difficult to understand. I think breaking them down into stanzas or paragraphs would have made it easier for readers to understand the write-up. I also think some minimal punctuation would have improved the clarity of the work. I struggled a lot to read and understand these poems.

The poem “Heaven” discussed suicidal thoughts. The author does not change her mind about being better off dead throughout the poem. I would have liked a happier ending in which the poet decides that life is truly worth living. Despite this observation, I like the fact that these thoughts are being expressed because mental health challenges and depression are real and need to be discussed.

Despite the brevity of the book, I found many grammatical errors in the book, so I think this book was not professionally edited. I recommend this book, in a revised version in which the grammatical errors have been resolved, to family and school libraries. Readers of the poetry genre will enjoy reading this book. I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars because of the errors I found in it.

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Bar Fight
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[busisiwe5754]

This looks like a great book to read especially with seventeen poems and different headings. I look forward to exploring the poems and understand the tone and expression of the Author.
Thank you for the review.

[Scarlet Nicoll]

I'm not an avid reader of the poet gene, but I do like what I see in here. Thank you for your account!

[Wyland]

I like the poems on broken relationships the most because of its valuable lessons. Thanks for the review.

[kandscreeley]

It definitely sounds like there are some deep themes throughout the work. Poetry is an emotional catharsis and isn't always the happy type we would like. I don't much enjoy this genre, so I probably won't read it. Hopefully the author can make some revisions to make this even better.

[Chigozie Anuli Mbadugha]

This looks like a great book to read especially with seventeen poems and different headings. I look forward to exploring the poems and understand the tone and expression of the Author.
Thank you for the review.

I think you will enjoy the experience. Thanks for commenting on the review!

[Chigozie Anuli Mbadugha]

It definitely sounds like there are some deep themes throughout the work. Poetry is an emotional catharsis and isn't always the happy type we would like. I don't much enjoy this genre, so I probably won't read it. Hopefully the author can make some revisions to make this even better.

Thanks for your comment and kind words!

[Chigozie Anuli Mbadugha]

I like the poems on broken relationships the most because of its valuable lessons. Thanks for the review.

Thanks a lot for reading the review and commenting. Deeply appreciated!

[Renee_Prior1995]

I enjoy free verse poems. Great review.

[Chigozie Anuli Mbadugha]

I enjoy free verse poems. Great review.

Then you will enjoy reading these. Thanks for reading and commenting on my review!

[Nisha Ward]

Poetry can often be difficult to understand, and it sounds like the prose poem falls into that category. I'd like to read it, though, and see what the author is trying to convey with her work. Might have to be careful with the one about suicide.

[Chigozie Anuli Mbadugha]

This looks like a great book to read especially with seventeen poems and different headings. I look forward to exploring the poems and understand the tone and expression of the Author.
Thank you for the review.

Thanks for reading and commenting. I think you will enjoy reading it! Cheers!

[Chigozie Anuli Mbadugha]

I'm not an avid reader of the poet gene, but I do like what I see in here. Thank you for your account!

Thanks for reading and commenting. deeply appreciated!