Official Review: The Transition by Garnett Rogers Sr

[Twylla]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Transition" by Garnett Rogers Sr.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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The Transition by Garnett Rogers Sr. is a collection of 30 free verse poems that expound on the Christian walk, the everyday struggles we face, and how Jesus Christ is faithful to meet us where we are in life. All of the poems have a raw, imperfect feel. They also convey very deeply felt emotion. Punctuation and structure are absent in all of the poems. This may have been done as a rebellion against traditional grammar and form or it may have been done to convey a stream-of-consciousness. Either way, the absence of punctuation and structure seems to fit the poems. I am assuming the title, The Transition, refers to the conversion from sinner to saint and the day to day struggles of the Christian life.

One particular poem spoke to me. In “Silly Rabbit”, the poem conveys a theme of deception that Easter is celebrated with bunnies and colored eggs when the true meaning of Easter is the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. A phrase, “Silly Rabbit tricks are for kids” appears twice in the poem for emphasis. This conjures up the imagery of the 1970 advertising campaign for Kix breakfast cereal and the catchphrase, “Silly rabbit, Trix are for kids!” The message of the poem is that by focusing our attention on bunnies and colored eggs, we have been deceived and we lose sight of the true meaning of Easter. When I am memorizing a large amount of information, I use silly imagery to help me remember it. That is why I liked this poem so much. It has imagery that I will never be able to forget, even if I wanted to.

Another poem, “Beyond Measure”, paints an emotional picture of what it means to be a poet of the gospel. In this poem, I especially enjoyed some of the rhymes like “Because when the devil start messing That’s when Yeshua starts to blessing.” “Then you will reveal all that I have done and show me all the souls we have won.” The poem is still in free form style but I liked some of the rhymes.

I love the humor in the poem, “Defeated.” This poem is about how the devil is already defeated, but he still thinks he can stop us from doing God’s work. Then unexpectedly there is the line “What are you talking about Willis.” It made me laugh out loud.

I would have liked the book better if it had an embedded clickable table of contents, but that is a minor issue since the book is so small. This book is well written and professionally edited. I found a minor mistake in one poem. I am assuming that the imperfect grammar is intentional since it was written in a style similar to “hip hop” music. I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. I love this off-beat collection of poetry, and I will continue to use it in my quiet times to reflect on different aspects of Christian life. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves God and poetry.

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The Transition
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[MsH2k]

This sounds like a fun and uplifting read. “What ’chu talkin’ ’bout Willis” made me chuckle out loud. (I can write it that way—it’s not my review! )

Thanks for your take on this book.