Review of Poems About Things That Mattered Most

[Abi McCoy]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Poems About Things That Mattered Most" by Bob Dowell.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Poems About Things That Mattered Most: Faith, Family, Country is a compilation of poetry written by Bob Dowell. He had written poetry his whole life and found several stacks of his poems stored in the attic much later in his life. He reread them and realized that the topics were still relevant – these topics were faith, family, and country. The poems range from commentary on Biblical topics and persons, American history, special personal family moments, and some theological ruminations. Some of these included themes surrounding being a grandfather and American patriotism. As Bob Dowell concluded while thinking about why he wrote the poems he did, he decided that they were “my attempt to freeze in time things that matter most.”

While most of the poetry discussed themes of Christianity, patriotism, and family, there were some interesting one-offs. One of these was a poem about the Enron scandal and crash in 2000 and 2001 – I had forgotten about this event and reading a poem about it was insightful and interesting. Another poem was an analysis of the symbology found on a dollar bill, which taught me some things I didn’t know. There were a few poems that were biographies, including one about Cotton Mather and another about Benjamin Franklin.

Poetry was the perfect form of writing for Dowell to tell his stories and to convey his thoughts. No matter the length of the poems, they provided insight into one person’s thoughts about certain events and topics. He also was creative with some of his rhymes; for example, he rhymed “zenith” and “leadeth” in one of the poems, which I found to be a perfect and fun rhyme.

In the Biblical poems, the author did an excellent job at seamlessly incorporating Bible verse quotes into the poems. Many of the poems also had little explanations preceding them; this was helpful since some of the poems were based on personal events in the author’s life, and they also explained why the author was particularly interested in the topic he wrote about. Some of the poems also had personal photographs at the beginning, which was especially meaningful since the poems were about his close family members.

There was nothing that I disliked about this work. I’m giving Poems About Things That Mattered Most: Faith, Family, Country a 4 out of 4 stars rating. The personal topics of some of the poems were lovely – they were special, private moments that the author chose to share. Many of the poems, including the biographical poems and the poem about Enron, were informative and great history lessons. The Biblical poems contained interesting commentary and insights into the topics. Since many of the poems were about Biblical stories or interwoven with Bible verses and Christian beliefs, this work is more suited to a Christian audience or those who are interested in Christianity.

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Poems About Things That Mattered Most
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[Hyacinth Bella]

I read a few pages of the book when I borrowed it from a friend, and I realized that it isn't the book for me. Great review though.

[Abi McCoy]

I read a few pages of the book when I borrowed it from a friend, and I realized that it isn't the book for me. Great review though.

Thank you! Yes, the book seems to be for a pretty specific audience overall, so I could understand why it wouldn't be your cup of tea.

[Rm21]

while it's cool that the author was able to compile a book of poetry about things that mattered to him, this definitely doesn't sound like the book for me.