AuthorsDen: Reviews at a Glance

Recent Reviews for Gerald ('Gerry') M. Oldham

Passing Jacks (Book) - 1/29/2006 2:05:11 PM
Passing Jacks by Vangerry Oldham There is no denying the value that can be found in Passing Jacks. For this book is a collection of enjoyable short stories, poems, and plays. All of which are centered around island life in the Bahamas. Within this book you will find stories of imaginative telling, for example the tale of a wealth being discovered with the help of a drunk pig. The poetry is a pleasure to read and touches the soul, as poetry should. What I found most interesting is that there a multitude of plays contained in Passing Jacks that I personally would like to see produced. Anytime the experiences and opinions of another culture can be displayed for all to enjoy we should all embrace the experience and learn. In this regard alone the book is worth the purchase price. However, every story, poem, and play has been tossed into this volume with little regard to order. An index isn't included and I found this disconcerting considering the size of this collection. The author even points out the intentional design behind this. But it would be nice for the appearance of an index, in the least, to aid the reader in finding that favorite entry. The other oddity is that the page numbers are centered at the top and the author and title of the book are centered at the bottom. None of this is reason to pass this one over; the book contains far too much value for anyone to ignore. Passing Jacks remains a worthy addition to anyone's personal library. Gloomwing Review by David W. Hoffman Pages: 182 Softcover ISBN: 1-4116-6872-3 E-Book ($5.00) Softcover ($13.18) available at http://www.lulu.com/content/169542 Vangerry Oldham's Lulu Storefront Category Rating Comments Overall Rating: Cover Design: Quality of Content: Typesetting (Formatting): Grammar: Printing: Physical copy not reviewed. Home | Fiction | History | Parenting | Poetry | RPG Resources | Services | Submissions | Become a Reviewer | Advertising About Gloomwing | The Reviewers All contents of this website are copyrighted 2005 / 2006 Gloomwing Website Designed and Maintained by Gloomwing's Webmaster

Long Memory (Book) - 1/13/2006 3:23:35 PM
"LONG MEMORY" TELLS A TALE OF BOTH FACT AND FICTION OF THE BEAUTIFUL BAHAMA ISLANDS. Vangerry Oldham succeeds in weaving a fascinating story combining myth and reality in "Long Memory," the story of the fictionalized Coatlique-Moctezuma lineage which originated on one of the many Bahama Islands. The story is particularly significant in that little history of the area has been committed to paper; Oldham's prose should find it's way onto Bahaman history bookshelves. The tale tells of the Arawaks on the island of Bagwynatoo and their descendents and spans not years but centuries. This story is more than a novel. It is an epic that is well researched from beginning to end, and Oldham's clipped, British style of writing is refreshing to read. He explains the title of "Long Memory" as being a gift of the Coatlique-Moctezuma line which translates to something akin to reincarnation, or extrasensory perception, throughout the bloodline. This is not to say the manuscript is flawless. The author uses unconventional sentence and paragraph structure, the paragraph indentations are too large, and the headers and footers are switched around and not spaced properly. However, these are minor details that are easily corrected and should not detract the would-be reader from tackling this fascinating although lengthy (600 pages) literary work. Vangerry Oldham set out to tell the history of the Bahamas - from the native peoples through the conquerers to modern times. He certainly accomplished this goal in a most delightful manner. Submitted by Steven M. Ulmen for Gloomwing.com

Long Memory (Book) - 1/13/2006 10:12:01 AM

Reviewing as an Art Form (Article) - 1/23/2006 6:45:28 PM
interesting read

Reviewing as an Art Form (Article) - 1/20/2006 11:01:08 AM

One of those days (Poetry) - 9/13/2009 3:30:12 AM
This poem is a good reminder that the hearts and minds of people of our world really has not changed much in thousands of years. The Bible tells us much about the sick and sad conditions that are mentioned in this poetic composition. If we are truly going to change we need Jesus in our Hearts. Amen

Eleuthera Prayer (Poetry) - 8/19/2009 3:31:55 PM
A sea-faring man who has a sense of humour...I imagine his Lord might be grinning just a little... Gina

Two Haiku (Poetry) - 6/29/2009 9:33:59 AM
I enjoyed them both, but the second one is amazing! Who indeed will read them? Awesome! Anna

Eleuthera -The Island of Freedom (Poetry) - 10/1/2008 9:52:23 PM
Yes, I can see it and I can feel it. Then I can hear it! I hear those church bells ringing. A beautiful write! Amen

Eleuthera Prayer (Poetry) - 7/30/2008 7:42:22 AM
Enchanting and highly spiritual. Well done!

Eleuthera Prayer (Poetry) - 6/25/2008 8:16:40 AM
We all sin, it is a universal thing, noone is perfect, but God was and we need to ask for forgiveness too as you did her. Meanwhile to be a loving person in God's sight is alright, and he wants us to be happy down here on earth. He is a forgiving God but we still must try to do our best and abide by his teachings as closely as we can even though it is so hard to do sometimes. God Bless You

Eleuthera Prayer (Poetry) - 6/20/2008 12:05:43 PM
Vangerry, you nailed this one. A universal hymn for those who go to sea in ships...to seek love in every port...and perhaps redemption in the heat of night. A beautiful prayer. - gene.

Eleuthera Prayer (Poetry) - 6/20/2008 10:54:28 AM
An outstanding poem! My brother a first mate,and my uncle a captain, would have loved this. Beautifully done!...ET

Two Haiku (Poetry) - 5/19/2008 1:53:36 PM
Need promises of joy, ;;my love ended in the death of spouse, so sad now am I cannot stop grieving, Will be remembered forever though, but not all feel that way. May we all read good and hear nothing from all races but good.

One of those days (Poetry) - 5/19/2008 1:51:09 PM
Never could understand why they don't print the good news. Front page headlines are always dreary and need to be told the story, but can't happiness and doings that are nice precede the bad. Sometimes even no news is good news I say when I don't hear right away about someone I ask after or am thinking of. How many lives the Paparazzi has ruined is behond me. Let good things rule and bad things alone to work out themselve and dissolve.

Eleuthera -The Island of Freedom (Poetry) - 1/23/2008 2:30:58 AM
Took me a minute to pronounce the first word of this...but hey, poem sure is cool! blessin's cynth'ya lewis reed

Eleuthera -The Island of Freedom (Poetry) - 7/23/2007 9:04:57 PM
Gerry, Only you could describe her like this! Great work as always. Ellen (Ejluv)

Every Year (from 'Passing Jacks') (Poetry) - 7/23/2007 9:16:42 AM
As with all of your writings Gerry they are throughly enjoyed! I will definately always pass them along!

Two Haiku (Poetry) - 10/25/2006 10:00:29 AM
I love well written short poems. These pieces were a great addition to my reading list. Thank you, DL Mullan

Eleuthera -The Island of Freedom (Poetry) - 3/8/2006 7:53:57 PM
I love your enchanted island - the happy, carefree, swinging one - to which you can take your dreams ... Such a place we need if merely for our fantasies. Gina

One of those days (Poetry) - 1/22/2006 10:56:08 AM
good write.

The Lost Arawak (Poetry) - 1/20/2006 6:49:14 PM
Nope not men.. Civilisiation killers....

One of those days (Poetry) - 1/20/2006 11:53:08 AM
Yes the news can really get to you on some days. For me it was the information about the homeless that got me going. A nights rest does help doesn't it? Laws need to be stricter for Children, homeless, and the handicap. Hurt any one within these titles .......look out the karma is 3 times worst!

The Lost Arawak (Poetry) - 1/19/2006 8:06:31 AM
Thanks for this powerful and well expressed offering of historic poetry!

Two Haiku (Poetry) - 1/19/2006 8:00:39 AM
Good questions! Good Haiku, Vangerry!

Two Haiku (Poetry) - 1/18/2006 3:53:52 PM
Thought provoking excellent ku!

Country (from 'Passing Jacks') (Poetry) - 1/18/2006 1:18:01 PM
I agree this could be said of most countries. Great write.

The Lost Arawak (Poetry) - 1/18/2006 1:16:30 PM
You have a very strong voice that I will enjoy hearing here at AD :-)

Two Haiku (Poetry) - 1/18/2006 1:14:10 PM
Thought provoking Haikus! A lot has been said in these few words. Awsome write.

The Lost Arawak (Poetry) - 1/16/2006 9:52:56 AM
God has made a perfect world but it is the wicked people that cause the slaves, beatings, killings and the hate but as writers we can make this world a better place by stoppin them in their tracks. I notice as a christian no negative people wont review me just the positive and that is good. When they see you are positive they have to flea or change by the grace of God. i am a survivor of abuse and alcohol and there is only one man that have given me this joy and he is God the almighty.