Carol Smallwood’s A Matter of Selection is a slim volume of poetic work encompassing a wide-ranging gamut of requiem, free verse, standard verse and elegy.
Commencing with a sequence including Acknowledgements, A Foreword presented by Jordan Blum of The Bookends Review, along with the Table of Contents, Preface and Prologue; Smallwood hones Reader inquisitiveness for the lyrical works to follow.
Smallwood sets in motion the awareness that, throughout our lives, we all make continuing choices; some dandy, others not, and leaves us with the awareness that selections are the grist of our being.
The Table of Contents indicates 71 flowing works separated by Theme: Nature, Moments in Time, The Domestic and Speculations as a blend of her poetic actions.
Nature sets the tenor for the initial section The Universe, a poem of 6 stanzas centers on discovery of a good focus for ourselves; for the writer, she has found refuge in cutting up pieces to sew with needle and thread.
Wind in Trees directs Reader attention to a mental drawing that comes and goes with the storyline left to the imagination of the reader interpreter. Finishing up this segment is a three stanza work, The Big Corn Field, bursting with the nostalgia and pathos of harvest and the resulting barrenness of the field when the harvester has performed its ferocity.
Moments in Time presents a 7 stanza Septet opening with reflection regarding Routine before winding through back aches and slush, limitations of reasonable atomism, more snow, indication that humans lose their skins a few cells at a time before ending on a quirky, thought provoking note It’s good we’re not snakes—imagine all those human skins.
The Domestic comprises Supermarket Triptych, Hanging Clothes on Clothes Lines, The Car Wash, The Sewing Box, and The Last Doll before ending with a glance through Venetian blind and Capturing the Moon.
Speculations delivers a jewel Near the Library Window for those who appreciate a pleasant visit to the reading room, while A Matter of Lines brings into focus the interval at the local post office where a column leads to one or the other clerk working behind the counter.
Sleeping Beauty causes us to reflect, What would’ve happened if she hadn’t been a beauty?
The Epilogue suggests one more verse for those of us who regard the skies in determination to discover elephants and boats or kittens chasing butterflies to consider
The sky today was cumulus clouds:
The choice too immense,
I chose one to secure the secret of time and space,
forget spinning on a planet.
Poet Smallwood’s assemblage of magnificently refined, detail complete verses spring from the page as though borne on wings to fill the air, the chamber, the setting with balm for the eyes.
I appreciated reading these verses, some more than once, others a rapid route with negligible time to savor the message before rushing on to the next just to see what was there.
I have read for review a number of poetry books and continue to be stunned again to find the far-reaching gamut of poetic capabilities provoked by each bard. As individual versifiers prove to be a multifaceted soul, continuously discovering methodological prospects of the elegiac field and the motivations, incentives, and achievements of those who harvest within and beyond the limitations of the mind's eye and thoughts; I continue to enjoy poetry even more.
I enjoyed the read, and, am pleased to commend Carol Smallwood’s A Matter of Selection for those who enjoy poetry and especially for those who do not yet appreciate that they can!
I received ARC from the author for review
. ===========================
Reviewed by Molly Reviews Books molly martin
===========================
AMAZON ABOUT THE AUTHOR Carol Smallwood's over five dozen books includes: Women on Poetry: Writing, Revising, Publishing and Teaching, noted on Poets & Writers Magazine list of Best Books for Writers. Recent anthologies include: Writing After Retirement: Tips by Successful Retired Writers (Rowman & Littlefield, 2014); Bringing the Arts into the Library: An Outreach Handbook (American Library Association, 2014); Library Partnerships with Writers and Poets: Case Studies (McFarland, 2017). Carol has founded and supports humane societies. She's received multiple Pushcart Prize nominations.
Amazon product details:
TITLE – A MATTER OF SELECTION
AUTHOR CAROL SMALLWOOD
GENRE POETRY
Paperback: 120 pages
Publisher: Poetic Matrix Press (March 5, 2018)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0998146986
ISBN-13: 978-0998146980
Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.3 x 9 inches
