Bitmo Sunday book review

Sunday Book Review – Rescue and Redemption – #Poetry by Frank Prem

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Welcome to my Sunday Book Review. Today I’m reviewing Book 3 in Frank Prem’s Love Poetry Trilogy – Rescue and Redemption. This book was inspired by T.S. Eliot’s poem The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, where once again, Prem takes us on a journey of words and emotions by taking lines from the poem and incorporating into his own poetry.

 

 

Blurb:

Let us go then, you and I,
When the evening is spread out against the sky
Like a patient etherized upon a table;
Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets,
The muttering retreats
Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels
And sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells . . .

from The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

Drawing on the phrasing of T.S. Eliot’s amazing early 20th century poem The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock (above) Frank Prem has produced a collection of companionable and introspective love poetry written, as always, in the unique style that allows every reader to relate.

Prem’s interpretations breathe new life into contemporary exploration of themes of love in poetry, and utilise Eliot’s original phrases to inspire a contemplation of the self in the context of landscape and the wider world:

I am seeking you
within the hubbub
and the burly

trying to gauge
location
by the strength
and timbre
of your voice

rising
and falling
even as you rise
and fall

from rescue and redemption

rescue and redemption is the third of the three collections that together comprise A Love Poetry Trilogy, with each revisiting outstanding work by stellar poets of the past to produce vibrant new collections. The first collection, walk away silver heart, draws on Amy Lowell’s deeply personal Madonna of the Evening Flowers, while the second, a kiss for the worthy, derives from Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass.

This is a new kind of poetry that tells stories, draws pictures and elicits emotional responses from readers. Just as the best poetry should.

 

My 5 Star Review:

Once again Prem has managed to create a beautiful collaboration of poetry by taking from the Prufrock poem by T.S. Eliot and converting lines into Prem’s newly adapated poetry in his 3rd book to this beautiful trilogy – Rescue and Redemption.

Prem evokes both the beauty and sometimes pain of love reflected from the original poem, and brings us into his own interpretations converted from the original, expressing deep thought and meaning, love, loss, elation and more. I would state the author’s poetry style as minimalistic in words, but deep on contemplation, using the epigraph at the beginning, serving the role for the Requiem.

A few of my favorites were:  You and Me (at three O’clock), and Novel Advice ( my darlings) which will resonate with most writers:

 

“There will be

time to murder

and create

always kill

your darlings

sage advice

for one and all

you need

to kill your darlings

but . . .

all in time

you can take it

slow

first

build them up

with

all your heart

make them ring clearly

sound

and true

make them

loveable

likeable

and hateful

both

essential

critical

unimaginable

make of them

the pumping heart

that reveals the story

with each beat

take your time

write

what you want

and then . . .

commit a little mayhem

don’t hesitate

to dramatize

let chaos rule

throughout

the world

always

the way you guide

and no need to explain

your why

to anyone

why did you

kill

our darlings

why not keep them

were they not

good

we all feel

so

vulnerable

with our darlings

gone

and wonder

we wonder

what will happen

to us

in the chapter

that you write

next”

If you enjoy variations on different poetry styles and words that stir and move you, you will enjoy this entire trilogy!

©DGKaye2020

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37 thoughts on “Sunday Book Review – Rescue and Redemption – #Poetry by Frank Prem”

    2. Thank you, Toni.

      He was new to me, outside the context of this project, but I enjoyed reading Prufrock so much that I’ve taken to The Waste Land as my new writing project. Enjoying it very much.

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  2. The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock is one of my favourite poems so I was interested in the analogy of Frank Prem’s work, Debby, and it’s all there: the rhyme and rhythm, the assonance, the repetition – I love the poem you’ve chosen here. I read poetry for comfort – I suppose that sounds odd, but it’s my go-to genre when I can’t settle to a full novel. There are so many stories in poetry to be savoured and I think you’ve found a gem in this poet’s work. Thank you. ❤

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    1. Thank you Judith for your lovely comment, which I know Frank will much appreciate. It seems many writers turn to poetry for comfort, just the way we also snuggle into a book to sometimes escape life. ❤ xx

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    2. Thank you so much, Judith. I confess that when I took up the project I really had no idea how significant the work and the poet were for so many poetry lovers. I may have talked myself out of it if I’d stopped to think.

      I’ve really enjoyed allowing the phrases of these wonderful writers shape the way that I wrote. It’s a wonderful thing.

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  3. The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock is one of those poems every HS student read and I surely couldn’t make sense of. Now, I have fond memories of it. To read more poetry inspired by it–that sounds wonderful.

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  4. I LOVED teaching T. S. Eliot because he provided the angst my students could identify with. Thanks for this excerpt and the five-star review. Like you and other commenters, I enjoy variations and parodies too.

    Another one of my author friends burns a candle supposedly with the aroma “Killing My Darlings” when she writes and edits. Ha!

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  7. A lovely review for another outstanding collection from Frank.. And you selected a lovely example to share. It is good to see that poetry is still being read and enjoyed, especially in such an innovative way…♥

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    2. Thank you Sally.

      I recall when writing the piece that Debby chose that I had my novelist/writer friends in mind. Wondering just how ruthlessly they went about task.

      Thanks again,

      Frank

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  9. Pingback: Sunday Book Review – Rescue and Redemption – #Poetry by Frank Prem | Frank Prem Poetry

  10. I think Frank hit the mark with these books. I haven’t seen a review that isn’t glowing with praise. I must pick another one up soon. Wonderful review, Debby. And congrats to Frank.

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    2. Thank you, Diana.

      I’ve been so very encouraged by the feedback. It’s one thing to write as we do because we must. Another thing altogether when readers are willing to declare that they enjoyed the work.

      It has given shape to my next round of endeavours, and is quite wonderful.

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  13. I’ve read many great reviews of this book, Debby, I’m a fan of the original, and love your choice of poem (it does resonate, for sure). Congratulations to Frank and all the very best with his writing.

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  14. Pingback: Sunday Book Review - Pebbles to Poems by Frank Prem - #Poetry

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