4 Star Review

 

 

 

I am proud to say that my chapbook “Time Before Time: Units of When” has earned the top rating of 4 out of 4 stars in the following book review by the Online Book Club.

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Official Review: Time Before Time by Paul F. Lenzi
by Miriam Molina

4 out of 4 stars

Words are fraught with power untold;
This we know from books we behold.
But never is such power so strong
Than when unleashed in poem or song!

The chapbook Time Before Time: Units of When by Paul F. Lenzi inspired that simple quatrain from my poetic bosom. I do spout poetry once in a while and thought myself equal to facing this book. Unprepared, I was not. Here’s how to read this book: One, have an unabridged dictionary and Google at the ready. Two, set aside many hours of silent concentration. Three, allow yourself to bask in Lenzi’s heartfelt poesy.

You will encounter 56 poems (55 by Lenzi and one by Yeats), all of them works of vivid imagery. Lenzi’s “Syntax” defines how to enjoy poetry – “guided by feeling/ without need of knowing.” There are no right or wrong interpretations. The shortest poems are three-liner haiku (four of them); the longest (“This Thing of Ours,” a free-form, free-verse piece) has 67 lines. Lenzi declares the central theme as time; it was a challenge to find time in all the verses. Then it dawned on me: everything under the sun is a function of time! The poems crudely fall into various sub-themes: e.g., growing-old time, getting-sick time, olden times (history), travel time, and even cooking time and chow time.

Next to the Preface, the book features “The Second Coming,” an oft-quoted poem by William Yeats and a personal favorite of Lenzi. It was written in 1919 in the aftermath of World War I, the Easter Rising and the Russian Revolution. All three are world events that shaped history and yes, time. If I had my way, I would have included Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (saying there is a time for everything) from the Bible.

The author seems to have a poem for everything. He takes you to Pisa’s “Leaning Tower,” to the mythical world of Arabian “Ubar,” out in space to the red dwarf star “Barnard’s Star,” and inside the sterile walls of an operating room in “Under the Knife.” He bathes you with the wonders of “Midsummer” and extols the beauty of “Leaves.” You meet the young generation in “Snowflakes” and feel the author’s distaste for “A Secular Sect” (the members of Congress) and the “Vermin” of Washington. You ache for those afflicted with “Sciaticam Vehementem” and “ALS” and pity the frail aging in “Sad the Surprise.” You chuckle as you read about a cherished pen (“Meisterstuck”) and the fake nose of Danish astronomer “Tycho.” From now on, thanks to Lenzi, I will await the rain for petrichor and salute my country’s pennon.

There is so much to learn from the man. That is no wonder as Lenzi was schooled in Philosophy, Ethics, and Political Science. He now lives in quaint New Hampshire with his wife of 48 years and boasts of three children and eleven grandchildren. Now past middle age, he suffers the occasional pains and takes the mandatory maintenance drugs. Imagine all the inspiration his experiences (joys, successes, sufferings, worries, etc.) afford him. He has been writing poetry since he retired (as Insurance executive) fourteen years ago, with almost four thousand poems to his credit. (In fact, this is his twenty-second book and the fifth chapbook.) He is a member of various poet societies, a stalwart of Poets for Peace, and a multi-awarded blogger.

In the Preface, Lenzi tells us that he writes in “free form, free verse style, without regard for rules of punctuation, grammar or format.” Indeed, only proper nouns are capitalized, and you see no periods or commas cluttering his verses. This freedom of style adds to the challenge of reading the poems (remember the silent concentration I advised). There are a couple of non-distracting typos: e.g., “Washington” not capitalized, “Johannes Kepler” called “Johan” (his nickname?), and “into to the mists.” But I cannot be sure they are unintended, owing to his heads-up about disregarding rules and the proverbial poetic license. They are much too few and trivial to matter, anyway.

I followed most poems to his blog (Poesy plus Polemics: Words of Wisdom, Worry and Whimsy) and found a work of art (a painting, sculpture, poster, etc., from another artist) accompanying each poem. I only wish those, too, were included in the book; they definitely enhanced my reading pleasure.

I also believe that an index will bolster the book’s likability. There is no apparent order in the presentation of the poems. An alphabetical index of the topics and themes (hashtags in our modern times) at the end of the book would allow readers to quickly navigate to their areas of interest.

I cannot help but give this packed volume 4 out of 4 stars. This book is meant to be savored slowly, bit by precious bit. The wealth of knowledge that I gained is priceless. The emotional highs (and lows) I experienced are memorable. There is lively humor in there, too. I was challenged, I was touched, and I had a great time. I will count this book among my favorites.

Those who wish to enrich their vocabulary, experience soulful poetry and marvel at the vastness of time will do well to get acquainted with this collection. For those who will explore Time Before Time, I offer this advice. Take your time.

“quantum vacuum / mathematically moribund/ paradox of a particulate God/ life and matter ex nihilo”
– Excerpt from “Time Before Time,” title piece by Paul F. Lenzi

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Book Review: Time Before Time

Published October 2017 by Stonewood Press

 

I am excited and highly pleased to announce that my recently published chapbook “Time Before Time” has received an enthusiastic positive review from the prestigious Online Book Club, who gave it their top 4 star rating.

Here is an excerpt of their review:

“I cannot help but give this packed volume 4 out of 4 stars. This book is meant to be savored slowly, bit by precious bit. The wealth of knowledge that I gained is priceless. The emotional highs (and lows) I experienced are memorable. There is lively humor in there, too. I was challenged, I was touched, and I had a great time. I will count this book among my favorites.”      – Miriam Molina

You can read the entire review here.

You can find my book here.

 

• Paul

 

Book Review

“The Shop That Sells Kisses” by Mike Steeden is a dandy read. Here is the review I gave it on Amazon.

This latest collection of poetry and prose-poetry by Mike Steeden is the product of a brilliantly creative mind. It is also relentlessly entertaining. His unconventional use of poetic dialogue is especially clever and highly effective. Mr Steeden brings a profound grasp of history and an unambiguous set of progressive political convictions into his satirical vignettes. With impeccable language and a keen sense of humor, he gives the reader that rarest of treats: joyful satisfaction from every page. Don’t let this book escape your attention. – Paul F. Lenzi

Ezra Pound – The Cantos

Ezra Pound
Portrait by FcoGoya
From pinterest.com

Well, after three years of episodic and often painful reading, I have finally finished “The Cantos” by Ezra Pound. The ordeal, and that’s exactly what it was, has left me with one mind-drumming question. Why the hell did I ever put myself through such torture?

All I can say is that he’d always struck me as an exotic, an enigmatic character, and, at the outset, I figured that reading a work which took him more than fifty years to write would surely reveal the hidden autobiographical essence of the man.

I admit to no credentials as a literary reviewer. I am merely a reader with a fondness for poetry. But having labored through Pound’s epic, I can’t conscientiously move on without first saying something of the experience. So, for what they are worth, I offer a few brief, albeit highly personal, conclusions.

Of the Poem:

In a word, indecipherable. Odd, because his language is usually quite precise, even when the grammar and syntax are lazy, if not completely butchered. Continuity and connection of imaginable thoughts and meanings to the words are, for the most part, nonexistent. The effect is to leave the reader frequently lost. And as a member of Mensa International since I was ten years old, I’m not easily lost.

All the more disappointing because the structure, such as there is any to discern, is effectively a cascading linguistic jaunt through the paroxysms of history. It could have been so much more interesting.

But this journey-through-time quality usually devolves into seemingly purposeless litanies of times and events and personages, some of which are repeatedly mentioned in later stanzas without apparent suitability to context.

Quite frankly, in all of this veritable mountain of so-called epic poetry, the only thing I can honestly say I appreciated, and perhaps understood, if only in part, was his erudition in and allegorical affinity for classical mythology. He uses it extensively, although his allusions were sometimes bizarre.

As the son of Italians, I also appreciated his seeming affections for things Italian, with the notable exception of his perverse adoration of the fascism of (Adolf Hitler and) Benito Mussolini.

Of the Man:

The Cantos reveals nothing good about Pound to my eyes. Instead, what I took away was a portrayal of a poet with a decidedly disordered mind. A resolute fascist who repugnantly admired the Nazi regime. An economic Rasputin and vituperative ant-capitalist. An unabashedly vulgar anti-Semite. A self-exiled American who clearly hated America, prone to snide and often illogically laid slurs against our founding fathers and principles.

Outside of the poem, history records that Ezra Pound was indicted by the US government on 19 counts of treason, but he escaped trial with a (spurious?) determination that he was insane, committed to an asylum instead of a prison.

Of the poem as well as the man, I came to detest both without the least hesitation.

How it was that Ezra Pound was granted Yale’s esteemed Bollingen Prize for American Poetry is utterly baffling to me. No less a disturbing mystery is how he grew to become, for many elite academics, a leading light of the modernist poetry movement.

If I’ve insulted any Pound fans out there, I apologize. But as a matter of personal integrity, I call them as I see them. And what the hell do I know, anyway?

Interestingly, by his own lights, Ezra Pound came to the reflective conclusion that “The Cantos” had been a failure. In a letter to a friend he confided “I botched it. I picked out this and that thing that interested me, and then jumbled them into a bag. But that’s not the way to make a work of art.”

To which I can only say “Yup.”

– Paul F. Lenzi 2015

 

 

Two-Cornered Rooms by Paul F. Lenzi

I am positively thrilled to let my followers know that my poetry collection “Two-Cornered Rooms” has received a glowing book review from Ionia Martin on her Readful Things Blog at readfulthingsblog.com. Her rating of 5 out of 5 stars has me over the moon. Thank you most dearly, Ionia.

readful things blog

Two-Cornered Rooms: A Collection of Poetry and Haiku with Selected Micro-Fiction by Paul F Lenzi

An inspired collection of contemplative poetry written over the last few years, whose stimulating themes run to subjects of philosophy, faith and spirituality. Also included is a provocative selection of small stories, written in the highly interesting modern form of micro-fiction prose.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“Two-Cornered Rooms” by Paul F. Lenzi is a lovely and spiritually moving collection of poetry and Haiku, also featuring some 75 word micro fiction that was quite impressive.

This collection offers the reader a chance to stop and think, not just about the varied subject matter, but about the proper word choice to convey the author’s intent and meaning. This author is the type of poet that can make you feel what he felt whilst writing by his perfect usage of language. He did not favour…

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Lenzi on Self-Publishing

 

A couple of my followers have inquired about my methods of self-publishing, so I thought I’d offer some information here for anyone’s interest. Please note, however, that I have no special knowledge or expertise beyond my own recent and still unfolding experience.

 

When I retired 10 years ago, I started writing poetry with some regularity. There came a point when I had lots of poems and wanted to attempt their publication, beyond my own blog. After forays into the frustratingly slow submission and declination routine, regarding the major conventional publishers, I ran out of patience and decided to try self-publishing.

 

Last year, I explored numerous indie and corporate platforms, including Lulu and Smashwords. I found the mere process of investigating these resources rather daunting, because there is a plethora of different services, costs, hooks and terms. So, too, appeared to be their varying rates of success and user satisfaction.

 

I opted for “CreateSpace, An Amazon Company” at createspace.com and successfully published my first book “City of Pawns” through their platform in September, 2013. They exceeded my expectations in all aspects, so I went on to publish my next 4 books through them as well. I have 2 more books in the works.

 

Reasons for selecting a service will necessarily be quite personalized. My loyalty to CreateSpace is because:

 

• I trust Amazon as a longtime customer and stockholder
• costs are modest – most basics are free, and that’s how I’ve composed my books – optional feed services are comprehensive and competitively priced
• platform is very user friendly, a vital feature for me because I have limited computer skills – simple steps with clear directions – available standard free templates so far satisfy all my needs
• competent and courteous help is INSTANTLY available 24/7 at any stage of the project – including by phone
• distribution channels cover the broad conventional gamut
• creation of print and e-book versions is easily bridged via KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing)
• proofing is available in print and/or a high quality electronic proofing application – I use both
• printing and binding quality is excellent – they reproduce my template assisted cover designs, manuscript formats, fonts and images faithfully

 

I can’t offer much help on the marketing side, because I didn’t enter this process with the intent of trying to sell lots of books. CreateSpace has several professional service packages to assist in this regard, but I haven’t bought them. However, with 5 books now completed and more to come, I’m now preparing to do some self-marketing, with the hope of getting my work in front of more readers.

 

A few tips come to mind that may be of use to you:

 

• because my target products are 6 inch by 9 inch trade size paperback books, I compose my initial manuscripts in MS Word using a 6×9 page size template – that saves a whole lot of formatting headaches down the line
• convert the finished Word formatted manuscript document doc file to a pdf file – CreateSpace handles pdf files much more easily
• careful proofing is essential – I have found and fixed countless errors in the process – none of which were by CreateSpace, all of which were my own mistakes – I typically use their electronic reviewer tool first – when I have fixed any errors, I then secure a printed proof and again reread every line before going to print
• I donate copies of my books to local public and university libraries
• in preparing for self-marketing, I have submitted books for professional review to Kirkus Reviews and Indie Reader (2 of the largest and most widely respected reviewers of self-published works) – but they are somewhat expensive and may not yield the kudos you hope to receive
• I also have some free reviews in the works by WordPress reviewers
• while CreateSpace automatically makes your book available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble internet sites, I am building a mailing list of independent booksellers throughout New England – I plan to compose informational flyers that I will send to them
• I’ve registered my own publishing company “Stonewood Press LLC” – at this point I use it only for my own books, but have ideas about offering publishing services to other authors – who knows where this might go?

 

I hope this post helps anyone considering self-publishing.  No doubt, our WordPress community has any number of folks with real expertise on these matters and I would encourage you to seek them out. Platforms and services other than CreateSpace may be just as good, but for now, I’m staying with what I know. Good luck to my fellow WordPressers.

 

– Paul F. Lenzi at “Poesy plus Polemics”

City of Pawns – Book Review

City of Pawns has received a positive book review from Kirkus Reviews:

“.…covers a lot of ground, including the poet’s own life and politics, current events, and meditations on the real and imagined lives of famous figures.” – Kirkus Reviews

“….poems alternate between long, proselike pieces and groups of short, focused haiku. All are marked by their attention to the sound and rhythm of language….” – Kirkus Reviews

“.…particularly lovely….collection of poems marked by strong political opinions and the skillful use of language.” – Kirkus Reviews