MISCELLANEOUS REVIEWS (Compiled from LYRIQ - The Mensa Poetry Magazine)

JAMES

A sound poem, rich in assonance but sorry, Elwood, for me it just doesn't make sense. Whatever James is doing is beyond me. Am I missing something?   (T. Wren)

So what if he's written a poem around a rhyme? I like it!   (E. Dent)

This is clever, amusing, and I did enjoy it. But doesn't the tail wag the dog, just a little, by the end?   (A. Claybourne.)


THE GREATEST SF STORY EVER TOLD

This poem shows how the Pantoum can build and develop the theme. The final stanza "bent the rules" but did provide an excellent conclusion.   (T. Wren)

&ANTE MELANCHOLICO

Nice sport, slickly done. I also enjoyed the 4-line "I think…"   (A. C.)

He must have had such fun writing this one.   (J. Hayes)

… And speaking of Elwood, I rather liked his "&ante Melancholica" (sic) clever use of &. The poem gave me mixed feelings of amusement as well as sympathy. It gets my vote for no.2   (M. Reijman)

"…I AM THE DREAMER OF DREAMS…"

"I am the dreamer of dreams" deserves more time than I'm able to give. A superficial reading - less that E.H. hopes we'll give - is sufficient to whet the appetite to read it more thoroughly. It appears quite meticulous and serious.   (A. Brett)

SELF-AWARENESS

I was amused to read your "Self Awareness" on page 45. Not just with the concept of the poem which provoked a few thoughts and memories, but with your bold "I"s that forced the reader's awareness of the self-awareness and self-involvement of the subject of the poem. They also acted as a gentle(?) hint that this poem is an alter-ego of your previous "I am the Dreamer of Dreams" - the one where the lack of "I"s cleverly insinuate that the self-aware ego is subjugated by the id in the land of nod.   (M. Reijman)

COUNTERPOINT

Here I like the experimental choric quality. Shall need to give this more attention over a period before I know what I really think of it. (That's a compliment, Elwood!) (A.C.)

Very impressive. What else can I say? I love it all! (S.C.)

I know performance poetry is trendy, but I don't see the point of writing something if 2-4 people are reading aloud with lines overlapping so that the words are incomprehensible. It works in opera, only because when such a device is used, the words are secondary in importance to the music. What's it about, anyway? (E. Dent)
I'm not saying - That would be too easy! - EH

SOMEBODY ELSE

A clever idea, and impressive in the first six parts, less so, for me, in the rest, especially the last three lines, where the colloquialism seems to have a diluting effect. (A.C.)

I liked this one until it got to 'Who knows who somebody else..." Sorry Elwood, but it doesn't make sense. I think you could omit these verses altogether and the poem would be a lot better. (E. Dent)
(Yes, I know - it should have been 'Who knows HOW somebody else. Makes all the difference! - EH)

TRIBULATIONS OF THE GODS

... If you ever get around to publishing a bookful of poems like these, put me down for a copy - I bet it would sell by the bucketload; humour that is intelligent but accessible appeals to a wide range of people. (E. Dent)

TIMES AND TIDES

... Elwood has got it just right here; he's captured an image of bleakness without laying the gloom on with a trowel. (E. Dent)