Genre: Poetry Collection
Description:
“I Wish I Could Write is the debut work of writer, poet, and professor,
Katherine Widner.
I Wish I Could Write is a powerful collection of poems that weaves
together the complex threads of literature, identity, gender, religion, and
family. Widner offers a thought-provoking analysis and reflective journey
through the intersections of human experience, challenging readers to explore
the depths of their own multifaceted identities.
In this striking collection, each poem
serves as a mirror, not just for Widner, but for readers—reflecting the myriad
ways that literary heritage, personal identities, gender expressions, and
spiritual beliefs shape our understanding of the world and ourselves. Widner
invites readers to question, celebrate, and reimagine the stories and memories
that define us.”
Author:
“Katherine Widner is a writer and educator whose work explores the
intersections of literature, identity, gender, and religion. With a background
in British, American, and world literature, creative writing, and library and
information sciences, Widner brings a unique and multifaceted perspective to
her poetry. Her academic journey has taken her through several prestigious
institutions in North Carolina, including the University of North Carolina at
Charlotte and Greensboro. Widner's passion for fostering creativity and
critical thinking in others is evident in her roles as a mentor to faculty and
students alike, as well as in her role as an award-winning instructor.”
Appraisal:
A couple decades ago my first reviews of anything were reviewing
record releases of a specific genre of music for a few websites and a magazine.
My cohorts and I not only talked about the sound of the music, but had a
tendency to go way down the rabbit hole, talking about the lyrics of the songs.
In spite of this I would claim to not be a big poetry guy and seldom will you
find me reading a poetry book, but I decided to give this one a read and I made
the obvious connection. Poetry is just like song lyrics without the music in
the background. A good poet, just like a good songwriter, can say a whole lot
in just a few words. Of course the message you get from that poem might not be
the same one another reader gets, and that’s okay too.
This collection was a good one with some poems that felt very
personal, or maybe they weren’t about the author, but she put herself in the
place of a friend or acquaintance when she wrote the poem. Regardless, it draws
the reader into the same place. Some of the poems are longer and others
shorter. Several toward the end take on specific forms. Haikus, which was a
form I was familiar with as well as tankas and senryu, two other Japanese
poetry forms that I wasn’t familiar with. We’ve also got a poem labeled as “a
sentence” which is just what it sounds like, a poem done in one sentence and a
“sentiment”, which is what it appears to be as well. In all, a big variety of
well done poetry that took me back to my days of admiring song lyrics and in
the process made me realize that I really do like poetry.
Buy now
from: Amazon US Amazon UK
FYI:
A small number of adult words.
Format/Typo
Issues:
No issues.
Rating: ****
Four Stars
Reviewed
by: BigAl
Approximate word count: 4-5,000 words
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