Tuesday, May 19, 2015

The Antigone Poems by Marie Slaight and Drawings by Terrence Tasker with an INTERNATIONAL GIVEAWAY


This voice
Is afraid to speak

Afraid
Of the brutal metal
Of its words.

Words that scrape
Words that scar
Words that have no peace.

If I utter this voice
This great
Aching scream

Its horror will echo forever

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Title: The Antigone Poems
Poetry: Mary Slaight
Art: Terrence Tasker
ISBN: 9780980644708
Publisher: An Altaire Publication/2014
Pages: 92

I did not know about Sophocles play. Antigone was a stranger to me. I have not read much of Greek Tragedies. Reading The Antigone Poems was a revelation. The despair, the bleakness and rebellion came across strongly. The poems jumped out of the pages and hit my guts hard. So so visceral.

I could even see parallel to our Hindu mythology. The Daemons are a manifestation of everything that ought not be, the evil. However, they connect the Gods with the Humans. Maybe we need that manifestation of Daemons to understand the goodness.

The struggle, the strife and suffering is not confined to Antigone. It goes beyond and we see it manifested everywhere in the present world. In any kind of war, women suffer the most. The detailing is morbid, yet it attracts the reader, the rhyming and Alliteration pulls us in. We may despair for the protagonist, but we appreciate beauty in words. The imagery, metaphors and allegory defy descriptions.

The charcoal drawings are so evocative. Sun, daemons, death pervades in most of the poems. The female spirit is the essence here, sad, tragic, despairing yet rebelling. Pleasure and pain are interchangeable.

The poems are stark and striking, appear to simplistic but encompass emotions of epic proportion. Highly recommended for all poetry lovers....The book is a keeper and I will read it again and again.....

PS: I did check out Sophocles play after reading this....

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Posting this for TLC Book Tour

Here's the link to the TLC Book Tour schedule for: The Antigone Poems

Thanks the publisher and TLC Book Tours for providing me with a copy of this book!

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Anyone interested to read poetry is welcome for the giveaway. Just leave your email id in the comments section. I will make a draw on 22 May. This is International....

13 comments:

Beth F said...

I have read Antigone, but I'm not quite sure this book would be for me.

Laurel-Rain Snow said...

Sounds enticing! Thanks for sharing...and for visiting my blog.

Jess @ Fairytales and Glitter said...

I haven't heard of this book. I do love poetry. Thank you for stopping by. :)

Harvee said...

Fantastic review, Gautami. You gave us the essence of the poems. I will reread the poems too.

Linda said...

Great teaser. Thanks for stopping by my blog!

Laura said...

Good review! Thanks for sharing it. I love poetry too, but haven't heard of this one until now. And Thanks for coming.

traveler said...

A great and interesting giveaway. Thanks. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

Kathy Martin said...

I've read Antigone but can't imagine the poems. I don't think that would be a book for me. Happy reading!

Ali @ Ali's Books said...

Your review is beautiful! Thanks for visiting Ali's Books!

Unknown said...

Wonderful review. This is one I'll be exploring further.

Rin said...

Great review! Thanks for visiting my blog. :)

Monique said...

I like the poem. It captures the feeling of wanting to scream but scared of the outcome, of being swallowed up by fear.

Thanks for visiting Write Note Reviews.

Heather J @ TLC Book Tours said...

I'm pleased to see how much you enjoyed this collection of poems! Thanks for being a part of the tour.