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By Jennifer B. Kaufman
2007.05
U2 fans are not your typical rock and roll fans. Sure, they buy the CDs and go to the concerts, but being a U2 fan is so much more than that. U2 fans are motivated. They are inspired to open their minds, learn new things, and get involved in causes bigger than themselves. However, they are also inspired to use own creativity. This is evident in a slim, yet powerful book of poetry and short stories called “The Little Red Book of Poet-ee-tree: Words from the Heart.”
“The Little Red Book of Poe-ee-tree” is a volume containing heartfelt prose by a collection of U2 fans throughout the globe. Their love of U2’s music and the written word lead these fans to “The Heart.” The Heart was an Internet poetry forum where writers cultivated their writing skills, shared their work with others, and got their creative juices flowing. Sadly, it shut down in 2003, but fortunately for the Heart community, U2 fans, and lovers of good writing, the works created for the Heart are not lost forever. They are compiled into “The Little Red Book of Poe-ee-tree.”
All royalties of “The Little Red Book of Poe-ee-tree” go to the African Well Fund, a charity founded in 2002 by a group of U2 fans to provide a clean water sources to many African communities. In the past five years, the African Well Fund has built and supplied clean water and sanitation projects in Uganda, Angola and Zimbabwe. “The Little Red Book of Poe-ee-tree” is just one part of the African Well Fund’s comprehensive vision to help others.
The poets published in “The Little Red Book of Poe-ee-tree” write about love and loss, heartbreak and joy. They write with clear-eyed optimism and downcast despair. These poems take us on a journey of both the writers’ hearts and souls, and our individual interpretations to their work. Some poems a mere few lines, whereas others nearly tell a story.
Jennifer’s startling “Modern Day Warfare” uses the frightening images of “mustard-gas lies” and “biological-warfare thoughts,” along with “rat-ta-tat fists” to chillingly describe abuse both emotional and physical.
Kel, in the poem “Africa” describes the continent as a living, breathing human female, inhaling “her warm earthy air.” This poem puts a very personal face on one’s personal journey throughout the African landscape.
Mrs. F. conveys the love a mother has for her children in the poem “Earth and Angels.” Phrases like “He darts in dizzy zig zags...Listens wide-eyed, hoots at the owl” and “Head filled with fairies and music...She skips and sings” give us an intimate look at the special qualities that make our sons and daughters so special to us.
All the poems, whether short or lengthy, are very strong, and open to many interpretations. I don’t know how these poets came to their words. Sometimes a poem just comes to someone and easily flows out onto paper. Sometimes constructing a poem is like throwing a bunch of words into the air, and then constructing a poem using the scattered words. However the poems came to be in this book, they came through what Allen Ginsberg once called, “ordinary magic.”
Several short stories are also collected in “The Little Red Book of Poe-ee-tree.” When writing a short story, writers also face challenges. Writers need to grab the reader and tell a complete story in a short amount of words. And these stories have to be engaging, draw the reader in, and achieve a believable conclusion without seeming to be tacked on in haste.
This is expertly done in Laurie CK’s “Pennycake.” In this story, carefree memories of a 1970’s childhood are recalled with its birthday rituals and lazy summer days. The brief mentions of Noxzema, Keith Partridge, and 8-Track tapes give the reader a strong idea of a certain place in time. This story also evokes what it is like to be a child facing real life unexpected grief and a subsequent loss of faith.
The one quibble I do have with this book (and it is a minor one) is the limited amount of writers. I don’t know if this is because only a few writers were accepted or only a few writers chose to submit their work. This could also be because the Heart was a small group to begin with. If this book is successful, I’d like to suggest a sequel.
“The Little Red Book of Poe-ee-tree” is published by Lulu, and edited by Mrs. Fields. To learn more about the book, you can visit (LINK HERE: To view this link you must Register. If you're already a member, Login Here!) To learn more about the African Well Fund, please visit (LINK HERE: To view this link you must Register. If you're already a member, Login Here!)
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Published on
05-16-2007 at 08:15 PM |
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06-15-2007 09:59 PM -
