 |
Hooked on their love,
I keep wanting more,
Like sweets!"
The author has created her own unique poetry form. Similar to haiku (3 lines of 5,7, and 5 syllables), Anaïku poems instead consist of 17 syllables in any four lines. To complement her poetry, the author has also created original artwork—Serendipity paintings using India ink. Ekphrasis, the combination of two art forms each inspiring the other, has become Laurent’s trademark. Over 300 tightly-written poems are organized to represent actual life events: “Part I - Before We Were Two”; “Part II a,b - Tying Knots in Macramour” (or macramé, a wall hanging craft popular in the 70s); “Part III - Frayed Ends.” Taken all together these poignant poems tell a true tale of the author’s romance with her former husband and its frayed ending.
To introduce the story behind her poetry collection, the author fell back on prose to explain emotions she battled with for ten years to reach the point of writing objectively and sharing her loss. These emotions include grief, mourning, hate, and blame. Fortunately, after much soul-searching, the tide turned—honesty triumphed into healing and later into recognition of being blessed, especially by support from her three children and their spouses.
Groups of six poems span two pages. The sharp-edged poems circle (top to bottom, first left then right) around simple, organic artwork. Based on the subject matter, groupings alternate, often between being sexual or bitter. For example, “I’ll not saddle/Myself with another/Rodeo rider:/Burrs scratch!” or “Tragedy./An entire family/Gone MIA/in divorce court.” While not mushy love poems, the subject matter should resonate with many female readers. It is the author’s expressed hope that such a personal work will begin the healing process for others. Perhaps her pen name signifies a fresh new start.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review