"The good thing about poetry
Is that it's not what is written,
They say, quite the contrary,
Is what's not written..."
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NZ09 by Matthew Bell Trafford Publishing
book review by Corinna Underwood
Author Matthew Bell is from Cheshire in the United Kingdom. His passion for travel is expressed through his career as a geography teacher and his ambition to visit every country in the world. So far he has visited 50. This book is a collection of poems and images from his first-hand travel experiences in New Zealand.
Each page is filled with the thoughts of the traveler as he seeks out new and inspiring locations. As he travels he muses on life, his rugged and beautiful locations, and the history and culture of the magnificent country. All this he shapes into an atlas of verse.
This collection of poetry is not only unique for its language but also because each verse is written using a different poetic form. From acrostic to haiku and sonnets to Villanelle, Bell uses forty-six different styles of poetry to capture the natural beauty of the New Zealand landscape and his sentiments as he journeys through it.
The poems evoke many moods from poignancy to nostalgia, humor to contemplation. In combination with Bell's verse there is an array of vivid photographs. Many of them show the country’s wondrous geographical landmarks such as Frying Pan Lake in Waimangu, the spectacular Huka Falls, and Lyttelton Harbor. The images themselves are cleverly stylized to fit the tone and form of the poems they accompany. This book will bring joy to poetry lovers, explorers, and philosophers alike. This is a great tribute to travel as well as the art of poetry.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review