Book Review: Making a Poem by Vihang A. Naik

This book has a philosophical subjectivity towards art of writing poems and poets.

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The Blurb:

Making A Poem is a powerful affecting collection of poetry that sheds a fascinating light upon the writing process and poet's personal aesthetics. These are eloquent pieces where the poet displays a confident command of the poetic form to bring his ideas and observations to life. The pieces that ponder the reality of poetic expression are perhaps most fascinating. Their reflexivity results in a most engaging collection of poems. Making A Poem is an intuitive, thoughtful and creative pieces that work together as a cohesive collection.

Excerpt:

Poem title: The Absent Poem

before you search 

your pockets

drawers and shelves

looking for

a misplaced pen

leaving a trace

the poem 

takes a leave

before

you even 

pen a line

About The Author:

Vihang Ashokbhai Naik, also known as Vihang A. Naik born in Surat, India on September 2, 1969, is a contemporary poet writing in English, widely published and won many awards.He is educated from The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda with  English Literature , Philosophy and Indian Literature in English Translations. His travels gave him unique insight into life and humanity and he wrote “City Times and Other Poems” which enters Limca Book of Records : 2016. His collections of poems includes City Times and Other Poems (1993), Making A Poem(2004) and Poetry Manifesto ( New & Selected Poems) (2010). His Gujarati collection of poems titled Jeevangeet (Gujarati poems) (2001) is dedicated to the cause of victims of Gujarat Earthquake 26th January, 2001. He also translates poetry written in Gujarati language into English including his own Gujarati Language poems into English. His poems have appeared in some of the most noted literary journals and anthologies. He lives and works in Gujarat, India.

The Review:                                                        

"Poetry is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words." -Robert Frost
Often poetry is an outcome of strong emotions, keen observation and deep thinking. Being a poet myself, I understand how steeply it flows straight from the heart. Reading poetry has always been a pleasure and I would like to thank the poet for writing such a masterpiece.

The Reviewer's Heart…

'Making a Poem' by renowned literary gem Vihang Naik is a collection of beautifully woven poems that subjectively defines the poet, poem and the readers. The poems have been judiciously divided under the five different sections, Are you looking for that poet? talks about the struggles of becoming a poet. A Poet as a Young Man talks about the apprehension of young poets and their likeliness of falling into trap of words and temptation of using alluring terms and thus losing the meaning itself. Making a Poem is the most beautiful poem in the book which ecstatically talks about how poetry takes its form. Personifications like Words bare themselves, the dance of the blank ink and little light, the pen has to slide making a line adds cherry on the top. A Poem Comes Alive ironically has its first poem 'The Pen' which talks about the silent death of poetry. The main title poem couldn't have been described in better words ''a poem injects life in the rib of words''. The last section A Poet, in the poem titled Wanted, Mr. Vihang talks about the essence of a poet and his vulnerability at giving life to it in black and blue. Another poem titled Making of a Poet conveys how strong imagination fuels the power of expression and thus makes one Poet. My favorite pick from the collection is The Absent Poem because its completely relatable to me, often a thought, an observation and realization strikes to me only to be lost and forgotten. 

All the poems in the book depicts a very natural insight to a poet's life in general and various co-related perspective. I appreciate the poet's flair in conveying depth in his thoughts using a few words. The book has been written with utmost simplicity and readers of all age can easily comprehend it. However, at a few places, it was a little difficult to build the connection between the lines. I believe that is due to translation. Also, it would have been more interesting to read this collection if the poet would have mentioned a short snippet of his personal account or caricatures to complement the poems. The book cover in black color having the author's (Vihang A. Naik) picture on it definitely sets a serious mood and also adds credibility a hundred times more. Overall, it was a quick yet a sagacious read.

Rating:  

Blurb: 3.5/5

Description: 3.5/5

Writing Style: 4/5

Editing: 3.5/5

Excerpt: 4/5

Book Cover: 4/5

Overall Rating: 4 /5

Book Details:

Title:Making a Poem

Author: Vihang A. Naik

Genre:Poetry

Type: Ebook

Publisher: Authors Press

Language: English

Pages: 38

Year of Publication: 2004

Price: 250 INR

Buy Paperback: Amazon

Stars… To this thought provoking collection of poems, I give a 4 star rating. Recommended to all

This book was given to me in exchange for an honest review. I am glad to read and review it. The opinions expressed in the review are my own, and remain unbiased and uninfluenced. I have given a 4 star rating on Goodreads and Amazon as I felt nothing less than that would be fair.