Rating: 4 stars
Headline: A strong poetry debut which speaks highly of where Osman will take her creative talents next
Review:
There are few mediums that can transport a reader quite so rapidly as poetry. From snappy two liners to elongated stanza blocks, when done right there is something quite magical about the romanticism of the free flowing word and its ability to convey a fresh presentative on the world we live in.
Marking her poetry collection debut, Ruth Osman brings readers to the sunny landscapes of the Caribbean in her new publication All Made of Longing. Spread over sixty four pages, Osman’s poetry draws heavily on the symbolism of tropical surroundings, with an acknowledgement of the human interactions that have come to influence nature (much to our peril).
In All Made of Longing, Osman experiments with different approaches to tempo, pace, presentation and, most significantly, tone. A number of the poems draw on the poet’s heritage and its links to slavery and the slave trade; while they are not always a pleasant read, they are an important read all the same. They suggest sorrow and an ongoing struggle felt by the descendants ever since. As a British reader in the twenty-first century, they serve as an important reminder to the past.
Within this collection, a personal favourite of mine is the short and sweet “Deluge”, a four line stanza that offers a somewhat tongue-in-cheek warning to those who mock the power of Mother Nature. The use of blue monotone illustrations at the header of each chapter is also a nice touch to break up the collection, each a representation of ta tree’s growth, and the ongoing circle of life contained within.
Reading All Made of Longing you would not expect this to be the work of a debut poet, it is a strong opening collection and speaks highly of where Osman will take her creative talents next.
AEB Reviews
Links:
Reedsy Discovery Review: AEB Reviews – “All Made of Longing” by Ruth Osman
Purchase Link: “All Made of Longing” by Ruth Osman (Amazon)
**
My Housemate's a Mermaid 