{"id":45744,"date":"2012-08-06T06:30:44","date_gmt":"2012-08-06T06:30:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sierraexpressmedia.com\/?p=45744"},"modified":"2012-08-06T06:30:44","modified_gmt":"2012-08-06T06:30:44","slug":"poetry-collection-review-willie-james-kings-autumns-only-blood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sierraexpressmedia.net\/?p=45744","title":{"rendered":"Poetry Collection Review: Willie James King’s ‘Autumn\u2019s Only Blood’"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve known Willie James King for over a decade. \u00a0Our initial meeting was probably predestined, as most of our conversations have centered around his commitment as a devoted, dedicated and seasoned poet. \u00a0King holds an MFA in creative writing, and other degrees in English and Education. \u00a0He\u2019s widely published and his work touches an international audience across three continents. \u00a0His passion for poetry and the healing nature as power of his craft are the heart strings that propelled our lasting friendship and bond. \u00a0I\u2019m very familiar with his work, having read most, if not all of his published work. \u00a0His infectious writing is easy for one to ignite a love affair with his tenacity, eloquence, poignancy and the clarity and honesty with which King writes. \u00a0For his heart and soul so intertwined, are deeply invested in his work, and that peace and harmony are no different from the person himself in real life. \u00a0Though his poems appear simple, but they conduct high voltage electricity through them. In the poem: Without Weeping, this reality is evidently evocative and touchy. (Photo: Willie James King, author\/poet<\/em>)<\/p>\n

Can compassion be the word for a cow
\nWho seems to love the slimy afterbirth
\nShe is licking from her calf\u2019s weak body?
\nPerhaps it could be. I steady the plow;
\nIt sinks deeper as I study the worth
\nOf a child comforted in its crying
\nNot shoved in a microwave nor brown bag<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The marriage between his poetry and his innate concern for humanity is a sacred mission and vision he never strays away from, even at the expense of his self interest, if not survival. \u00a0Not long ago, King experienced serious health issues and challenges in his career at the same time. \u00a0But he refused to abandon writing, even when he practically hit rock bottom, and seemingly stalled at the point of no return. \u00a0When King had nothing left but God, he came to the stark realization that God is enough. \u00a0It was during that tenuous crisis that he wrote some of his strongest poems which were accepted for publication in various outlets. \u00a0He had blocked his mind to worldly possessions that may hinder his precious soul or assault his vulnerable mind. \u00a0Today, he could freely share some of his experiences in poems, how his breakthrough and miracle took place. \u00a0Poetry saved his life and it could save mine and others too. \u00a0For Willie is poetry and poetry is Willie.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Seasoned and powerful writing does not come from a vacuous space of comfort and convenience. \u00a0His recent pilgrimage of life would eventually transform him after going through Red Sea that changed his life and helped in elevating his poetry. \u00a0Autumn\u2019s Only Blood is his fourth collection of poems, the others include, The House in The Heart, Wooden Windows, and At the Forest Edge. \u00a0Born and raised in the south of the ignoble confederacy that was etched with discrimination, in the stormy theater of the old southern state of Alabama, carved the Mecca of the Civil Rights Movement, where the claws of racism were enshrined. \u00a0The deep south\u2019s legal system favored bigotry, as the seeds of injustice were generously sown and would freely germinate, bloom and blossom unabated. \u00a0It\u2019s amid this enigma and melancholy that King writes his eye popping poems, that often arrest the imagination and appetite of the adventurous and meticulous reader, with jaws wide open in shock and awe. \u00a0King\u2019s global perspective shows in the poem: \u00a0Dear Roland, based on events in Sierra Leone, a country most Americans know little about except the violence in the movie \u2018Blood Diamonds.\u2019 \u00a0But King is not one of them for he\u2019s a voracious reader.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 So much hatred, all epitomizing hell……<\/p>\n

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One guy is pointing to the dime-sized bullet
\nHole in his head, the other is showing the world
\nThe blood-soaked wound in his sternum,
\nAnd he does not yet seem done with war
\nI surmised. Some are using the name Obama,
\nWhich to me, is self-effacement that hinges on bad indulgence.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

His disturbing and sometimes inhuman experiences and narratives are mildly sugar coated but soaked in vinegar. \u00a0His writing though brutally honest is not offensive, using his ability and the toolbox of language and gift with words to jump start our reasoning, and remind us of the ugly past that\u2019s clearly at odds with the present. \u00a0And we could drink from the word smith\u2019s reservoir of rich diction. \u00a0Words are bullets that have the power as resource to heal or wound, once they hit their targets. \u00a0Willie dispenses poetic justice with caution, wit and finesse, to help heal our ailing world, in dire need of rescue, rather than opening up old wounds of the ugly past.<\/p>\n

I strongly believe that King\u2019s poetry collection deserves global appreciation and recognition. \u00a0For the shine from his blaze could illuminate the world with his well written poems. \u00a0I\u2019m a witness and convert who has watched him humbly and graciously attain such amiable standard of artistry. \u00a0After reading his work one would never be the same again. \u00a0For King speaks the bare knuckled truth though he\u2019s relatively in obscurity, and waiting to receive the long deserved nod. I would recommend his book to the general reader, not just poetry lovers. For his poems read like short stories reflecting our global neighborhood of concern.<\/p>\n

Title<\/strong>: Autumn\u2019s Only Blood
\nAuthor<\/strong>: Willie James King
\nPublisher<\/strong>: Tebot\u00a0 Bach
\nPublication date:<\/strong> pending
\n Number of pages:<\/strong> 60<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Review by Roland Bankole Marke \u00a9 2012<\/em><\/p>\n

Stay with Sierra Express Media, for your trusted place in news!<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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