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Songlines
Jen Minkman was born in the Netherlands in 1978. Although she has always written stories in Dutch, the poems and lyrics she writes are almost exclusively in English.
About the title: “The aborigines of Australia use Dreaming tracks or Songlines to find their way across vast expanses of land. Words in these songs describe natural landmarks originally created by the gods in song, and the songs must be sung regularly in order to keep the land alive. Likewise, the poems in this book mark my walk of life and should be written, read and re-read in order to keep my soul alive and help me find my way.”
About the title: “The aborigines of Australia use Dreaming tracks or Songlines to find their way across vast expanses of land. Words in these songs describe natural landmarks originally created by the gods in song, and the songs must be sung regularly in order to keep the land alive. Likewise, the poems in this book mark my walk of life and should be written, read and re-read in order to keep my soul alive and help me find my way.”
- GenresPoetry
28 pages, Paperback
First published March 14, 2013
2 people are currently reading
177 people want to read
About the author
Jen Minkman
86 books505 followersJen Minkman (1978) writes YA paranormal romance, dystopian fiction and poetry. She is from the Netherlands and self-publishes her work in English. Her works are available in paperback & digital format (ebook and audio).
You can subscribe to her newsletter here > http://eepurl.com/bTXSWv
Jen was born in the Netherlands and lived in Austria, Belgium and the UK during her studies. She learned how to read at the age of three and has never stopped reading since. Her favourite books to read are (YA) paranormal/fantasy, sci-fi, dystopian and romance, and this is reflected in the stories she writes. In her home country, she is a trade-published author of paranormal romance and chicklit. Across the border, she is a self-published author of poetry, paranormal romance and dystopian fiction. Her books are already available in English, Dutch, Chinese, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, and Afrikaans.
She currently resides in The Hague where she works and lives with her husband and two noisy zebra finches.
You can subscribe to her newsletter here > http://eepurl.com/bTXSWv
Jen was born in the Netherlands and lived in Austria, Belgium and the UK during her studies. She learned how to read at the age of three and has never stopped reading since. Her favourite books to read are (YA) paranormal/fantasy, sci-fi, dystopian and romance, and this is reflected in the stories she writes. In her home country, she is a trade-published author of paranormal romance and chicklit. Across the border, she is a self-published author of poetry, paranormal romance and dystopian fiction. Her books are already available in English, Dutch, Chinese, Spanish, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, and Afrikaans.
She currently resides in The Hague where she works and lives with her husband and two noisy zebra finches.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 2, 2014
Initial reaction: I like Jen Minkman's poetry more than her prose, as some of the poems in here are actually quite well composed, but this collection does feel like it stops a bit short.
Full review:
Jen Minkman's "Songlines" is the first collection of poetry I've read from her, and you can think of it as a bite sized collection of sorts. That's a bit of a pro and con to that, because while the collection is easy to read, I thought it ended very quickly before it really got off the ground. Nonetheless, I liked quite a few of the poems in here for their bit. "Fatal Attraction" was interesting with its turns of dark imagery, even from the first lines "I have always wanted to dance with you:/a soul dressed in black/spinning around on crashing waves/hulking in a ship without anchor."
"No Control" was another I liked for its observations "under a sky littered with stars" and how miniscule the narrator feels in observation, "wondering whether we are all stardust." I think many of the bite sized poems in this collection convey the thematic of seeming small in a larger scope, and that was shown quite well in turns. There's even a poem written by Minkman's father on her wedding day in "23rd of June" and that was a nice inclusion in itself.
Some poems struck me more than others, but Minkman's use of line breaks and cadence through each of the poems is sound and certainly evoking with the rolling dynamic. While it was a bit more abbreviated than I was hoping for, I hope to have more chances to read Minkman's poetry in the future.
Overall score: 3/5 stars
Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher.
Full review:
Jen Minkman's "Songlines" is the first collection of poetry I've read from her, and you can think of it as a bite sized collection of sorts. That's a bit of a pro and con to that, because while the collection is easy to read, I thought it ended very quickly before it really got off the ground. Nonetheless, I liked quite a few of the poems in here for their bit. "Fatal Attraction" was interesting with its turns of dark imagery, even from the first lines "I have always wanted to dance with you:/a soul dressed in black/spinning around on crashing waves/hulking in a ship without anchor."
"No Control" was another I liked for its observations "under a sky littered with stars" and how miniscule the narrator feels in observation, "wondering whether we are all stardust." I think many of the bite sized poems in this collection convey the thematic of seeming small in a larger scope, and that was shown quite well in turns. There's even a poem written by Minkman's father on her wedding day in "23rd of June" and that was a nice inclusion in itself.
Some poems struck me more than others, but Minkman's use of line breaks and cadence through each of the poems is sound and certainly evoking with the rolling dynamic. While it was a bit more abbreviated than I was hoping for, I hope to have more chances to read Minkman's poetry in the future.
Overall score: 3/5 stars
Note: I received this as an ARC from NetGalley, from the publisher.
June 30, 2013
Beautiful short book of poetry. I need to read it again and again to absorb all that is there but I'm blown away by my first reading. So much depth - and by that I don't mean that it is hard to reach -- it is very read-able and approachable poetry, but there is so much depth in each poem. Short, precise with great intensity and imagery. Well done... well done. The first poem really resonated with me in particular... wow. Purchased the kindle edition for 99cents this morning and loved it so much I had to purchase the "real" book to read and to hold ... it's that good... needs to be on my bookshelf.
July 7, 2018
I'm sad to say that I just don't like Minkman's poetry as much as I do her prose. I think it comes down to what I want to see in poetry: truth. Or, things that feel profound in some way. Words that cut straight to the bone. I don't like fantastical elements. I don't like melodrama. I find too much rhyming childish.
There are poems in which I liked a line or a stanza, for example No Control:
Under a sky littered with stars
I am driving into the desert
Passing so many thoughts not my own
Wondering whether we are all stardust
after all.
Digging my toes into the sand,
I am standing back to back
with a solitary sandstone pillar.
Leaning against this lone soldier
standing tall,
I get out the book.
The Book of Life.
Full of pages I don’t own.
They turn in the breeze.
My God, I feel small.
I like the parts in bold. The rest diminishes it for me. Ultimately this comes down to personal taste I suppose.
I'd like to mention that I love the cover, painted by one Sia Minkman - quite the creative family it seems! I also love the title and the meaning behind it, although I think it would fit a story just as well.
There are poems in which I liked a line or a stanza, for example No Control:
Under a sky littered with stars
I am driving into the desert
Passing so many thoughts not my own
Wondering whether we are all stardust
after all.
Digging my toes into the sand,
I am standing back to back
with a solitary sandstone pillar.
Leaning against this lone soldier
standing tall,
I get out the book.
The Book of Life.
Full of pages I don’t own.
They turn in the breeze.
My God, I feel small.
I like the parts in bold. The rest diminishes it for me. Ultimately this comes down to personal taste I suppose.
I'd like to mention that I love the cover, painted by one Sia Minkman - quite the creative family it seems! I also love the title and the meaning behind it, although I think it would fit a story just as well.
May 29, 2013
This was a really nice collection of poems. I know that may sound typical in a review, especially one given to an indie author, but I'm being sincere about it. I read Jen's first collection, "Undercurrent" and was not nearly as impressed as I am with "Songlines". It's not meant offensively either! I know that myself also being a writer, and I prefer to use that term loosely, also get better over time. No one comes out of the gate hitting home-runs, even if we do come out swinging.
When I was reading through this collection, I was always thinking about "Undercurrent" and how much more I've enjoyed this volume. I think that perhaps with "Undercurrent" there may have been some type of a language difference, not necessarily a barrier, but a difference, as Jen had to translate from her native language into English. It would appear to me that all of the poems (with exception of Engel, which is in German, but she was kind enough to have the English translation next to it) were WRITTEN in English and not translated. Of course, without asking her, this is only my assumption with the way things seem to flow a tad better.
In this collection there really is a lot of powerful imagery, and a times a sort of staggered thought process that doesn't take away from the poems. There's also a love story being told in the poems; by the way, congratulations on your marriage. The spirit of the poet comes out in this collection where Jen is merely the observer attempting to record and translate her awareness into a format that will hopefully last forever.
Job well done on this collection Jen, and it has such a beautiful cover too! My favorite poem is "Testament".
When I was reading through this collection, I was always thinking about "Undercurrent" and how much more I've enjoyed this volume. I think that perhaps with "Undercurrent" there may have been some type of a language difference, not necessarily a barrier, but a difference, as Jen had to translate from her native language into English. It would appear to me that all of the poems (with exception of Engel, which is in German, but she was kind enough to have the English translation next to it) were WRITTEN in English and not translated. Of course, without asking her, this is only my assumption with the way things seem to flow a tad better.
In this collection there really is a lot of powerful imagery, and a times a sort of staggered thought process that doesn't take away from the poems. There's also a love story being told in the poems; by the way, congratulations on your marriage. The spirit of the poet comes out in this collection where Jen is merely the observer attempting to record and translate her awareness into a format that will hopefully last forever.
Job well done on this collection Jen, and it has such a beautiful cover too! My favorite poem is "Testament".
March 12, 2013
This is a lovely "poetry chapbook" that is very tightly focused on the title itself.
In the introduction, Ms. Minkman shares with the reader that "songlines" are a means to find one's way across vast expanses of land" (with regards to the "songlines" term as used by Australian aborigines).
I wasn't sure how I'd find the chapbook at first, as I am not super familiar with chapbooks (which refer to a small book or pamphlet containing poems, ballads, and/or stories). I did like the very personal touch to the entire collection, as well as the font choice for the title on the chapbook cover. And the painting on the book cover was a very apt choice too--I have a copy of the book in print, and there's just something "very nice" about having a tangible copy of text or visual art that can take the reader away to another world just from gazing at the artwork (I felt the book cover image lined up very well with the explanation for the "Songlines" title for the chapbook).
I like the succinctness of poetry and how it invites us to make personal as well as social connections--it reminds us that we're all human and that there is no experience that counts as too little or too dull in the grand scheme of things. Chapbooks might seem "small" in terms of quantity/word count, but they have their place in the world of literature/life/poetry too, as was my personal experience with the poetic journey of "Songlines" :)
In the introduction, Ms. Minkman shares with the reader that "songlines" are a means to find one's way across vast expanses of land" (with regards to the "songlines" term as used by Australian aborigines).
I wasn't sure how I'd find the chapbook at first, as I am not super familiar with chapbooks (which refer to a small book or pamphlet containing poems, ballads, and/or stories). I did like the very personal touch to the entire collection, as well as the font choice for the title on the chapbook cover. And the painting on the book cover was a very apt choice too--I have a copy of the book in print, and there's just something "very nice" about having a tangible copy of text or visual art that can take the reader away to another world just from gazing at the artwork (I felt the book cover image lined up very well with the explanation for the "Songlines" title for the chapbook).
I like the succinctness of poetry and how it invites us to make personal as well as social connections--it reminds us that we're all human and that there is no experience that counts as too little or too dull in the grand scheme of things. Chapbooks might seem "small" in terms of quantity/word count, but they have their place in the world of literature/life/poetry too, as was my personal experience with the poetic journey of "Songlines" :)
February 17, 2013
This is a chapbook of poetry. It is a short and fast read with 21 poems over 27 pages.
To be honest, I wasn't sure I was going to like it as I read the first couple poems. In Jen's last book of poetry, I "got" the poems from the start. I understood what they were getting at and could relate them to myself or things I knew. The first couple poems in this book didn't really click. But then I got to the poem Testament, which I LOVED and after that the themes of the book really started to come out and I started to understand what her poetry was saying.
There are quite a few poems here about love, but thankfully each one is different (Fatal Attraction being my favorite). There is also a major spiritual theme in this book, though it is not really affiliated with a religion as much as with philosophy. Some of the poems work together to create one message of connectedness of conscious beings across the time and space, of love and lack of fear. I thought that was very cool.
With the exception of a few poems I didn't really get, this book is overall an interesting read that gives some good opportunity for contemplation. Which is pretty good...I mean...when do you ever like EVERY poem in a book or song on an album?
To be honest, I wasn't sure I was going to like it as I read the first couple poems. In Jen's last book of poetry, I "got" the poems from the start. I understood what they were getting at and could relate them to myself or things I knew. The first couple poems in this book didn't really click. But then I got to the poem Testament, which I LOVED and after that the themes of the book really started to come out and I started to understand what her poetry was saying.
There are quite a few poems here about love, but thankfully each one is different (Fatal Attraction being my favorite). There is also a major spiritual theme in this book, though it is not really affiliated with a religion as much as with philosophy. Some of the poems work together to create one message of connectedness of conscious beings across the time and space, of love and lack of fear. I thought that was very cool.
With the exception of a few poems I didn't really get, this book is overall an interesting read that gives some good opportunity for contemplation. Which is pretty good...I mean...when do you ever like EVERY poem in a book or song on an album?
June 23, 2013
"Your story is with me,
like a never ending tapestry of circles and lines,
spinning on my skin like tattoos."
I requested this short book of poems on a whim from Netgalley because, while I don’t normally buy books of poetry and read them cover to cover, I do enjoy poetry and find myself memorizing lines that speak to me.
Jen Minkman is young-adult author from the Netherlands whose novels are mostly in Dutch. She does however, write some pretty awesome poetry in English.
I really enjoyed reading this little collection...Ms. Minkman is very talented and definitely has a way with words.
“I put pencil to paper
And make myself heard
In all my love and despair
I carve out my story
In ancient stone, to be found
By some scientist looking for the next rosetta
I will not go gently.”
I think this poem in particular is beautiful...we all want to make ourself heard.
I give this book of poems 4 stars for originality and awesomeness!
A free copy of this book was provided to me from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
June 21, 2013
I recently read Minkman’s dystopian novella, The Island. When I found that she has poetry I needed to check it out and see how her words can translate to verse.
I was very pleased with this chapbook. Minkman poetry incorporates great imagery into her words. I also found myself finding the emotion of the poems to draw me in.
While there might not be a large grouping of poems in Songlines, I feel that it was well worth the read, and will be a book to go back to later on to experience again. Lovers of poetry will enjoy this, but I also think that shy poetry readers would also find enjoyment within Minkman’s words.
I was very pleased with this chapbook. Minkman poetry incorporates great imagery into her words. I also found myself finding the emotion of the poems to draw me in.
While there might not be a large grouping of poems in Songlines, I feel that it was well worth the read, and will be a book to go back to later on to experience again. Lovers of poetry will enjoy this, but I also think that shy poetry readers would also find enjoyment within Minkman’s words.
July 7, 2013
This is a wonderful book of heart touching poetry! Some of my favorite pieces include Testament- This poem is AB-SOUL-UTLY Beautiful! Your Truth is my Truth! Soul shivering to the Core with LOVE! Songlines - Lets sing this song together for the entire world to hear! Soul sustaining, Lets plant these seeds for the next generation!
Sol Invictus - We are each our own universe, we set our OWN orbit and dance our OWN dance and sometimes we are priviliged to dance together! This book is a must read!! ---over and over again! Thank you Jen!
Sol Invictus - We are each our own universe, we set our OWN orbit and dance our OWN dance and sometimes we are priviliged to dance together! This book is a must read!! ---over and over again! Thank you Jen!
June 21, 2013
A beautiful selection of poems with themes of love and spirituality. A very quick read but definitely worth every second! The poems are simple, elegant and most importantly, very relatable. Read as a download on e-reader and wish the layout was better but doesnt detract from the poems
July 27, 2013
I really enjoyed Jen's poetry chapbook.
"In fact, never fight at all
but blast the world with love
so darkness fills with light
and below is as above" - Testament
"In fact, never fight at all
but blast the world with love
so darkness fills with light
and below is as above" - Testament
July 12, 2013
Very nice and I like the concept of song lines.
September 13, 2013
El Extraño Gato del Cuento
Bonito e interesante. Es lo único que se me ocurre, y que uno tiene como nombre mi fecha de cumpleaños. Eso me gustó más.
Bonito e interesante. Es lo único que se me ocurre, y que uno tiene como nombre mi fecha de cumpleaños. Eso me gustó más.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews