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Wordplay: Damnation
The thought provoking journey continues, only to find sanity shrouded in the blood of darkness, struggling to regain its own voice, trapped in a web of Damnation. As Andrew Boyd attempts to celebrate the beauty of the present, manifestations of betrayal threaten to shatter its very essence. Wordplay: Damnation will leave your cerebrals churning, heart racing, and eyes pregnant with Soul tears as you journey with Andrew through his mental, emotional, and spiritual detox. Wordplay: Damnation represents the war: an honest, heart-wrenching look at forces that threatened to snatch his Soul into darkness and hold it permanently hostage versus rising above the anarchy to become even wiser and stronger than ever.
108 pages, Paperback
First published July 16, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 3, 2015
Andrew Boyd writes dark, compelling poetry straight from the heart, taking us on a journey through the ups and downs of his life. He is a master wordsmith, pulling me into his world especially with the two poems that (in my opinion) stand out from the rest; Epiphany and Soul. In ‘Epiphany’, Andrew details all the reasons why he does not want to bring children into this world, and reading through ‘Soul’ I was taken back to the first days of my own illness when all I could ask was ‘why me?’. In time I realised the answer to that is ‘why not?’, but it took a long while to get to that crucial acceptance stage!
Excellent, and well recommended for fans of realistic, true-to-life poetry.
Excellent, and well recommended for fans of realistic, true-to-life poetry.
April 23, 2015
There are some books of poetry that can be read in one sitting. Then there are other that take several sittings. At moments, you can go over a poem more than once.
Wordplay: Damnation is definitely the latter two statements, and for me, a huge contrast from Wordplay: Poetry for the Soul, which was the first book in the Wordplay series.
The look on this cover gives me the chills ... it reminds me of a look of judgment, like he was the one putting his wrath on others. Yet, within the pages, it was more like the opposite and matched the blurb to a tee--that he was the one going through some of the torment, as opposed to the other way around.
As a reader, I questioned, "Whom is his poetry speaking to?" In one breath, I sense that he is speaking to women because of the erotic pieces thrown in. In another breath, it's as if he's giving vocabulary lessons on works where one needs a dictionary to discover what they mean. Yet in another breath, he delivers sentiments for the guy on the block.
Similar to Wordplay:Poetry for the Soul, all of the poetry doesn't feel symmetric. It would just gel better if the so called "erotic" pieces were put into their own little collection. They don't fit into the theme of "Damnation" in my eyes, which is why I am thrown off each time one is in there. Also these pieces made for college professors with barely pronounceable titles. Am I learning more about this man's soul or is he spouting out stanzas to make me feel simple?
Don't get me wrong. I'm willing to grow and learn, but when I read poetry, I want to feel like I'm getting personal with the subject matter--it's a slightly different purpose when I read short stories or a novel. It has to be intimate without being overzealous or mechanical. "Wordplay" doesn't have to echo over-wordiness, and the amount of words to used to say a lot when less would do is a flaw that repeats in Wordplay: Damnation.
The flavor of the content isn't quite strong enough to override the pitfalls. This is still in the middle for me.
Verdict: 3 Stars
Wordplay: Damnation is definitely the latter two statements, and for me, a huge contrast from Wordplay: Poetry for the Soul, which was the first book in the Wordplay series.
The look on this cover gives me the chills ... it reminds me of a look of judgment, like he was the one putting his wrath on others. Yet, within the pages, it was more like the opposite and matched the blurb to a tee--that he was the one going through some of the torment, as opposed to the other way around.
As a reader, I questioned, "Whom is his poetry speaking to?" In one breath, I sense that he is speaking to women because of the erotic pieces thrown in. In another breath, it's as if he's giving vocabulary lessons on works where one needs a dictionary to discover what they mean. Yet in another breath, he delivers sentiments for the guy on the block.
Similar to Wordplay:Poetry for the Soul, all of the poetry doesn't feel symmetric. It would just gel better if the so called "erotic" pieces were put into their own little collection. They don't fit into the theme of "Damnation" in my eyes, which is why I am thrown off each time one is in there. Also these pieces made for college professors with barely pronounceable titles. Am I learning more about this man's soul or is he spouting out stanzas to make me feel simple?
Don't get me wrong. I'm willing to grow and learn, but when I read poetry, I want to feel like I'm getting personal with the subject matter--it's a slightly different purpose when I read short stories or a novel. It has to be intimate without being overzealous or mechanical. "Wordplay" doesn't have to echo over-wordiness, and the amount of words to used to say a lot when less would do is a flaw that repeats in Wordplay: Damnation.
The flavor of the content isn't quite strong enough to override the pitfalls. This is still in the middle for me.
Verdict: 3 Stars
August 31, 2013
In Wordplay: Damnation, Andrew's metaphorical prowess did not take a backseat. In fact, the experiences mirrored in this work put that ability on a grander scale. One example of this is "Zodiac Destroyer" where Andrew takes his experiences with signs of the Zodiac and puts his analytic spin on how to handle those who are unsavory.
Extended thoughts can be found on The Review Board:
Andrew also gives one some shock value in his piece "I Saw Mommy Killing Santa Claus". It put me of the mind of this old horror movie I saw from many years ago, "Silent Night, Deadly Night". Yes, it is a bit twisted, yet I appreciated the creativity.
I also applauded the philosophical debate that shined in the piece "Church and State." I found myself pondering which side of the debate I was on, yet not knowing how I felt about the stalemate. It was a very invigorating read, leaving an imprint after the last word was typed.
There's also a social gem in "Bitter Release." For me, this read as a cry from the ninety nine percent as well as a tale of the unemployed as well as underemployed.
Wordplay: Damnation, although its' very personal, it has many levels of universal appeal due to its'
"I feel you, man!" factor. This could almost be renamed Wordplay: Reflections of Universal Thoughts. Through this work, I was able to connect to my own social and emotional struggles in dealing with others.
I highly recommend this work for the educational value in its' lessons and the advocacy of the fight in the human spirit despite the fallacies of the human condition.
Extended thoughts can be found on The Review Board:
Andrew also gives one some shock value in his piece "I Saw Mommy Killing Santa Claus". It put me of the mind of this old horror movie I saw from many years ago, "Silent Night, Deadly Night". Yes, it is a bit twisted, yet I appreciated the creativity.
I also applauded the philosophical debate that shined in the piece "Church and State." I found myself pondering which side of the debate I was on, yet not knowing how I felt about the stalemate. It was a very invigorating read, leaving an imprint after the last word was typed.
There's also a social gem in "Bitter Release." For me, this read as a cry from the ninety nine percent as well as a tale of the unemployed as well as underemployed.
Wordplay: Damnation, although its' very personal, it has many levels of universal appeal due to its'
"I feel you, man!" factor. This could almost be renamed Wordplay: Reflections of Universal Thoughts. Through this work, I was able to connect to my own social and emotional struggles in dealing with others.
I highly recommend this work for the educational value in its' lessons and the advocacy of the fight in the human spirit despite the fallacies of the human condition.
April 30, 2014
I'm a sucker for black and intensity in a look. Is this author giving me that look? Plus that title: Damnation! Makes the hands stand up on end like a person is in that waiting area between Heaven and Hell. Hard hitting, emotional, taking no prisoners in intensity. That's my type of hotness and is my #1 in this collection. Glad I'm continuing with the WORDPLAY series.
If you want some water down imitation of real talk, step away--this ain't for you!
WORDPLAY Damnation= Premium Cognac #courvosier
Watered down stuff= wine cooler
If you want some water down imitation of real talk, step away--this ain't for you!
WORDPLAY Damnation= Premium Cognac #courvosier
Watered down stuff= wine cooler
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews