This is an anthology of collective writing from Robert M. Drake written during 2004-2014. A Brilliant Madness is a reflection of the social collapses in the 21st century. The social programming, the daily routine and the economic struggles we all go through blindly. What has happen to us? Where did all the love go? We have all gone beautifully mad in a beautifully mad world.
"The madness is real, And it is something most people Cannot understand,
But I understand you
You are not alone.
You never were".
I did enjoy this one more than his other collection "Beautiful Chaos". This was still just okay. Some the poems I could really connect to and really loved. On the other hand, at times it was boring and repetitive.
Some things in this collection I agreed with very much and some just the opposite. It was still a solid read nonetheless. I marked off a lot of quotes and my book and I will not deny that some of these poems were absolutely beautiful.
Not bad, but the pieces tended to blend together after a while. At some parts I had to make sure I wasn't reading "A Boring Madness." Collections of poetry tend to change for me depending on where I am in life, so I plan to revisit it eventually.
What a dismal crapfest. A too-long collection of vapid not-quite-poetry: structureless, rambling thoughts with the profundity a teenager could surpass, not even making the attempt to mix up their vocabulary (both in word choice and concepts). Drake displays no grasp of poetry, nor technical skill as a writer. Just a cringe-inducing series of repetitive bullshit, with the occasional nostalgia-themed 90s "poems" sprinkled in that read like the shittiest Buzzfeed articles on the planet.
The only redeeming thing I found in this steaming pile of shit of a book was that it lowers the bar for all other poets, making even the lousiest drivel seem like the greatest fucking poem I've ever read by comparison. Fuck this guy and any success he's somehow managed to squeeze out of this crap.
I would have probably loved it if I were an 11-year-old. No offense to 11-year-old girls/boys, because I was once also an 11-year-old. It is total trash. It looks like an amateur teenager who wants to write but has zero talent.
Not sure that I will get to this one on the blog so I wanted to share a few thoughts here.
A Brilliant Madness was my first encounter with Robert M Drake's work. While I enjoyed the author's writing and found myself able to relate to most of the collection, I struggled with the negative air it gave breath to throughout. Given the theme, this was understandable, and I think that most of us can certainly relate to a degree. So it wasn't a lack of appreciation that I struggled with, but more perhaps timing.
I have reached a point in my personal life where I need positivity. In fact, I crave it. Maybe this has to do with how I am choosing to overcome my own challenges at the moment, but I need to pick up titles and collections that either inspire and uplift me or simply provide entertainment. This collection is relatable and beautifully written, but it invoked the wrong feelings for me at this point in my life.
With that in mind, I do recommend exploring A Brilliant Madness on your own. I can understand the value many have found within. There is a wonderful comfort gained from the familiar. Had I read this several years ago, it probably would have easily topped my favorites. It's odd how we change like that, not only as readers but individuals.
1. The dedication page was perfect: If you have ever had something inside of you.
Something that does not let you sleep, something that does not let you go on with your daily life.
If you have ever had something inside of you.
Something burning your soul, something you need to get out but do not know how.
If you have ever had something inside of you.
Something. Something. Something.
You just cannot put your finger on it, then this book is dedicated to you.
The madness is real, and it is something most people cannot understand,
but I understand you.
You are not alone.
You never were. 2. I know the title has the word madness in it, but the word mad was in too many poems to me. 3. The artwork OMG gorgeous. I want these prints in my house. 4. I annotated each poem I loved for later use.
Not the best poetry I’ve read by quite a long shot. I liked some of the ideas and themes throughout the poems, but I found them to be poorly constructed, repetitive, and lacking depth. I felt like I was just reading sentences with odd formatting rather than actual poetry. The artwork was nice to look at, but all in all, not my cup of tea.
Wow Monica finished a book! Since school started I've been slowly reading through this book. I gave it 3 stars because there were many poems I did not like and I think overall I didn't enjoy Drake's voice very much. Many times he came off as whiny in my opinion and many of the cultural ideas he was trying to tackle were not very insightful. It felt like many of his poems lacked depth. However he had some moments of genius and I definitely enjoyed a good portion of the poems in this book. I'd like to check out some more of his work and give him a second chance, but this book fell pretty flat for me.
My current plan is to read all the poetry r.m drake has ever created. This stands out as one of my favourite poetry novels so far. I related to quite a few peices and thats what I seek when I read poetry. My only complaint and its not much of one is that it was a bit of a long book and probably could have been separeted a little bit.
This was a big surprise, but in a positive way. Apart from the beautiful pictures, I also enjoyed reading the poems a lot. That is why I am definitely going to buy a copy for my shelf!
A Brilliant Madness is a brilliant madness. I discovered Robert M. Drake on pinterest and this is the first book of his poems that I have read. I will be buying them all. He’s amazing. We can all find something in his poetry that we can relate to. He talks about the beauty and tragedy of being human. He speaks to those who have been lonely, depressed, lost and broken. He talks about the state of the world and the importance of art, passion and pain!! He speaks to the brilliant madness in all of us! It was like he took a look inside my soul and wrote about it. “We live so hard that we barley live at all.” “No one knows where they are going. Everyone is finding themselves as they go.” “Choose what to give the light to. What to give the soul to.” “The art. The poetry. Now that can save your life. And the films and the music. Sometimes that is all we have, it is all we need. Art is the savior. Take it in as often as possible. It is, possibly, the only form of beauty left in humanity.” “It is important to visit that place inside you. That place no other human is allowed to enter.” “Life can feel relentless and getting through it might be impossible, but riding its waves can be the greatest joy imaginable. Ride it with passion. Ride it with no fear. Ride it until the sunshine goes away, til the moon crumbles and the night sky reminds you of the day. “
I believe it is near impossible to honestly review a book of poetry, because not every poem will get a good reaction from you. That is why I'm giving 'A Brilliant Madness' a 3/5 star rating.
I thoroughly enjoyed all the work in this collection, but only a handful truly spoke to me and made me feel what I was hoping to feel. R.M Drake's writing is repetitive, but it is also uniquely his own. He has created this little world through his poems, and it made me feel as if each scene I read I was viewing through a rain streaked window of a warmly lit cafe. Do you understand? It just felt comfortable.
My favourites were: 'Blooming alone' (p 8) 'Death is too easy' (p 15) 'It can be yours' (p 195) 'Closer to objects' (p 275)
But the wonderful thing about poetry is that when I read through this collection again each poem will reach me in different ways.
I will definitely be reading more of RM Drake's works, and I'm fairly pleased with my first experience of him. I suggest you give it a read and if you don't want to purchase a book without knowing what you're in for he has an instagram (@rmdrk) where he posts small works.
I'm such a huge fan of R.M Drake's poetry on Intagram, and having it all in one book, with his own artwork, is just as bewitching. While I enjoyed his last anthology, Black Butterfly, I feel like this held his best collection yet. It's still raw and haunting, but covered pretty broad topics, like society and changing times.
On some level, readers will be able relate to his words and the human experiences, even if it had darker themes, and it's not always that way, as a few dabble with courage and nostalgia and the good old times. For me, one of the pieces particularly struck a deep chord, and I knew after reading it that this is one of my favorites.
This is one poetry collection that's not to be missed.
There are too many misleading things in this world. Too many useless moments, and too many moments that are not lived too well.
If you are going to live for something, anything, at least let it go beyond the brain. Let it begin and let it die beyond the body.
And in the end, you will end, where you are meant to end.
There is nothing more beautiful
than that.
On my second read of this book I definitly got to enjoy it more than the first time. I don't quite have a reason why, I just felt more conected and more into what I was reading. Robert M. Drake keeps his spot as one of my favorite writers, and I'm reminded of that every time I finish one of his books. Dear mr. Drake, your words stil haunt me and keep me awake at nigth, but I would certainly be disappointed if they didn't.
This was a much longer compilation than his usual works - 300 pages long. While I enjoyed many of the poems and found this work very relevent to our society and the times, I felt that it was a little bit depressing. There was an overall sadness to this work and it was very political. Drake'a style is changing from romantic and profound pieces about love and life that leave the reader inspired, into a more disheartened philosophy that leaves you feeling a little empty. I thought it was still a good work, but not my style. I recommend Tyler Knott Gregson for anyone that likes Drake's older stuff. I think Gregson is much better.
It's unfair to rate something that I haven't actually finished reading but I also have no intention on finishing this book anytime soon either, so I felt I should at least give some explanation as to why.
I've seen R.M. Drakes work online and had become a fan, so obviously I wanted more. Unfortunately this particular book of his was so unexpressive, it lacked emotional connection and felt like a pre-teen wrote it. I had to push myself to get through what I had read (which wasn't much) and eventually had to give up. I feel like I might've enjoyed this when I was A LOT younger.
I have to say, this book was a bit of a dissapointment. A handful of poems were good. Most of these are those instagram crap that is all about making one sentence that could have been in Hallmark card into a poem. That isn't poetry. About one out of every twelve poems are good, perhaps. I looked at his other stuff, some of those are even worse. I have to say. Not that good. Neruda, Collins, and that new guy Ricardo Reyes are all better. Rupi Kaur is much better. Don't buy it. I don't know who has...
I have read some of his other work in the past. I was a fan of him for awhile but this book was too intense and felt repetitive at times. I feel like I won't be holding onto this book for a long time.
Drake, Robert M. A Brilliant Madness (2015). Drake’s collection of poetry spans from 2004 to 2015. This collection has the overarching theme of losing oneself to the 21st Century. His poems are dark and cynical. With titles such as, “The Street is Empty,” “No Time to Breathe,” “The Middle of Nowhere,” and so on. “The Hunger that Never Ends” is a poem that stood out. It is about how everyone always strives for more. More money, more friends, more power, more love, more of everything. We are never satisfied and that will eventually lead to the destruction of self and of relationships. “More You Please” is another poem that stood out. Drake writes about the need for more individuals and less of the masses, one particular line stands out: “The world needs more of you and less of them.” This gives hope to anyone who feels different. Being different makes us all beautiful and we need to appreciate these difference now more than ever. Drake has an interesting take on what it is like to be alive in times of technology and such harsh social standards. It is refreshing. However, some of his poems seemed repetitive and monotonous- some poems seemed to repeat the same message (love). Varied poems would have had more impact. His book also contains images that are all black and white. They are from Shutterstock Inc. and lend to the appeal for teenaged readers. Some images cover the entire page and others are cropped and copy and pasted multiple times. This lends to his style of disarray coupled with the title of “Brilliant Madness”-it's a cynic's fast read! Ages 16 and up for content, language, and themes.
I've been on a deep slumber and this is the first time after awhile that I finally finished a rather long poetry book. I've been reading this slowly and I think "A Brilliant Madness" is okay.
This is the first book that introduce me to Robert M. Drake's poetry. For me personally, his work is quite easy to interpret since he used casual words which I like but for some reason, it sounds more like rambling train of thoughts that you didn't really think about (it's still okay). Some of it resonance with me and I literally nodded while reading those and some of it—not so much. I think one of the reason why I read it so slow is because at some point I got bored with the same thing over and over again—the poem got repetitive. But the art is good and I love it.