by Paul Rance

Created on: July 04, 2010

A magical paperback poetry collection from American poet J L Carey Jr, 'Turning Pages' consists of poetry revolving around mythological Japanese priest, Ajari-Joan. The poetry covers the joy and sadness of life, the beauty and harshness of nature, and the power of love.

A Book for All Poetry Tastes

Published by Agogeebic Press, the back cover notes states that this collection is of "existential poems", though the subject matter within 'Turning Pages' can be seen to fit into many categories, which, for poetry lovers, should suit all tastes.

Rather ingeniously, the poems are made up of two haikus, followed by a line which acts as a bridge, which itself is followed by two more haikus. Each haiku works on its own, as well as in the overall, respective, poem. This form also emphasizes the beauty and poignancy of a lot of the imagery.

High Quality Throughout

A book in four parts - 'Ichi', 'Ni', 'San', 'Shi' - there are 80 poems in this collection, 20 in each section. Each poem contributes to a profound exploration of life, and J L Carey Jr, a master of the haiku, is also a perceptive viewer of how humans are affected by, as well as describing with stunning simplicity, the aspects of life, the workings of our world, and humans place in that world.

There is one incongruous poem, 'Emergency Scene', about a traffic accident, which is attended by paramedics. Maybe J L is being mischievous, to see if we're paying attention, though it's an interesting leap out of the mystical into the harsh reality of the modern world.

The poetry in 'Turning Pages' begins at a high level, and reaches higher points by the middle of the book. Whereas some writers of haiku can descend into pretentiousness, J L Carey Jr shows nice, gentle, smile-inducing phrases such as in the first verse of 'Hydrometer Floating', when comparing the memory of a woman to "fresh Lambrusco"! 'Hinaga Yume' combines beauty and ugliness; '72%' combines awe-inspiring facts in a poetical way, which, surprisingly, works beautifully; 'Storm Broke' covers the power, and sometimes destructive side of nature. 'Bed Making' is sweetly erotic, and with an unfulfilled ending it seems! 'Goose Egg' and 'Slate Cleaning' really makes one think; 'Grasping Lineage' reflects on "loves replenishment", and 'The Encompassment' ties everything up with a transcendental neatness.

J L Carey Jr's work has little for even a pedant to find fault with - unless they're not fans of haikus, of course. The book even smells good! For more details of 'Turning Pages', please visit: http://turningpages.books.officelive.com/default.asp x

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