Dreaming Big Publications
Reviewed by Ariel B
ABOUT THE BOOK
Poet to the Poor is a collection of poetry written for the bottom one percent. This work draws from historical figures and everyday people from John's life, creating a powerful poetic testimony. In revolutionary fashion John defies both the politics of the day and the modern style of poetry. The poems are written in a wide variety of styles, and rhyming is prominent. Passion and purpose abounds in these words. With over forty of the poems previously published, this work constitutes John's best, including the award winning poem "Tea with Joe Hill". If you want something to inspire you to change the world, this book is a must. Take a journey into the lives of the bottom one percent. The poor.
MY REVIEW
Rating: 4/5
Kaniecki looks to inspire others to look at the forgotten one percent of this country and see them as human beings. Each poem in this collection tells the story of a person living in poverty. Kaniecki successfully puts a human face on the bottom one percent. He does so without judgement or getting to political. He comes off as an observer that intends to inspire others to help these people. From a poetic aspect, the poems are great. Normally, I am not too interested in poetry, but these poems are effective in reaching the goal to inspire. Kaniecki writes his poems with excellent rhyme schemes and an overall concise form that do not drag the reader on for too long. Overall, this is a great book for people who want to not look at statistics about the poor, but want to understand the poor. Readers will benefit from learning just a few stories about some of the poor in this country. This is an excellent companion piece for other books on poverty and makes an even better inspiration to others to act. If the reader can learn anything from this collection of poems, it is that we are all in this fight together.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
John Kaniecki is a member of the Revolutionary Poet's Brigade and Secretary for Rhyming Poet's International. John volunteers as a missionary in the inner city of Newark, New Jersey, for the Church of Christ at Chancellor Avenue. John is active in the antiwar movement. In particular John is a strong advocate of the rights of indigenous people. He has two previously published books. A poetry book entitled Murmurings of a Mad Man by eLectio Publishing and a science fiction story collection entitled Words of the Future published by Witty Bard Publishing.
https://www.amazon.com/Poet-Poor-Poetry-Bottom-Percent/dp/1517658071/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1499090866&sr=8-1&keywords=poet+to+the+poor
DISCLAIMER: I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for writing a review. I was not obligated to give a positive review, and all thoughts are my own.