Welcome to Foxy Critique, today I'll be critiquing the book Flooded By: A Persona Poetry Collection by T. Haven Morse.(Henceforth, just called Flooded By for brevity's sake). We'll break the book down by a few distinct categories, with explanations of how I came to my conclusions on each one. Note that the views expressed in this blog are my own personal ones on the book itself, and do not reflect my views on the author. Like or dislike a book, you'll always be able to find a link at the bottom of the page for purchase. Please support the book's official release.
Category 1: Literary Value
Literary value can be summed up as artistic expression and impact. Does the book challenge or reinforce important ideals? If it were a painting, would you hang it on a wall? Is it the sort of book you would leave on the coffee table to spark conversation or is it the sort you keep tucked with the rest of your collection?
Flooded By is an interesting collection of poems in that it separates them into "chapters" by emotions. While each poem follows the emotions of the section they're in, each one is based around a fictional character that in some way shape or form embodies the emotion the poem is about. The author expresses that while these are not based off of real people, that she views them as her muse coming to her in different voices and characters.
When I first started reading I immediately knew that this woman was an extraordinary poet. Poetry is strange in that it has rules, but also has no rules. It's different from prose writing in that it can break grammar and sentence structure and pretty much every other law of writing.
However, you can tell a good poet from a bad poet through the way they limit themselves. As I said before, poetry has rules and while those rules can be broken, it's always impressive to see someone choose to format their poem in a specific set of rules. The only way I can think to explain this is like watching someone play pool. Sure, you can play a good game of pool, but it won't be nearly as impressive as the next guy who can do trick shots with the same level of accuracy. Morse's poems come in a wide variety and styles of formats. Some are free-form, others have set rhythms, but over all they show a good head for the mechanics of poetry.
In terms of Literary Value, I give Flooded By a 4/5.
Category 2: Plot
Plot is the overarching story of the book and can be measured in terms of originality, entertainment value, and it's ability to hook me in. A book with a high rating will be hard for me to put down, uses creative elements that aren't cliche, and make me genuinely interested in what will happen to the characters next.
Flooded By, being a poetry collection, has about as much plot as you'd expect from a poetry collection. That is to say, not very much over arching. While I do enjoy poetry, it isn't the sort of thing I tend to enjoy reading back to back to back.
It did take me a few days to get through Flooded By, but it most definitely made for an effective "waiting" book. Basically, it's the book you carry with you in case you're waiting somewhere and you want something to do. Doctor's office? Read the book. DMV? Book. Waiting for dinner in the oven? Book. You get the idea.
It was entertaining. While the stories of the unique characters didn't hook together, it performed as one would reasonably expect an entertaining poetry collection to perform.
In terms of Plot, I give Flooded By a 3/5.
Category 3: Characterization
Characterization is measured in the quality of characters found in the book. If you've read my previous blog posts, you'll know that a character does not necessarily have to be a person. Good characterization shows depth, originality, adherence, and relatability. Note a character can be a "bad guy" but be a good character. If you make me hate your villain, in terms of his character, then you've done your job well.
This is where Flooded By shines by far. Each poem is its own character, and each character gives a glimpse into another life. No two poems are alike, and I don't just mean in terms of word content. Apart, they do an excellent job of standing alone, but when put into a collection like this, it provides a colorful cast with a unique array of personalities.
Having met Morse personally, it is astounding how well she can give the point of view of characters that are so unlike herself, which only adds to the impressiveness of it all. You'll find people you laugh along with, ones you have great disdain for, and others that you want to see triumph.
In terms of Characterization, I give Flooded By a 5/5.
Category 4: World Building/Setting
World Building and Setting are a judgment of the scenery behind the characters. How interested am I in the background events. Did the author go into great detail about the world they live in or did they keep the scope narrow. If I close my eyes, can I picture myself in a world that's cinematic, or does it come off like the scribbles of a toddler?
As I mentioned in the Plot segment, as a poetry collection, there isn't really an overarching setting to the story. Simply put, it's not important to the enjoyment of the book. Knowing where the characters of the poems are doesn't really matter because they're so realistic they can be anywhere. That being said, I'm electing to retract judgment on Category 4.
In terms of World Building/Setting, Flooded By is not judged.
Over all: Flooded By gets a positive Gold score of 4/5.
Okay, so for those of you who dislike poetry, the book probably won't give you too much in the way of value. Not that the poetry isn't good (it's very talented writing), but it certainly isn't going to be changing people's minds on how they feel about poetry in general. For those of you who do like poetry though, it's going to become a quick favorite. I've been slinging my copy of Flooded By around to show off to all of my poet friends. It's exactly what you'd expect from a poetry collection, and yet, thanks to the characterization of the book it still remains above average.
This is a book I highly recommend to poetry lovers, and the poetry curious. If you're a prose junkie though you'll still find entertainment in it, but probably not as much as you would a novel of your chosen genre.
You can find Flooded By on Amazon here.
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