3 out of 4 stars
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In Poetry The Mind is a Maze, poet Tshkedi Wallace wanders the maze of the human psyche, exploring both the material and the spiritual in language that is at times raw and abstract. The speaker carves a sense of good and evil out of the world around him as he contemplates life in the ghetto and the many challenges a young man faces in the midst of crime and violence. The poetry in this book bleeds fear and regret, questioning the significance of a life that does not leave an impression on the world.
The organization of a collection of poetry can make or break a book. In the case of Poetry The Mind is a Maze, the poet creates stunning arcs that span from birth to death, from good to evil, and from anonymity to notoriety. At the end of the collection, the reader feels in tune with the speaker’s internal conflict, as though they have come to know him on a personal level. The poet has clearly given careful consideration to the process of building a strong core and telling an impactful story through poetry. The end result is that the many themes that the poet intricately threads through his collection are successfully carried to the end.
The challenge that many readers face when encountering new poetry is how to read it. When in doubt, the best way to begin is to read it aloud. In reading aloud, the reader discovers all the little ways that the poet has played with sound and meter. Tshkedi Wallace’s poetry is written largely in free verse with little discernible meter, with the exception of a few poems toward the end of the collection. However, his attention to sound is exquisite. In the poem “Day in the Ghetto (Hood Life)” (loc 252), lines 7-9 read, “The father is broken, the mother loses her baby’s life / Ghetto strife, ghetto life, brothers take the toil / Someone will get hoodwinked, get played, fall to foes.” Like much of the poet’s work, this poem contains several usages of sound devices such as internal rhyme, assonance, and alliteration. Consequently, this poetry contains a number of enjoyable sounds that flow well together.
Unfortunately, several of the poems toward the beginning of the book contain lengthy, cumbersome lines that are difficult to read. Although the poetry toward the end of the book becomes more polished with shorter lines and diversified language, the beginning pieces feel stiff and formal. In “Dark Angel Eyes” (loc 76) lines 6-8 say, “All my strength I might use; my father for you I kill. / Those I defeat will receive no blessing; I would rather die. / This beast’s reign must end, a hand to smite evil to hell.” Words like “smite” and “reign” contrast sharply with language like “ghetto” and “hood.” The formality of phrasing such as “for you I kill” and “all my strength I might use” later shifts to a far more contemporary way of speaking, which creates confusion for the reader about the identity and consistency of the speaker. These stylistic choices take the reader out of the poetry and make the reading experience far less immersive.
Overall, this is an impressive collection of poetry with a great many things going for it. Thematically and tonally, I imagine it must have been a significant undertaking for the poet, and I deeply appreciate the end result. Consequently, I am giving this book 3 out of 4 stars. If the poet were to revise some of the earlier poems to be stylistically consistent with later ones, I would gladly rate this book higher. If you enjoy contemporary poetry with a lot of internal conflict to unpack, this book is for you. If you are not a frequent reader of poetry, this might not be an ideal entry point.
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Poetry The Mind Is A Maze
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