Drawing on the phrasing of the early 20th Century Amy Lowell poem Madonna of the Evening Flowers (above) Frank Prem has produced a collection of personal and interpersonal love poems written, as always, in the unique style that allows every reader to relate. Prem’s interpretations breathe new life into contemporary love poetry and utilise Lowell’s original phrases to inspire a tender immediacy … tender immediacy and warmth of response.
Walk Away Silver Heart is the first of three collections that together comprise A Love Poetry Trilogy, with each revisiting outstanding work by stellar poets of the past to produce vibrant new collections. T
he second collection, a kiss for the worthy, draws on Walt Whitman’s classic work Leaves of Grass, while the third, rescue and redemption, derives from T.S Eliot’s The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock.
This is a new kind of poetry that tells stories, draws pictures and elicits emotional responses from readers.
Just as the best poetry should.
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“Walk Away Silver Heart,” is the first book in a poetry collection called A Love Poetry Trilogy, by Frank Prem. Using the Found Poetry form, the author chose a phrase from the body of a distinguished poem written long ago. Each line of the original poem inspired a piece of new poetry.
This book is motivated by the poem, “Madonna of the Evening Flowers (1919), written by Amy Lowell. The original poem, including links to Amy Lowell’s background, are provided at the beginning of the book.
What follows is a delightful collection of love poetry that unfolds like a bouquet, each poetic flower as lovely as the next blossom. Each piece is thoughtfully constructed to draw the reader into a private world of the author’s own making. The initial poems read like poetic observations where the poet shares his deep longing for a certain love.
As I progressed through each line of the Amy Lowell poem, I related to the poet’s experiences as he wove his thoughts into a new poem often inspired by the prosaic world around us. Some of these poems felt intimate, like a shared-look between lovers, while other chronicled the feeling of lost love. Many of these poems touched me deeply. I awakened to a new appreciation for the little things my husband does that mean so much to me.
I enjoyed this collection. Many thanks to Frank Prem for providing me with an advanced reader’s copy. I look forward to the additional books in this trilogy.
I am a fan of Frank Prem’s work and his ability to tell a story in a unique way, whether it is about growing up in a small town, the savagery of wildfires that decimate communities and the environment around them, or the desolation of a mental asylum.
Walk away silver heart has the same flow and beauty as his other work, but it has a gentleness and pace that is very different.
It is not the love poetry of the very young, but has a maturity that comes when two people are in a long term relationship and look beyond that first rush of new love. The romance is in the small everyday details about actions and words that are missed when one of you is gone. Be it for a day, a month or forever. The passion is in the the small gestures of kindness and a touch of a hand. The love is in the memories of hardships and sorrows, shared and survived because of the bond two people have forged.
The concept of the trilogy is very interesting and whilst the original poem by Amy Lowell is stunning, it is a wonderful experience to see lines taken and elaborated upon to create a new poem that takes that thought further.
It is a collection to be savoured and not rushed through. And there were many lines that stood out for me as someone who has been married for forty years. For those who are just embarking on a relationship, it offers the promise of what is to come if you keep the magic alive.
I am sure that you will enjoy.
I received a pre-publication copy.
This is a flowing story, a windy path on emotional breezes. It touches you in places deep and real.
An intake of breath, a heart-beat, a whisper of wavelets on sand … nourishment for the soul (from the book).
Highly recommended.
More a flowing sensory experience than a book of poetry, realised in a form that’s calming, like a forest stream in a green place, a gentle time, with the sun warm on my skin, a water-cooled breeze flowing over my face.
I rec’d an Advance Reader Copy, and loved every word. Looking forward to the next two in the series of ‘based on’ from Whitman and Eliot.
Highly recommend.
I purchased this book because I loved the premise of taking a poem (in this case, Amy Lowell’s “Madonna of the Evening Flowers”) and using each line as an inspiration for a wholly new work. The original is beautiful as are Prem’s poems that it inspired.
Prem’s style is different from Lowell’s, more like chains with each link composed of a word or three, yet he captures the tone and language of Lowell’s poem with lovely originality. Each response becomes a glimpse, and combined, they encapsulate a graceful reflection on a loving relationship. There’s a sense of depth and maturity in the feelings it evokes. A beautiful collection.
Walk Away Silver Heart is a romantic, whimsical journey from the mind of a lover. The character in the book watches his lover doing the most average, every day things, and yet, those tasks don’t seem so ordinary. As someone who is recently married, but peen with their partner for over 8 years, I find this book to be very realistic and true. There are days where I look at my husband and find whatever he’s doing to be so wholesome and so just “i love you.” Have you ever had that feeling? If you know what I’m talking about, that’s the feeling this book emanates.