Swinging Sanity

When I started my blog on WordPress two and a half years ago, I became fascinated by the many other bloggers who had sites full of amazing poetry, fiction and personal accounts. There were so many! But some of them really stood out.

One of the sites that captured my attention and never lost it was stoneronarollercoaster.com. There was a very energetic, charismatic creative force behind each post and it was always exciting to see her latest posts appear in my WP Reader.

It is with great pleasure that I am reviewing the marvellous poetry book from N.F Mirza, “Swinging Sanity“.

This extraordinary collection of poems came from a dark and difficult stage the writer experienced, and yet she has managed to produce something very special. I sensed an intense and dramatic range of emotions at times that were woven into a vivid kaleidoscope of graphic images. Speaking of images – I think the writer’s own artwork (which is featured on the front cover) is one of the best front covers I have seen of all the books I have purchased from WordPress bloggers.

The same distinctive charismatic presence that you find in her blog posts is there from start to finish in N. F. Mirza’s poetry collection. Yes, sometimes there are elements of being on a frightening roller coaster, and in many ways I am glad that the scary side of depression is preserved. I don’t find poems ending with some choking cliche. They distill the raw experience of being in a very dark place.

Yet, a dark place for you may not be the same as a dark place for me. I felt there was something truly personal to N. F. Mirza. I know from her blog that she is a remarkable creative force and that she has a vivid and colourful character. Even at her darkest, the essence, the dazzling display of who she is at heart shines through. Sometimes her emotions race like a pinball machine and other times there is more of a reflective pace.

But I was enchanted and entranced by what is an important, personal record and also a tremendous insight for others how being in a dark place can intensify emotions and leave a person shattered by inner turbulence. How wonderfully N. F. Mirza channels that forceful flow into dynamic verses and breathtaking poetry.

From what I have read on her blog, and most definitely within her collection of poems in “Swinging Sanity“, I think that learning to take deep emotions and harness them into poetic form has been key to helping N. F. Mirza on a personal level. I applaud that. I think that for some people – not being able to communicate frightening inner feelings makes depression even worse. This poet has taken some of the darkest shades of depression and not only verbalised them, but delivers them with astonishing lyricism.

This is not wishy washy in any sense. “Swinging Sanity” packs a hefty punch – there is energy and drama, colour and charisma, passion and despair, ups and downs on a merry-go-round (or rollercoaster) that I wanted to read and reread over again. I really take my hat of to N. F. Mirza. She has braved taking dark, sometimes disturbing, emotions and turned them into powerful and compelling poetry.

I was left in deep admiration of her as a person, and as a dynamic and very exciting creative force. “Swinging Sanity” is a huge triumph.

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You can find out what Caramel has been reading in her very own little reading corner, as she published book reviews of books written by WordPress bloggers each Saturday.

If you have any recommendations, please leave a message in the comments below.

CARAMEL’S CORNER