Editorial Reviews for Nominees
|
|
Editorial Reviews for Nominees
|
|
Score: 90/100 (9.0 out of 10)
Any Rhyme at All Terri Whitney is a poetry-filled love letter to arguably the greatest and most influential band in history, The Beatles! Four lads from Liverpool—John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr—took the world by storm in the 1960s and, in a sense, have yet to relinquish their grasp on the human imagination. Whitney calls The Beatles “the best band of yesterday, today and always.” Terri Whitney's poetry book is a perfect example of how the life and legacy of The Beatles still lives on into the 2020s. And what's really special about all of this is that it introduces this incredible band to a new generation of people who may not know or be able to appreciate how great they were (and, in some cases, still are). Something that really stood out to us was how much this band meant to the individual: Terri Whitney. Whitney stands in for and represents Beatles fans around the world. At the same time, this fandom is immensely passionate and personal. This is encapsulated in the poem I Am a Beatle Fan. This poem brought up a question in our minds: Why do we become fans of things? Ultimately, it's because we feel that these things bring us joy. They pick us up when we're feeling down. They distract us from harsh realities and the hardships of life. They give us something to look forward to. They give us a reason to get out of bed in the morning. They bring us together to enjoy, celebrate, and appreciate our fandom with other like-minded people. So, because of that, we invest in the things we love. We spend time, energy, and money on them. We do it because we care, and because it brings us happiness. It's like spending money on baseball tickets or video games, in a sense. Fittingly, one of the best verses from this book reads: “From Vinyl 45s to Vinyl LPs Lest we forget 8-tracks, cassettes and CDs I listen, I read and collect what I can Forever I will be a diehard Beatle Fan” Now, beside this verse and a few like it, the poems in this book are mostly simplistic, usually employing quatrains or four-line stanzas with an ABAB rhyme scheme. This is, for all intents and purposes, one of the the simplest of all rhyme schemes. It's what you'll usually see in children's books (like Dr. Seuss) or chanted by a cheerleader team at a sporting event. While this rhyme scheme isn't always used, it probably makes up at least 85% of the book. And that's fine! It's like Toyota Corollas, they're popular because they work. Some of the rhymes are actually quite clever. One of our favorites was reading “boots” and “suits” paired together. Now, the writing in this book was mostly good, but there were a few errors. For example, there is an extra letter “S” left hanging on page 74 (between the words “guitar” and “sing”). This is ironic because this is probably our favorite line in the book, alluding to the Beatles song, While My Guitar Gently Weeps. Also, a lot of sections of that poem are left hanging or “orphaned” on their own lines for no discernible reason other than the font or font-size wasn't modified to accommodate keeping them on the prior line. This doesn't appear to be a problem with any of the other poems. Perhaps that section was overlooked in editing? One thing we really didn't expect to feel from this book was sadness and emotion. This wasn't the kind of book that we'd expect would make us cry. Well, there are several poems and sections of this book that concern the deaths of several members of the band (and their associates/partners). Perhaps the one that should be obvious to everyone is the assassination of John Lennon by a crazed fan. What's a bit special about the poem concerning Lennon's death is that it relishes in the fact that he did not die alone. Yes, of all people, Yoko Ono—the controversial, much-hated wife of John Lennon—was there for him in his dying moments. That's something that even we didn't consider. The book also deflects some of the usual blame away from Yoko Ono, usually the scapegoat of the band's collapse, by explaining that many of the band members were distracted and unhappy in one way or another. Another example of this book bringing out emotions is when discussing Paul McCartney's beloved wife, Linda, who is honored in a poem in this book. The poem that bears her name tells the story of her battle with cancer and her undying devotion to Paul and his work through the years. Incredibly, we were amazed to learn that several members of the original band are still alive and even performing! In fact, apparently, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr reunited and even performed together on tour! That's amazing! Lastly, the art—while not the Mona Lisa—is something to be admired. The cover reflects the funny, cartoonish, caricatured appearance of the band members in their animated flicks or in Yellow Submarine. What really impressed us were the sketches of the individual band members and their associates. They're actually really good! Check this out on Amazon if you love The Beatles and/or 60s rock & roll!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Archives
February 2025
Categories |