Martin Foroz’s, ‘Inside Out’ is a book of poetry that epitomizes the art, language, and science of poetry, written in a fine, intricate manner that fluently exhibits the astounding magnitude of all areas poetry encompasses, not bound to any one theme or subject.
The author’s writing style distributes a great amount of energy through evocative and articulate verses, parallel to the intensity of the messages, ideas, meaning, or themes directly implied within the poems such as in the selection, ‘Nation in Dark’; a 4-line stanza that relays an opinionated and bold statement saying:
“chaotic darkness
is the destiny of the nation
whose ruler is
a biased IGNORANT.”
In this, we interpret Martin’s words as a universal theory that is not restrained to any one nation, but can be understood as a general concept, period. The poem’s compelling nature can be equated to the author’s prophetic, ominous voice that assuredly foretells of the calamitous future a nation plagued by divided ignorance will inevitably endure.
The darkness of our beautiful world is further illustrated in ‘A Short Night Story’, in which an anonymous female character in a pub is sexually assaulted by a male character deemed as the ‘new guy’. This poem is a vivid example of the antagonistic irony of life, as we learn that the female victimized in this depiction is described to be the ‘blithe and cheerful lass’. The poem’s satirical ending causes us to consider the consequences of the ‘happy-go-lucky spirit’ in a far from perfect reality.
With an abstract and unorthodox style, the poems in this collection have a distinct way of enticing the reader by strategically including a neat mixture of the core elements of poetry, including subject matter, theme, voice (persona), tone, and mood. The degree of these elements varies based upon the centerpiece of each poem, and enhance the overall ability to truly experience the author’s words.
We can use the poem entitled ‘Stone Heart’ as a pivotal example. The author uses the traditional ‘stony heart’ analogy to describe his own, but not in the standard cynical context one would normally expect. Instead, the hard, dull hearted image of one’s internal treasure is replaced by the author’s depiction of what appears to be a much merrier and alluring image! He writes with enchantment,
“Not twitterpated
for a long time
I have stone
instead of
my own heart
Turquoise stone,
marble stone,
beautiful ones!”
With this, we are under the impression that the author rejoices in his embellished stone heart (using an excited tone), while we still remain curious of the plurality attached to the amount of ‘stones’ he says he possesses (considering the last line of the poem). The elusiveness entwined in this is enough to tease one’s imagination to the point to perceive the ‘stone heart’ analogy from a unique, inverted perspective.
Essentially, identity is one of the most prominent and recurrent themes relevant to the books definitive meaning. There are several poems from beginning to end that demonstrate this, including ‘Me & I’, ‘Defeated’, ‘Hell Lost’, ‘Monster’, and ‘Lost’. Many of the poems under this category tend to deal with the human psyche, mind, and self, in which we believe will be relatable and gripping to readers. Often, there is a battle to true freedom, and the voice in these poems convey the perplexity, convolution, and transcendence associated with discovering such an idealistic state of life. One of our favorites under the category of the theme: ‘freedom’ is entitled ‘Free from’. Though brief, in simple and few words the author signifies a waft of hope to readers, concluding that after a tumultuous journey - freedom awaits in the end.
To sum up our thoughts, the combination of creativity, intellectuality, and knowledge established within the book make it an original work of ingenuity that is more than visible, and is in conjunction with the author’s zealous heart and passion for poetry! Martin’s talent to make some of life’s most unforgettable scenes come alive is real. Therefore, our Honest Book Review team is pleased to present this book with a 5-star rating, sure you’ll enjoy it, too!
Get your copy today! Author Martin Foroz’s work is quality and impressive!