A Review Of Kenneth Wheeler’s “Inspirations”

Some food is taken in small bites to really savor the flavors and overall complexities of the dish on the palette. I decided to approach the reading of Kenneth Wheeler’s “Inspirations” in this manner. As a result my hope for humanity was fed with all the earthy substance of a hearty steak to the heavenly light satisfaction of clotted cream on scones with strawberry jam.

Kenneth’s many stories of his experiences in the WWII Plymouth Blitz in England, as well as moving his family about, serving in the Royal Air Force for 32 years, only scratch the surface of the man himself. 

Inspirations covers a substantial amount of spiritual ground as a devotional to the power and redemptive healing hope in the works not only of Jesus Christ, but in ourselves as human beings. The potential reconciliation of our spiritual and our earthly existence is put into perspective in poems such as That Night In Gethsemane, Promises, and Dumping Ground. 

These works challenge typical devotions with a most direct yet immensely beautiful poetic approach that is both entertaining and… well… inspirational! This is a book that lives and breathes with every poem!

In Minute By Minute he writes “… it’s what we do with each and every precious moment, once that moment is gone, we can’t recall it, or reuse it. We can’t live again, so what are we doing with all of those precious moments?” He points out half our lives are spent in bed, and the rest is there to draw upon the righteous word of God in order to shine that light for others to see and share.

Kenneth’s voice also spans immensely vivid portraits of his childhood in Plymouth, where locals are known as Janners. He says so much with so little about his beloved late wife in Ascent Love and A Tribute To My Beautiful Ruth with lines like “In my mind I still see your sweet face, The beauty that captured my soul, your hair so perfect, arranged with great care, led me to levels unknown”. This is the heart of a poet!

The gratitude of a humbled human soul steeped in the righteousness and divine commission of the teachings of Jesus Christ permeates every poem of “Inspirations”. It literally boosts the reader up with the hope that there is more to be seen than unseen, as well as so much to be achieved with living a life dedicated in the service of The Lord, family, and the overall world in general.

“Inspirations” takes devotional books to the next level in many ways,  from the appreciation of the NHS (Thursday Night) to cultural commonalities  (There Are No Borders). His poetic pen weaves many a captivating story in poetic prose, always coming back to his unwavering victory through an undying faith.

I’m honored to have been able to review this book. Although I have not talked to Kenneth personally, I have read and admired his poems from afar for some time now. I’m glad his son Steve got him an iPad during Covid… the catalyst for the creation to this book!

I highly recommend Inspirations, not only for it’s delightfully poignant and relatable stories, but for the vast spiritual smorgasbord it provides to manifest hope. It serves a never ending plate of heavenly poetry that keeps the reader coming back for seconds every time. 

Matt Elmore

 

Review Of Shadows Into Light

I was fortunate enough to be able to talk with David Catterton Grantz on the phone before receiving his most recent book, Shadows Into Light. My impression of him as a retired teacher, avid hiker, world traveler and genuine human being reverberated with every poem once I opened the first pages.

From “The Me In You”…

“And I am you, if you could see

The rocks, the streams, the waves;

The clouds that flow and float within,

But you just peer from your dim caves

And toil away your lives, my slaves.” 

David’s ability to filter reality down into a refined essence is evident within his many themes. Poems about dealing with age, translations of purpose from the cosmos, family relations, love sweet love, artificial intelligence, political and religious hypocrisy, and even reflections on writing poetry dazzle throughout. His verses pull no punches. 

He tackles growing older “Says I’ll gladly die if if didn’t hurt; I’d wear deaths tie, I’d iron his shirt; I’d wrestle pigs down into his sty, But pains gonna find you by and by.” (Pains Gonna Find You By And By). On climate change he writes “…for we were made to seek and climb. Into the trees, not whither on the vine.” (Resolved). 

A boy goes to the library to verify some subversive things his Granda told him about religion and life itself in “Things That Grandpa Told”. “AI AI OH!” suggests an artificial intelligence we build that could “initiate the final solution” and destroy humanity.

As a writer, David’s ability to change up the flows of his works captivate the reader. This is a book to learn from. By switching his end rhymes and adding extra lines to extend cadence and emphasize messages, David approaches master levels. 

In “The Seeker” he writes 

“Oh my love we travelled all this way, 

Alone together for a day, 

Seen from just the sand and clay; 

I cannot answer, I can’t comprehend 

What cannot be seen.

Above me hangs the ancient moss,

The measure of the life that I’ve lost,

The life once taut in crystal glints,

Flown on wings of recompense.”

His penchant for appropriating colorful and humorous phrases pepper the book throughout, comparing poets writing poems as “like bees making honey, their purpose resolved”. A line in “Rhyme Of The Ancient Terrier” got me laughing as a poet myself when he wrote “I can’t help wondering as I peruse his stuff, what pith omitted as he sloughs his fluff”.

The experiences of David’s travels are reflected in a number of poems. He interprets the changing landscapes… often only known by those hiking with rucksack resolve, far beyond the convenient approach of roads.

A passage from “Awakening” reads:

“I’m not accustomed to this side of the mountain… but now I plunk the quavering mirror, rippling it into concentric ovals from the matrix below, from whence we come, and hence I go.” 

The takeaway from Shadows Into Light is a restitution of the senses, a reboot into realities often overlooked. So often we do not see what is right before us, or hear what we could be hearing, cloaked in shadows. These shadows could be illuminated by the light of the wisdom of our kin, the pertinent purpose of our involvement in the betterment of our world, or in simply believing in the sweet hope of a new sun rising.

I am honored to know David, and look forward to knowing him better. By reading this book, I believe you can get to know him better as well, and come to respect him as the poet, teacher, and golden soul he really is.

Matt Elmore

A review of Into the Grey

Some poets you can identify by the first couple of lines if there is something evident worth reading. A word, a thought, an expression, an image… these reverberate emotions familiar and enjoyable to the reader. 

Brandon Adam Haven is one of those poets. 

He remains a distinctive drafter of demonstrating broad spectrums of human feelings, and the reactions to the often wicked world around him.

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Into The Grey is as evocative as its title implies, the haunting cover a picture of an old rustic church. The particular “grey” Haven is referring to is not the grey of the church building, or grey skies… It is the grey of etchings in a tombstone which he refers to in the poem Into The Grey,… the etchings of his own name! This is where the author particularly and instantly hooked me with his vivid introspections.

Wheelsong Books is known for its distinctive flavors of poets, each one vastly different than the other in so many ways. Publisher Steve Wheeler once referred to this variation of styles to me as “Apples to oranges.” Yet, in his wry humor and impeccable talent for turning a phrase, he is also referring to the vivacious fruit of the Wheelsong authors. 

Brandon Adam Haven displays the rich sweetness of this fruit in his book, as well as the bitter taste of doubt and despair.

Reflections of joy reverberate sweetly throughout poems such as O’er the Hills which lightly begins “O’er the hills of the jolly green Deep into its calm gentle pasture, Doth a black mountain overlooking foreseen, As all is merry, under the sweet evergreen”.  

This is also subtly well crafted in A Joyous Life, “I shudder within to shed my cracked skin For beauty is hidden in plain sight And so are the days jubilee What a joyous life.”

Many struggles are addressed as well. Themes of helplessness, although melancholy on the surface, take a turn at redemption, if not validation,… for life itself. Quietly addressing a friend’s slow demise is seen in Choosing Death, “Please let me help you to climb from this dread… So your days may brighten instead of choosing death.” 

Childhood abuse, depression, addiction, and homelessness are some of the topics the author explores and bounces unsuspected reactions off… like this line from The Quiet Woods Of Winter, “Why was it me, who had to suffer all of this instead of the mean, judgmental and happy other kids?”

Love sweet love does not escape the authors notice. His is a discreet creative rendering, embellishing romantic notions such as this one in his poem Love, “She is my angel, and my greatest wish, Is to fulfil her life everyday with abundant and lasting bliss. The sweetest taste is from her precious lips, and I will forever treasure her every kiss”

                                                       —

Brandon lives in Rockford Illinois, not too far from where my mother’s hometown is. I recently communicated a number of things with him. I found he is a most humble and sincere young man. His big heart and sense of empathy is immediately obvious. A musician and poet, he exudes the kind of soul that an introspective poet of his caliber should possess, and does so in abundance.

His book is one of hard knocks and lessons learned from a vivid window of learned experience. Many poems dive deep within the depths of despair with a voice that is not only desperate, but also almost lost.  This is illustrated in Silence, “In silence I reside alone weeping this snowbound night staring out my window to the snowy white reflecting how empty are the dreams of life.”

The Outcast portrays his outsider character so well when he cries out “Well away from the laughter and the past. For I am the vermin of the world, I am the outcast.”

There is an effervescence about his dismay that is not only relatable, but alluring. It is through a clever wordplay that he is able to transcend the maudlin into something tangible and useful for all of us. This is encapsulated by these weighted phrases from One Day, “Chastised by mirth ascended at his core. The hour of grim hovers near, We stand together to wipe each other’s tears.”

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Into The Grey stands on its own as a poignant perspective on what it’s like to stand on the edge and be able to jump back before it’s too late. The wisdom of knowing better is so much more evident once the wound has been set in so deep. One does not forget. In that very vein, once you read Haven’s brilliant poems, you will not forget this book.

Matt Elmore

You can purchase your copy of Brandon Adam Haven's Into the Grey through Amazon - all links are here on the Wheelsong Books website.