A Blue Period


Poetry - General
38 Pages
Reviewed on 01/22/2024
Buy on Amazon

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    Book Review

Reviewed by Doreen Chombu for Readers' Favorite

A Blue Period is a collection of blue-themed poems by Kollin Kennedy inspired by Picasso's Blue Period, a time when he only painted monochromatic paintings in shades of blue and blue-green. The poems delve into emotions related to feeling blue, such as sadness, depression, despair, and mourning. They reference mythological gods and goddesses and narrate stories about blue skies, oceans, lonely nights, and battles fought in different shades of blue. The collection includes various characters, such as a guitarist playing blues alone in a town square, a person feeling blue at a sushi restaurant, and the story of Jonah in the whale's belly from the perspective of the whale in the vast ocean. Additionally, the poems explore life and death, the purpose of our existence, and God's creation. To enjoy all these poems and more, I recommend reading this book to appreciate a well-crafted work.

A Blue Period is a thought-provoking collection of poems that will encourage you to delve deep into your innermost emotions and reflect on them. Kollin Kennedy vividly paints pictures with his words, transporting readers to various locations and making them walk in other people's shoes. His description of a dying rose that returns to Earth is mesmerizing and unique, allowing readers to view life from its perspective. The book is well-organized and thought-out because, unlike other poetry books that have random poems with many themes, the author has stuck to one common theme and explored its different facets. This approach enables the reader to have a deeper understanding and appreciation of what it means to be blue, resulting in a more impactful and enjoyable reading experience. Most of the poems center around feelings of loneliness and sadness, which are familiar emotions that many people can relate to. If you enjoy reading poems that touch your heart and make you feel emotion, then this is the book for you.

K.C. Finn

A Blue Period is a work of poetry focused on art and emotion. It is suitable for the general adult reading audience and was penned by author Kollin Kennedy. This poignant collection of poems is inspired by Picasso's Blue Period and infused with elements from Greek and Roman mythologies. Comprising sonnets, the collection takes readers on a journey through varied and complex emotions, from sadness, sorrow, hate, despair, and tragedy to moments of fleeting, albeit naive, happiness. It encapsulates a metaphorical 'blue period,' challenging traditional notions of what a sonnet can convey in an introspective and universal style, touching on themes that resonate with the human condition.

Author Kollin Kennedy has crafted a collection of gorgeous works that feel like navigating a gallery of emotions painted with words. Kennedy's ability to draw inspiration from diverse sources, blending visual art and mythology into poetry, creates a rich tapestry of human experience that builds with each new element that you read about. Every sonnet felt like a brushstroke, building this overall picture more and more, bringing to life the complexities of existence and upswelling of emotion that was quite profound. For me, the biggest impact was in ‘The Blue Prince’, which felt so incredibly desolate and yet intimate at the same time. Kennedy's work challenges the conventional boundaries of sonnets, offering a gift to those grappling with sadness, providing solace and understanding through the expressive power of poetry. Overall, those seeking a poetic exploration that invites readers to confront and contemplate the spectrum of emotions that define the 'blue periods' in their own lives need look no further than A Blue Period. A highly recommended read indeed.

Foluso Falaye

Kollin Kennedy's remarkable collection of poems, A Blue Period, explores various sad emotions and includes a consistent metaphorical portrayal of the color blue. The poems comprise characters who feel love, loss, pain, longing, and other powerful emotions. A poem titled The Poem of a Lost Woman depicts a sad woman who writes about her loneliness as she pleads for forgiveness. In The Blue Nude, the protagonist contemplates a woman's complacency after an effort to "take her out of the blue." A prince feels blue for wars unknown to him in The Blue Prince. Prepare to meet several characters from historical texts, including Venus, Adonis, Apollo, Napoleon, and more. Whether Venus is hoping to attract her "woo" or the blue Adonis is rejecting her offers, every poem captures an engrossing emotional struggle.

The poems represent the rich depths of human emotions with a careful selection of words that depict relatable stories. I found myself deeply engaged with the bittersweet feeling of being alone and experiencing serenity while reading about the "blues of the seas" in The Silence of the Seas. Thanks to the rhymes and the concise nature of the poems, they are a joy to read aloud and memorize. Each short poem is packed with deep, meaningful words that easily spark further reflection. The book includes a vast range of evocative themes, such as serenity, war, unrequited love, sadness, and sacrifices. Also, blue is often mentioned and metaphorized as a genre of music, a sad feeling, and more. Ultimately, A Blue Period is an elegant reminder of how intricate the emotional world of humans is. Kollin Kennedy's audience is bound to remember some deep emotional experiences from the past while reading.