REVIEW

A moment of solitude with Imprendehora

Yvette Christianse’s poetry collection Imprendehora is written in rich English which makes it a lucid source of indulgence. The only disjointer [the weak point] is the scattered approach to her writing. Though while not advocating for a structuralism approach to literature some form of self-designed template do offer help in the navigation of an individual's. One need not want a compass and GPS to travel through a poet’s delivery.

The poems contained in this book lack a thread knitted with rick fabric to join them together and create a solid bond. Reading this beautiful poetry [which stand tall individually] feels like attempting to put together a picture puzzle. The poetry feels as if each piece stands alone. Now, that would have been a commendable strength at an open mike session. Often it’s not the book that lacks cohesion but some poems as well where one feels more than one theme is explored in a single poem. It becomes glaring in a poem titled nameless.

In February you start to feel that the poet’s muse is a collection of tragedies that happened at an island feared for its prison. St Helena is where French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte died in the 18th century and it has been notorious for its mystery.

The poem’s treatment of the subject of death and loss invites emotion and evokes feelings of the US South during slavery where being hung a lot was the order of the day. When people are lynched by night and are the first thing you see in the morning that sets the tone for how your whole day will be.

She continues on Abundance with the St Helena theme and while you feel this can be a workable approach to attracting attention Yvette drifts away in My Mother’s Hands. The one thing that stands out throughout the book is the poet’s obsession with a spider and its web, which’s frequent use comes across as a metaphor for life’s complications.

Books, whether fiction or non-fiction survive on making a lot of sense – and sense often comes from consistency with the message – something Yvette fails to stick to.