Happy April!
I hope everyone is keeping well and safe! I am so grateful to Alex and Reuben at Poems by Post for giving me the opportunity to write for the Poems by Post blog. I normally review novels so reviewing a poetry collection was something a little different and slightly challenging for me! However it was a joy to review and I hope you enjoy it!
About the Poet
LionHeart (@lionheartfelt) is a BBC Radio London Presenter, Award Winning Poet and International Spoken Word Performer.
He is also a TEDx Speaker and after watching his talk ‘The Pursuit of Purpose’ I went back and read through 'The Mute’s Rebellion' poetry collection again; it added a whole new level of understanding to reading his poems. I would also strongly recommend giving his Tedx talk a watch if you have the time. It offers a whole new perspective on making things happen. As someone who loves watching Ted talks especially when they are from people you are trying to learn more about, I highly
recommend giving him a watch. The clip is not very long but gives you an incredible sense of who he is.
Alex had the pleasure of going on to his radio show back on the 8th of February 2021 - give it a listen if you have the opportunity!
His debut poetry collection ‘The Mute’s Rebellion’ focuses on “memories of social anxiety, selective mutism, upbringing, emotional vulnerability and more”.
My Thoughts On 'The Mute's Rebellion'
'The Mute’s Rebellion' is LionHeart’s debut poetry collection, each chapter takes you on a journey of discovery. The collection focuses a lot on emotional vulnerability and if I am totally honest that is a scary thing to me, even from the reader's perspective. However the further into the collection I got the more of a voice I felt like I had; the more I felt it was okay to be unapologetically myself. I think that it is an incredibly special moment to get from words on a page.
I loved that every new ‘chapter’ started off with a little quote to set the mood of the poems to come. It was something a little quirky and gave you time to embrace what was to come. I think it also gave me as the reader time to compose myself between the sections. I was not expecting to find myself being as emotional whilst reading them so the quotes gave welcome pause between sections but did not take away from the focus of the collection.
I have to mention that one of my favourite parts of this collection was the fact that the acknowledgements came at the end and gave another layer to understanding who LionHeart is. I also like that it ends with a message to the reader, which validates the feelings you have felt reading the collection without necessarily meaning to. It brings a new level of authenticity to the poetry collection, you know the emotions expressed throughout his poetry are genuine and it is okay to connect with them.
My Favourite Poem
When I was first asked to review this poetry book, I was asked to include which poem was my favourite. I didn’t however anticipate to find a little bit in every single one that in some form left me feeling a little attached to them all. However that’s exactly what happened. After re-reading them all a few times I finally settled on the short poem ‘Sorry Not Sorry’.
It may be one of the shortest poems in this collection however it packs a punch in its emotional capacity, and manages to portray an incredibly important message. It shouts out loud a message of pride and how we should never be sorry for being true to ourselves. In the most beautiful way it makes you feel comfortable being unapologetically who you are, mistakes and all. It’s a message that I think is incredibly important especially in today's society; we are human and we will make mistakes, there will always be things we are not always happy about but we should never feel the need to apologise for being who we are.
In Summary
If you are looking for a poetry collection that leaves you feeling empowered and like you have a voice that people will listen to. I would highly recommend checking out 'The Mute’s Rebellion', which is availlable to buy on LionHeart's website, www.lionheartfeltonline.com.
Have you read any of his poetry before?
Love Always,
Gee xoxo
For more book reviews and a little bit of sparkle check out All Things Gee.
