Michelle Angelini aka Rina Rose's Between the Silence and Sound: Poetry and Photography of Rina Rose

   Local L.A. poet Michelle Angelini's aka Rina Rose's debut chapbook Between the Silence and Sound: Poetry and Photography of Rina Rose (copyright 2013 Rina Rose Publications), offers a fun mix of words and images that are locally inspired, interesting and accessible.

   Angelini, an East Hollywood resident, writes from the heart with skill and a touch of humility. There's no hubris in Angelini's poems, but there's warmth, humor and compassion. There are poems about past loves (“Unchanged Minds,” and “Past Magic”); passages that reveal the humanity in those society refuses to acknowledge, aka the homeless ("Too Many Sunrises”); elegies dedicated to the loss of youth to war (“The Last Plane Out of Persia”), and poems that explore inner and external archetypes ('Winged Epistle,” and “When She Smiles”). A third of the book is filled with poems and images dedicated to Angelini's unabashed love of the animal kingdom, in particular, her cat Sasha, but if Mark Twain extolled the virtues of felines and still remains one of America's most beloved authors, so can Angelini.

    The only downside, (and it's a slight one), are the numerous nature photos in Between the Silence and Sound, which are grouped in batches of three. The photos are lovely, but they so small that the colors and the details are obscured; the reader may find these images to be a distraction, however, the poetry more than makes up for it. What I like best about Between the Silence and Sound is that Angelini refused to hold back on showcasing both of her artistic loves - poetry and photography - which is a trend I hope will continue in the realm of DIY publishing. I look forward to Angelini's next book.

    Between Silence and Sound: Poetry and Photography of Rina Rose, Michelle Angelini aka Rina Rose, (copyright 2013 Rina Rose Publications), 978-1490437552 , 44 pages, $10.

© 2013 marie lecrivain