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
