Write Out Loud (Reviews and Writing)

“…raw and dangerous, yet somehow profoundly beautiful…”

This is an indie-published collection of non-rhyming poems from a poet sharing her thoughts and feelings, largely about the process of loving, losing and healing from broken relationships.

The text, like the content, is raw. No capitals and little in the way of punctuation, it fits well with the themes of the poems. Welnick says it the way she feels it, and she holds nothing back. This is unbridled emotion at times. When she hurts, she bleeds onto the page. When she loves, her energy radiates out. Unless you’re a hermit or an incel who has never had a relationship that has gone wrong, you will recognise and even empathise with much of Welnick’s poems.

If there’s a downside to expressing yourself so freely, then it might be that your views and opinions are thrust in the face of the reader. That’s fine as long as the reader agrees with the poet. It’s less so if the words offend. For instance, one poem tells me I must be ‘anti-women’ if I don’t believe in astrology. That’s going to come as a shock to the women in my life! And there are other statements that can make you step back and go, “Wow, that’s a bit strong”.

But, in a sense, that’s the point.

The poet, perhaps more than any other kind of writer, is giving very deeply of themselves. We all know that when we’re in a relationship, that person gets to know us better than anyone else (or should do, anyway). You see them raw and at the ugliest – physically, emotionally and in the worst parts of their character. Sometimes you have to make a decision to keep loving them despite, in spite, and maybe even because, of those ugly bits.

So here, Welnick as offered us herself, not as the Instagram-perfect author, but as the grieving, hurting, real person she is. Take it or leave it, she invites us. And on the whole, astrology aside, I choose to take it. I’ve known these feelings and I’ve felt them inside even if I haven’t expressed them orally or on paper. In expressing her own experiences, Welnick presents a surprisingly accurate ‘everyman’ image, whatever your pronouns. whatever your age and lifestyle.

There’s plenty of triggers, be warned. She talks about mental health issues, depression, drugs, alcohol abuse, sex and suicide and she doesn’t paint these in pretty colours, hiding behind poetry to soften the blow. She’s painfully honest. You don’t read these poems to feel soft and warm inside – Welnick even writes about this and apologises. You read these poems to feel heard. There’s a deep resonance that stays on the right side of the line of melodrama. There’s no ‘woe is me’; it’s just ‘this is how it is’.

“i’d rather write a poem about falling in love with you and fucking it up and publish it in a fucking book than call you tell you i love you and i’m sorry.”

This collection of poems isn’t perfect in every way, but then perfection would possibly spoil it, if it was. The collection is raw and dangerous, yet somehow profoundly beautiful, and the poet is to be highly commended both for her bravery and her abilities to put this all down on paper so fucking well. It’s a tough read, but one that every heartbroken person will appreciate. What’s more, it is a privilege to be allowed into another human being’s inner thoughts and feelings. It’s rare to see such openness in literature, and that makes this book all the more special.

My Verdict:

Social Entrepreneur, educationalist, bestselling author and journalist, D K Powell is the author of the bestselling collection of literary short stories “The Old Man on the Beach“. His first book, ‘Sonali’ is a photo-memoir journal of life in Bangladesh and has been highly praised by the Bangladeshi diaspora worldwide. Students learning the Bengali language have also valued the English/Bengali translations on every page. His third book is ‘Try not to Laugh’ and is a guide to memorising, revising and passing exams for students.

Both ‘The Old Man on the Beach’ and ‘Sonali’ are available on Amazon for kindle and paperback. Published by Shopno Sriti Media. The novel,’The Pukur’, was published by Histria Books in 2022.

D K Powell is available to speak at events (see his TEDx talk here) and can be contacted at dkpowell.contact@gmail.com. Alternatively, he is available for one-to-one mentoring and runs a course on the psychology of writing. Listen to his life story in interview with the BBC here.

Ken writes for a number of publications around the world. Past reviewer for Paste magazine, The Doughnut, E2D and United Airways and Lancashire Life magazine. Currently reviews for Northern Arts Review. His reviews have been read more than 7.9 million times.

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