3,5 Stars

This is my second time reading a poetry collection by Iain S. Thomas and like the previous one, I enjoyed this one even if it won’t become a favorite. I like the poems even though I do think that there was too much poems in this collection and that, therefore, some of them were repetitive.

The addition of pictures took by the author was interesting and it was really nice that some of them were there to illustrate some of the poems.

Beautiful writing, but not quite my cup of tea. Poems were relatable and definitely inspired emotions in the reader.

Lovely collection of poems that made me feel multiple things. I would recommend this to anyone.

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I call this "confirmation bias" poetry and I am generally not a fan. This book was not an exception to the rule. The only thing I liked was the photos.

THIS IS WONDERFUL. The process behind it is fascinating and I love it so much. It's interesting to see how the picture inspires the writer and what writing comes out of it. The pictures at first I thought would either be knocking you over the head obvious or really obscure. And I think it landed somewhere in between. I found that while reading the poem that suddenly the meaning of the picture would start to appear and it happened in such a natural way that I think that if one was there without the other, something would be missing. I loooooved the writing style. I'm no poetry expert so I can't critique the writing too much, but I did think it was really good. I also liked how the poems were assembled, it had a really nice flow. The reason it's not a perfect read for me was because I did find myself getting a tad bored at times. I don't really why this was. Maybe I just couldn't relate to certain pieces? I do find that some poetry is hard to read/care about if you can't relate or don't understand what the point they're trying to get across is. But other than some mild boredom, I really did love this. Can't wait to see more books from this project!

My Disclaimer:

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book. I am voluntarily providing an honest review in which all opinions are fully my own. I am not being compensated in any way.

~ Judi E. Easley for Blue Cat Review

What it’s about…

This is the collected poems by Iain S. Thomas over a decade. They deal with the sense of loneliness and the attempt to connect with another, to reach out and touch another soul, another being. To not be empty.

There are approximately 400 poems in this collection. Each has a date. Some go for several pages and some barely cover several lines. Only the ones written for you will speak to you.

There are also images incorporated into the collection. Some of them relate directly to the poem they are with, others do not.

Technical Tidbits…

The cover of handwritten text on an abstract background is quite appropriate for this book. It’s not exactly eye-catching, but it is appropriate. Something bright and cheery or terribly formatted would have been very incongruent to the subject and presentation of the work within the book.

Writing Quality of poetry is difficult to evaluate unless you are going to look at the technical aspect of it. Freeform does not lend itself to that approach. And this is certainly freeform.

The good, the bad, and the ugly…and how much it lit up my life… ✰✰✰⭒

I sat and read this whole book in one sitting, from the first page all the way to the last. I read every poem and looked at every photo. So poems I read more than once, and there are some I highlighted for future reference.

There are about 400 poems in this collection. It’s hard to count them accurately with the way they are written in parts of the ARC I have. Less than 10%, about 1/12, actually only 36 of the poems had meaning for me out of those 400-ish poems. No, that’s not a majority, but it is a lot of poems. It’s a whole lot of words. And I found a lot of meaning in those words. Some of the poems sounded like what my friends and I used to write when we were younger and traded our journals to share our work. The angst of youth. The work seemed fairly youthful to me with a good flow of thought. There was good imagery in a lot of it. There was also a lot of insight into the human condition of pain at parting and the pain generally found in relationships. The pain of loneliness when alone is empty.

I want to share a poem from this collection with you:

The First Day On Earth

Monday, July 30, 2012

Firstly, you need to relax. I know it’s not as warm as it once was but you get used

to the cold and warmth can be found in the people around you.

Secondly, do not

Get used to crying to get things. Some people never grow out of

it. Avoid them.

Spend time around people who smile in the face of despair.

Learn from them all

you can. Everyone is a lesson. A story. A unique and wondrous

perspective on

the chaos that is human existence. The more people you talk to,

the more you

understand it. But never speak if you have the opportunity to

listen. Especially

if you want someone to like you. There’s nothing you can say

that’ll endear

someone to you as much as really and truly listening to them.

You are on day

one of a sometimes remarkable, sometimes terrible, sometimes

beautiful, strange

and always completely unknown journey. Be ok with this.

Worrying about what

happens next will ruin the surprise. You will meet strange

people along the way,

some good, some bad. This is a pattern that will more than likely

repeat constantly as you grow up. Some things will be good,

some things will be bad. Neither

will ever last forever. Nothing will stay the same. Appreciate

every moment of

happiness and remember it when you despair. Hold them close.

And when you are happy, remember the moments of despair

and think to yourself, “I told you so.”

Never let someone else define you. You are your own creation

and only you decide how you feel, who you are and what you

want. This can be scary at first but it is

liberating to truly and utterly embrace your own identity. People

who hate you for

not being like them are not worth hating back. Please, let go of

hate whenever you can. Accept love whenever it is given and

give it out freely. It is the most powerful

force on Earth.

Enjoy your stay.

I Wrote This For You: 2007 - 2017 is a pretty awesome book. Throughout it, I felt like the person writing this really meant for this to be read by me and no one else, only me. I also liked the pictures in it, and trying to connect them was a good thing! However, I didn’t like the writing style of it. I thought it was okay, and it could’ve been better in some ways, but the topics were pretty good.

The dated entries feel like you're reading a diary. The photos help set the scene. It's a great book of poetry.

Beautiful, there is a poem in here for everyone and I definitely related to many. Some I even reread before turning the page, but certain poems I liked more than others. The visualizations of the photography really brought the words to life. You can absolutely tell that this book was written for you. Recommended to all poetry fans!

Thank you to the publisher & netgalley! Definitely enjoyed this book!

This was beautifully written and I highlighted many passages that I thought were quotable, however, this collection of poetry wasn't particularly impactful to me. I feel like I need to feel an impact from poetry to really love it. It was enjoyable and I would read more from this author but I didn't love this.

Stunning and heartbreakingly beautiful. These poems hit me hard. This collection had photographs weaved within the poems and it was a nice touch to an already stellar bind-up. The poems within the collection ranged from short and poignant to a bit longer and powerful as well. I particularly liked the poem "The Children of Time." There is just something about this collection that hits you hard and makes you ache for more. Half of this book has been highlighted and bookmarked. I Wrote This For You: 2007-2017, will forever hold a piece of me and its words will haunt and stay by me for years to come. Definitely pick this up, if you are a fan of poetry. This will not disappoint.

I don't mind poetry, or poetry in the form of super short stories, but this didn't do it for me. I really liked a few of the entries, but I felt like it was a little angsty for my taste. I will definitely give it another try sometime, but I have too many unread books to get through at the moment. I appreciate the opportunity to read and review this book.

"I Wrote This For You: 2007 - 2017" is a wonderful collections of photographs from all over the world coupled with prose. Iain S. Thomas starts off the book saying "I wrote this for you... I wrote this for you and only you...You were meant to read these words. Thank you for finding this."

I found his prose to be beautiful, honest, and he often seems so on the mark with my own thoughts and feelings that it does seem as if this book were written for/to me. I don't know how he does it, but he speaks in few words for himself, for me, for all of humanity.

I LOVE THIS BOOK and will keep it and read it again and again and again. I hope you find it and read it too.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Central Avenue Publishing.

My love for <i>I Wrote This For You </i> is endless. This is a collection of poetry and photography with new work, and old stuff. If you loved the previous one, you'll love this too.

I Wrote This For You is a collaborative photography and prose project. (Almost) every day, the photographer sends the writer a new photograph from wherever he is in the world. The writer creates a poem or short piece of prose inspired by the photograph and focused on whoever might be reading the work, or "you." The writer and the photographer have never met.

I remember clearly when this collection was first released. I had just graduated high school and so many people were hyped for this book. Me.. I never read it. I was on a interesting path when it came to my reading and this never showed up on it until recently. 

There is a lot of good within this collection but at the same time there is a lot of redundancy. This made it hard for me to fully enjoy and connect to what I was reading. Reviewing poetry, for me at least, is pretty hard because it is an emotion based reading, which is why I read it again and that redundancy was still there. 

Despite that, there are some serious powerful lines within this collection that I have marked for future references such as:

Don't stop searching.
There is no comfort in giving up. 
There are large parts of you that don't exist yet. The greatest you you could be, is still waiting to be found. Get up and look. 
And this:

Nowhere on your body and nowhere on the Earth is it written: You were made to suffer. 
Those lines with that intensity was found through the collection but words began to blur together and read in the same voice. I guess ultimately this wasn't written for me (I'm so funny) but I recommend this collection because I know that it is for someone. 

2 Pickles

Sitting here for the last few minutes, trying to figure out how to best put into words how much I loved this book.

This book, the collection of photographs and poems, is just too beautiful for words. So many of these poems tugged on every one of my heartstrings, made me feel all the things and made me really think. I love this. I seriously don't know how people can do that, make you feel all the things with just a few lines.

I highlightes so many of these poems that I wanna re-read whenever I need them. But also, overall, this is one of those books, that I wanna re-read a few times as a whole, cause it's so beautiful.

Having had some time to think about this, I feel like this style of poems/quotes works better and has greater impact when each is viewed alone. If you read one quoted somewhere online, then it can seem quite deep and profound and steeped in beautiful truth. But when you sit and read through pages and pages of the same, it feels cheesy and contrived. At least, it does to me.

Imagine you're on a date and the other person says you're beautiful (or the equivalent). At first, that seems really nice and you probably get all warm and tingly inside. But if they don't stop, if they continue on and on by saying: "You are the most beautiful person I have ever seen. Your eyes are like the deepest ocean. Your hair is like liquid chocolate." I mean, pass me the bucket. Also, I no longer believe a single word they say.

That's kinda how these books of poetry make me feel.

I would have liked this much more during my teenage emo phase. Nowadays, it seems cliche and extremely emotionally manipulative. And emotionally manipulative books are those that leave me feeling most emotionless of all. It's slightly better written, but I would recommend this for fans of the modern tumblr quote-style poetry - think Lang Leav, Rupi Kaur and/or Amanda Lovelace.

This is an interesting collection of poetry and art. There is a little of something for everyone in here.