Poetry Reviews

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Jane Metcalfe

5.0 out of 5 stars

Poems for Humanity

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 November 2020

Freddy Fonseca’s substantial collection of rich poems span many lifetimes of living: contemplation, humour, spirituality, nature, love and of course God. Poetry is a specific way of reaching our hearts and souls without the need to understand in a linear fashion. Freddy’s poems have the ability, through skill and acute observation, to reach all the parts of us. I will keep dipping back into this collection when I need to to be reinspired. A writer after my own heart!

Amazon Customer

5.0 out of 5 stars

A must-read

Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2020

Such a joy to add to the world of literature and poetry. 

This collection is an instant classic. It takes us across 

continents and cultures; across time and space. This

poet has passion and intellect that are very much 

alive and alert. Embrace this collection and experience

all of the joy, sorrow, humor, and wit.

Amazon Customer

5.0 out of 5 stars

Blow something up! The highest first!

Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2020

Some poets write in the hopes of finding something 

hidden in their souls, while others write to achieve 

recognition. Others write as an escape from the

quotidian, the mundane, or perhaps to glimpse 

something eternal or, with luck, slightly sacred. And 

some poets, like Freddy, write because not to do so

just isn’t realistic. Freddy’s poems are like sorties into

boundless arenas of possibility, some familiar or 

intimate, others verging on the unnameable.

Some poems cleave to a central thread without

becoming enmeshed in the conformity of traditional

forms. At times, one feels his aim is to get the thoughts

into our hearts and minds, just simply and immediately

— dismissing the too familiar economy that so easily

“looks like poetry.” The thing is, Freddy really is a poet:

what comes out is by definition something well apart

from artifice.

Among other surprises, some poems seem at first

curiously incomplete until the reader succumbs and

delivers the words himself, out loud, to the world. This

is what Freddy likes best, the song, the performance,

the dance. If the reader cares to take that leap, then a

surprising collaboration emerges between the poet’s

art and the reader’s heart.

At times, the poems closest to prose exhibit the finest 

fluency; “Kaleidoscope” is a case in point: one sentence

per verse, no syntactical puzzles, no obscurity. One

verse: “My fragmentation negates / the way I used to

be, and there’s / an unseen rift I cannot touch / behind

these splinters of deceit.” It is just said, so simply, and

justly so.

Have some fun with this collection, and discover why

God blows up with such delight.

S. Walton

5.0 out of 5 stars

A Book of Poems

Reviewed in the United States on September 1, 2020

How wonderful, in this day of left brain dominance, of

proofs in the laboratory, of spreadsheets and cost/profit

calculations, that somewhere, someone is still writing

poetry! And what an impressive collection it is! I feel

blessed to have a copy. It helps to remind me that so

much in this world can never be proven in a lab or

accounted for on a spreadsheet. Thank you, Mr.

Fonseca.

June Oliver

5.0 out of 5 stars

Breathe of Fresh Air

Reviewed in the United States on September 4, 2020

I loved Freddie’s book. It’s totally charming and makes

you glad to be alive. To me, it was a page turner. I

couldn’t wait to see what was coming up next. When I

am reading, what I notice most is the energy of the

person who is the writer, and Freddie has a lovely

energy, buoyant and life-affirming. The poems do range

from dark to light, but in the balance, the book is a

bright spot in a world that can seem quite out of kilter

these days. If you can’t spend a day at the seashore

watching the waves and weather changes, this book

will take you into that feeling wherever you are. Good

work, Freddie!

Amazon Customer

5.0 out of 5 stars

The Silly and the Sublime

Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2020

From the silly to the sublime, this collection of delightful

and thoughtful poems covers it all. Part Shel

Silverstein, part Robert Frost, part John Keats, and all

Freddy Fonseca….a man with a big heart and a lust for

life!

Bob Ferguson 

5.0 out of 5 stars

This book will become a favorite in your library

Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2020

Freddy Fonseca is a brilliant poet, with both a profound

and whimsical approach to life and poetry. His work is

original, virtually impossible to categorize, and deeply,

deeply satisfying. It has quickly become one of my

favorite books of poetry, taking its place along with

Pablo Neruda on my bed stand.

Rolf Erickson

5.0 out of 5 stars

Images So Strong It’s Like Watching A Movie

Reviewed in the United States on September 25, 2020

Freddy will take you places you never imagined

existed. And other places you once visited, but have

totally forgotten about. Places you thought of going, but

were too shy to take the first step. Places that may not

actually exist, but you will wish that they did. These

poems are dances where words are free to share their

hidden meanings. Be prepared to see the world with

new eyes, and to be glad you did.

Hedda Gabler

5.0 out of 5 stars

A must read to feel happiness and joy.

Reviewed in the United States on October 1, 2020

Verified Purchase

A friend recommended this book to me and I am very

glad that he did. Freddy Fonseca is a visionary whose

words speak to my soul and reenforces my strong Faith

in knowing that there is a spiritual place that surrounds

me with the beauty of Hope and Love.

When I read these poems I am drawn to the energy of

a light that I have never before seen.

Gentle

5.0 out of 5 stars

Stop worrying and love the bomb

Reviewed in the United States on October 6, 2020

Verified Purchase

“Simple abundance” is a concept I’ve always loved,

and this book of poetry speaks to it in a language that’s

common and down to earth, yet elegant and evocative.

Freddy Fonseca has the gift of giving the mundane

beauty and worth. His poems celebrate that trifecta of

time, place and memory. They are dynamic and diverse

in rhythm, tone, color and mood. Like the hidden warp

of a finely woven tapestry, fresh insights and new

awareness lie just below the surface, nuanced perhaps

but integral to the rich design of this true work of art.

The Bomb That Blew Up God will uplift you and expand

your horizons (pun intended).

Rebecca McDowell

5.0 out of 5 stars

Joy of Life

Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2020

Freddy’s poems are charming, quirky, and outrageous –

connecting us with the colors, flavors and music of our

own aliveness in unexpected ways.

Patricia

4.0 out of 5 stars

Thank heavens for the Bomb that Blew up God!

Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2020

This is Freddy Fonseca’s pure soul collective rendition

of life! We can find ourselves transported, as Freddy’s

poetry dances and sings us into different worlds of pure

delight! Thank heavens for The Bomb that Blew up

God!

Kirti Wood, Meditation and Healing Practitioner

Amazon Customer

5.0 out of 5 stars

Poetry to be Set to Music

Reviewed in the United States on October 13, 2020

I was privileged to get a preview of several of these

poems before purchasing the complete collection. As a

keyboardist and choral conductor, I was immediately

struck by how many of these magical poems could be

set to music owing to the subject matter, the aural

gracefulness of so many of the settings as I read them

aloud, and the various emotions of wonder, whimsy,

and imagination they evoked. If Fonseca were a

composer, he’d be a double threat!

Linda Egenes

5.0 out of 5 stars

Transparent and unfathomable

Reviewed in the United States on October 13, 2020

This collection of poems evokes everyday moments

that breach the shores of the unfathomable. The

anemone flower a hint of fickle love, a sunset an ode to

the glory of growing old, the swan’s wing the breath of

silence. So much wisdom in these tender poems that

leave sarcasm and bullying behind for the quiet

moments spent listening to the language of trees.

ds in co

5.0 out of 5 stars

Still salivating….

Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2020

I am still salivating over these poems, these rich, very

diverse moments from the intimate inner life of the

author. From the seductions of dance to the secrets of

creation, Freddy Fonseca has prepared a banquet of

verse, in which each dish is perfectly spiced to linger in

your awareness and you simply lust to have more.

Some poems are sweet, some are salty. All the flavors

are present, as are all the subtle tones of emotional

experience. And underlying the spices is a

transcendent explosion of creative joy and rye humor

at his divinely human condition.

Amazon Customer

5.0 out of 5 stars

A beautiful Insight

Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2020

I love the contrasting nature of Freddy’s poetry,

whimsical and yet deeply profound.

Angela Mailander

5.0 out of 5 stars

Great poetry

Reviewed in the United States on October 22, 2020

What can I say about these stunning poems?

When Freddy Niagara Fonseca asked me to review his

work, I accepted with trepidation. Too much

contemporary poetry is stream of consciousness drivel

with line breaks, and, the New Age having taken its toll,

too much is too nicey-nice. However, while reading, I

got another kind of butterflies: What can I say about

these stunning poems? The poet himself came to my

rescue: On page 109, I found his poem: After Reading

an Obscure Volume of Unusual Poetry. I quote:

Unbearably fierce, yet hauntingly beautiful are the two

extremes of this dark poetry,

relentlessly rushing, an angry river cleaving unsung

forests of passionate pain.

All those raw terms, driving rhythms, ballsy metaphors,

so full of the angst of our Age,

finally flow to oceans of unanswered questions after m

reading the very last line.

Turning to a blank page, I feel like a river scanning the

horizon, searching for meaning.

Is this outlandish work’s purpose meant to drown, or

save us? Is chaos beauty?

And yet, in some shared emotion, the poet and I

embrace this volume’s timely content.

Together we lift this sad Earth high to let a gentle

sunlight dry her age-old, bitter tears.

Unquote. That describes Fonseca’s own poetry so

perfectly, I herewith cop out.

—Angela Mailander, Professor Emerita of Comparative

Literature, Jiangsu University of Science and

Technology, P.R. China

Jim Bagnola

5.0 out of 5 stars

Reawakens our sleeping higher imagination

Reviewed in the United States on October 25, 2020

Freddy captures a little bit of the universe with his pen

and paper. He places a magnifying glass on it and

reveals its beauty and magic. He has a playful sense of

wonder that reawakens our sleeping higher imagination.

Enjoy the visions and creativity. “

John Schirmer, Artist

5.0 out of 5 stars

God Blown Up!

Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2020

To know Freddy Fonseca is to know a man of style and

grace. These same characteristics are found in his

book of poems, “The Bomb That Blew Up God”. Like

music and dance, the poems sing and express a

rhythm that connects them to all the arts. There is

balance and charm, rhythm and harmony, everything

needed to create an entertaining and enlightened read.

James L Shead

5.0 out of 5 stars

Very Beautiful, a Delight to Read

Reviewed in the United States on October 30, 2020

Mr. Fonseca’s poems always seem to leave me with a

more expansive view of whatever the subject may be,

and in subject matter and approach, you will find

wonderful variety in this book. For example, “The Bomb

That Blew Up God” is playfully satiric—at once very

funny and quite serious. Another poem, with a softer

approach, is “On a Medieval Painting of the Fall of

Man.” This one brings you into the more subtle reaches

of the heart … and the divine. His poem “Antarctica”

begins with an exploration of geographical extremes,

from the ice and cold of Antarctica to the greenness

and warmth of Trinidad. But as we move with the poet

deeper into his poem, we notice that terrestrial

geography becomes a metaphor for exploring his

geography of the soul. These are just three of my

favorites. On the whole, a beautiful book of poems that

I highly recommend.

Alexandra Stimson

5.0 out of 5 stars

The Bomb That Blew Up God

Reviewed in the United States on November 2, 2020

Freddy’s poetry is transporting. A simple afternoon

walk, a dance, or picture on the wall will take his

pondering to the milky way and beyond. Freddy

perceives the world around him, and the depth of his

own being, with intensity and clarity. His poetry makes

your heart sing.

Brad Moses

5.0 out of 5 stars

Colors explode, surprises abound and my

synapses delight!

Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2020

I must confess that I don’t know poetry. I’m a songwriter

and I do both music and lyrics. I love the writing of

lyrics and the wonderful connective combinations of

everything magical that goes into it and that which will

hopefully come out from it. As far as I’m concerned,

Freddy is a pure poet. His verse will move along and all

of a sudden take a leap that I’d never think of for a

three minute commercial song – and it fits, it works, and

in a way that is so different from what I do – and I’m

excited that I see that. Freddy has done that for me.

I feel when I’m reading Freddy’s poems, that there are

synapses in my brain that are being enlivened. I must

confess that this is all very self-serving as I can see

how it could expand my lyrical horizons. I have very

rarely experienced this in pure poetry, but Freddy

brings this out in me. Colors explode, surprises abound,

twists and turns and excursions into seemingly

unrelated (at least to me) areas that all seem to end up

in a magnificent whole that in the end leaves me in an

unfamiliar and fascinating space. In a three and a half

minute commercial song you just don’t pass through

that many boundaries.

I’ve heard that poetry takes time, it takes patience and

is to be read as if enjoying a slow setting sunset – and I

have never taken the time to do that. I’m in the

commercial world of super tight rhymes and super tight

meter constraints. I’m now inspired to slow down and

take the time to digest Freddy’s poetry as it connects

with me. I just enjoy his poetry.

Congratulations Freddy. You have one big fan here and

I plan to purchase your book to pursue this path you

have inspired me to take.

—Brad Moses, singer songwriter, recording artist,

arranger, owner/engineer Bradberry Productions

Ordinary Reader “Ron”

5.0 out of 5 stars

His writing will Hit you – a good read!

Reviewed in the United States on November 16, 2020

My impression with Fonseca’s writing, both poetry and

prose, is that it turns my face upward. Then his words

hit me with gentle rain; sometimes the rain goes cold

down my neck but what I want to say is that it hits me.

Freddy is a born poet. He lives outside of the

comfortable boundaries we are accustomed to but his

poetry brings things back from wherever he is, and

those things are sometimes delicate (like, how’s he

getting that back from way over there without damaging

it?), and sometimes they are wrapped in thin white

tissue paper all vulnerable. I always look forward to

reading Fonseca’s work. I would unhesitatingly say,

“Just open the book.”

—Ron Ringsrud, author of Emeralds A Passionate

Guide

T. Britton

5.0 out of 5 stars

Ringing the bell

Reviewed in the United States on November 17, 2020

Good art, art that actually strikes a bell deep inside us

that cries out, “Yes!”, needs to be more than a

collection of clever technique. It needs to have

something to say, something that makes us smile in

recognition that here we have someone who knows us

and what makes our lives worth living. Freddy knows

what joy is, and how to remind us what it is. Enjoy!

—Tim Britton, musician, writer, sound

engineer/producer

awg

5.0 out of 5 stars

Wow –

Reviewed in the United States on November 24, 2020

Beautiful! What variety! Every poem is an expression

of profound inspiration.

George Foster

5.0 out of 5 stars

Colorful, moving, inspiring craft

Reviewed in the United States on December 4, 2020

Experiencing a master’s performance in the arts is

always a joy, and this book gives me that. Poetry has a

unique power to guide me into feelings of all kinds and

Freddie knows how to use it beautifully. His phrases,

meanings and meters make me want to rise up to meet

them. Highly recommended.

Amazon Customer

5.0 out of 5 stars

Potent poetry full of movement and sound

Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2020

I have gone back to some of the poems in this book,

again and again. I enjoy the colorful creation of the

lively worlds that Freddy creates. These poems start

from ordinary perception and explode into cosmic

images.

 

Kindle Customer

5.0 out of 5 stars

The Bomb That Blew Up God!

Reviewed in the United States on December 12, 2020

I have read every poem in this book many times now.

They have the power to recreate the world by drawing

attention to order, simplicity, kindness, and good humor.

The world is a better place with this book in it. It gives

the reader chance after chance to step out of

confinement in a closed and narrow heart.

Charlie Hopkins

Kindle Customer

5.0 out of 5 stars

Verbal Capoeira

Reviewed in the United States on December 21, 2020

Introspective ride for meditation and revelation!

Contemplating rhythms and dancing silence! This

collection is a remembrance of Journeys taken,

Memories forming, Thoughts exploding And Life

Wondering! A Bedside Book and Dream Tour guide!

 

The Bomb That Blew Up God sitting on a night stand by a beautiful lamp
Poetry book The Bomb That Blew Up God on Richard's night stand

Here is the collection of poetry I have waited for all my life — Freddy Niagara Fonseca’s The Bomb That Blew Up God. At last, poems that satisfy both critical mind and longing soul. Bold exquisite, rich language and brilliant awake treatments breathe life into worthy themes — nature, seasons, home, memory, dance, death, music, poetry, contentment. The great triumph of Fonseca’s poetry is sustained momentum blending image with observation to inexorably open the reader to unbounded awareness, where every reader wants to be. Fonseca’s poems entertain!

— Burton Milward, Jr., retired attorney, author, radio show host

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Fonseca’s second collection of poems (after This Enduring Gift), organized into seven sections, displays a clear writing style scored with tenderness and splashes of humor. The poems capture pivotal moments in relationships and point to the thread that connects humankind and the divine. Fonseca tackles adult subjects, such as alcoholism, a father-daughter relationship, and separation, with a confessional quality. Some of the collection’s poems have a theme and style that will appeal to a younger audience—“Sunset Blues” has traditional rhyme and rhythms, and “Fireworks” opens with an exciting “pow, ka-BOOOOM, fizzzz”—but both poems go deeper to address taking stock of oneself.

 

The collection begins to shine in the third section. Humor and creativity meld in the poetic fable of the title poem, which quips, “God retired and Angels sang Him to sleep.” When Fonseca turns his attention to the mundane, his poems pack concentrated power. The two depictions of a quiet, residential street in “Small Town Routine–One View” and “Small Town Routine–A Different View” reveal how the attitudes held by two neighbors colors how each one reacts to a commotion on their street. The clear images will give readers a chuckle. Anyone who has regretted lending a book to a friend will understand the passionate attachment described in “Long-Lost Books.”

 

Fonseca’s experience curating the Candlelight Reading Series is reflected in the flow of his poems, which take on an added texture when read aloud. This collection carries readers to Greece, Trinidad, and Brazil as well as several periods of history, as in “My Creole Belle,” which depicts a 19th-century cakewalk pageant. Modern poetry fans will delight in these poems, which capture the emotions of intimate and public moments.

 

Takeaway: This splendid collection attracts modern poetry readers with playful language and evocative imagery.

 

Great for fans of A.R. Ammons, Gary Snyder, Li-Young Lee.

—BookLife Reviews, July 2020

I loved this vast, complex, yet simple book of wonderful poetry. It is a work of brilliance and honest perception and even more honesty is in the author’s presentation. I recommend this book of sublime intensity to any true reader searching for the power and beauty of language that still exists today…

—Rudy Wilson, National Award Winning Author of several novels

 

 

Freddy Fonseca’s ‘The Bomb that Blew Up God and Other Serious Poems’ is an eclectic, alluring invitation to journey into poetic perspectives that will crisscross your inner soul in various ways. Sometimes whimsical, sometimes sobering, always illuminating, Fonseca’s stylistic scope takes readers into realms as fleeting as haiku to epic writings. Thematically dividing this gem into seven facets, this collection holds the promise of triggering new responses each time the reader delves into its lyrical diversity.

—The Culture Buzz

 

 

This poetry is so affecting, its rhythms and lyrics so compelling, I become a better person and appreciate living more than before.

— George Foster, book cover designer

 

 

If you have the slightest shred of happiness within you, no matter how deeply it may be buried, reading his poetry will unearth, amplify and galvanize it till you are flying on the wings of his euphoria. Your soul and heart will be dancing from the first verses to the last.

— Carol Olicker, bereavement support group facilitator, poet

 

 

Drawing from a wide cultural background, Freddy Niagara Fonseca, skips, dances and delights his way through this wonderful collection of poems.

—Tony Ellis, author of There is Wisdom in Walnuts

 

 

Here is a highly educated mind, taking from a thorough familiarity with the forms of poetry only what fits most fluidly to his purpose.

—Karla Christensen, poet, muralist, illustrator, Ecuador

 

 

This collection of works is distinctive – certainly original and eclectic, deeply sobering and uniquely stylized.

—Rodney Charles, author of the bestselling Every Day A Miracle Happens

 

 

What a variety of emotions in these poems! Some whimsical and calling to be read aloud, some elegantly musical with a touch of Shakespeare.

—Jeffrey Moses, Author of Oneness: Great Principles Shared by All Religions 

 

 

This impressive volume is one that we can pick up at bedtime and open any page for mind travel. We are reminded that we are part of the world of nature.

—Gretchen Langstaff Schaffer, dancer, BA Fine Arts in Dance The Juilliard School

 

 

From the seductions of dance to the secrets of creation, Fonseca has prepared a banquet of verse … a transcendent explosion of creative joy and wry humor.

—Debra Smith, Educational Kinesiologist, Watercolorist, Potter, Poet

 

 

He lives outside of the comfortable boundaries we are accustomed to but his poetry brings things back from wherever he is. I would say,  ‘Just open the book.’

—Ron Ringsrud, Author of Emeralds: A Passionate Guide

 

 

This poetry is truly transformational. Moving a person emotionally, helping them to adopt new perceptions, and facilitating changes in perspective is an art in psychotherapy. Fonseca’s poems accomplish exactly that. Hence it seems as if he is not only an accomplished and master poet but a closet psychotherapist as well. :-).

—John Edgette, Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology, and Author of The Handbook of Hypnotic Phenomena in Psychotherapy

 

 

Colors explode, surprises abound, twists and turns and excursions into seemingly unrelated (to me) areas that all seem to end up in a magnificent whole that in the end leaves me in an unfamiliar and fascinating space.

—Brad Moses, singer songwriter, recording artist, arranger

 

 

At times, the poems closest to prose exhibit the finest fluency; “Kaleidoscope” is a case in point. The language flows easily, one sentence per verse, no syntactical puzzles, no obscurity. Some of his works clamor to be sung, performed, danced out into a throng of celebrants at some unspecified bacchanal. 

—Allen Cobb, composer, photographer, sculptor, inventor, essayist, and poet

 

 

I could not stop. When each poem ended, I was compelled to read the next. Each poem touched me with a recognition of something strong within myself, joy, fear, surety, joy again.

—Michael Borden, architect and author of Vastu Architecture, New Zealand

 

 

Like music and dance, the poems sing and express a rhythm that connects them to all the arts. There is balance and charm, rhythm and harmony, everything needed to create an entertaining and enlightened read.

—John Schirmer…… forty years a print maker, painter, and sculptor

 

 

I’m amazed by the power and gripping beauty of his prayer like poetry. How could a mere mortal be so descriptive, the senses so real?

—James Dean Claitor, former film producer and freelance writer

 

 

What can I say about these stunning poems? The poet himself came to my rescue: On page 103 I found: After Reading an Obscure Volume of Unusual Poetry.

—Angela Mailander, Professor Emerita of Comparative Literature, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, P.R. China

 

 

His poem “Antarctica” begins with an exploration of geographical extremes, from the ice and cold of Antarctica to the greenness and warmth of Trinidad. But as we move with the poet deeper into his poem, we notice that terrestrial geography becomes a metaphor for exploring his geography of the soul.

—James L. Shead, technical writer, retired

 

 

These poems seem to glow on the page….a lyrical journey to places, through seasons of life; birth, death and beyond.

—Judy LaMar, painter

 

 

Commenting on Olé, Bolero – A Fiesta in Sevilla: Great poem, such gusto and wonderful play, celebrating the sexuality and sensuality of the language that conveys it; —all those great names and Spanish words. Bravo.

 —Craig Deininger, PhD, Assistant Professor of Creative Writing, Maharishi International University 

 

 

Commenting on BooksIt captures the spiritual dimension of reading and writing, and the connection to eternity that we make through books. I’ve often had the same feelings – the multitude of books overwhelms me with awareness of my mortality and yet at the same time connects me to something immortal. Nice job.

Jendi Reiter, editor of WinningWriters.com and author of Bullies in Love and Two Natures