Title: Poems Short Stories and Things Remembered
Author: Gloria G. Blakeney
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 978-1-4567-3822-8
Pages: 108
Genre: Poetry, Non-Fiction
Reviewed by: Andrea Keir

Read Book Review

Gloria G. Blakeney has comprised a collection of poems, a few short stories, some “Sayin’s” while describing episodes in her life and those of her family in her book, appropriately titled, Poems Short Stories and Things Remembered. Yet the feelings I had while paging this unique book transported me into the past, to a time when kids played in the neighborhood streets and people knew each other; when doors to homes were unlocked and the biggest events were found by walking a country road or wandering off into the fields and parks. I would use “Norman Rockwell” as an adjective so to speak, by saying this book shows the foundation of the good, honest, God loving society most Americans who are born in the early-to-mid-1900’s knew when growing up; before the change into the Internet, computers and technologies of present day.

What were the strengths of the past rested solidly in one’s faith in God, and love of Jesus. This is the theme within most of the poetry Blakeney wrote and placed at the onset of the book. As I read this book on a Sunday, it seemed very apropos to indulge in the love of God expressed in prose. From using an acrostic style embedding the
words “Jesus, Easter, Christmas” into the poems; to non-religious fun and silly poetry such as “My Pony Tony,” Blakeney fills her first section with much to enjoy with her clever wordsmithing. She added the contributions of her grandchildren and others making this book a family project and a treasure for all. She goes on to a narrative of Bible stories told in a way in which makes for good bedtime stories to children.

In her next section she tells muses of many of her family pets and animals. Rosebud their dog with human emotions, Houdini a hamster which could escape from any cage, Smokie their cat named after its smoke-grey hair, and Henry, a jackrabbit, living in a backyard palace of branches and twigs. Being an animal lover indeed, makes her and
her family very relatable to all animal lovers who read this book. One story, in particular which haunts my imagination is about a young boy, Jimmy, who while hiking in the fields uncovers a hole behind some shrubs and branches. Upon exploring the whole, Jimmy enters a large cavern, tall enough for him to stand up. As he decides to eat a sandwich, suddenly he hears a rumble and notices the entrance to the cave has virtually closed up, and he was trapped inside without anyone knowing where he is! As he moved one rock from the obstruction, two more would fall in, making it seemingly impossible for him to free himself, causing him to cry and pray in fear. Then Jimmy feels something against his leg, and with his flashlight notices a large mouse alongside of him. What happens next is beyond belief, and not to be a spoiler this story is “worth the price of admission,” so to say.

There is a section of phrases, or sayings – Americana to put it best. Each sounds as if it would be said by “Aunt Bea in Mayberry” as Opie comes into the kitchen with a tale to tell. If burgers came with fortune cookie sayings, these would be the scribes of wisdom given out in America.

Poems Short Stories and Things Remembered is a ticket to the past, and a wonderful collection of love, respect, gratitude and faith which is woven into our tapestry of our culture. For those of us who have lived during this time, it is a refreshing journey back to prior days as if opening a time capsule of literature. To millennials and many of younger generations, it is a window of how life “used to be” prior to headphones and iPhones. To the family of Gloria G. Blakeney, it is an heirloom collection for all to enjoy and a remembrance for the scores of other children to come.