Title: Imagination
Author: Natania Patterson
Publisher: Westwood Books Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-64361-450-2
Genre: Poetry
Pages: 56
Reviewed by: Beth Adams

Read Book Review

Author and poet Natania Patterson has assembled just over one score of her poems and present them, along with an introduction to each, in her book titled Imagination.

Her work has a feminine quality revealing womanly emotions; yet appeals to a wide variety of readers – those of us who wish to feel the breath of life’s wonders upon us vicariously through the thoughts of a truly sensitive person. Readers will be treated to terse, simply-worded celebrations of holidays, family, love and many other of life’s discoveries through each of her poetic topics. The interleaving of a description of what is to follow in her poem, makes the book read as if the poet herself was presenting her poems to an audience at a private event or coffee house. Readers not only can take-away their own meanings, but see why and how the poem came into being, adding a completeness to the process of absorbing the poet’s motivation.

Patterson’s poems are joyful in many ways; even ones being introduced as ‘sad’ beam thoughts of hope and optimism, never becoming what ‘sad’ would be if from a noir poet. I especially enjoyed the title “Crush” as it refers to a lop-sided, one-sided love on a person who might not even be aware of her feelings. “Christmas” reads with childish happiness, and “Picnic” packs so many events together, line by line, that readers’ visual enactment of this poem will be very busy with family and friends frolicking on the grass – even the flies and ants have their role in this poem.

Upon my second reading of Imagination, I skipped over the introduction and read each of the poems in order; gaining a slightly different insight to the poems, which is most often the case in all poetry. I must admit each time I read the poem “Picnic” it made me chuckle with the diversity of events described.

Imagination is a very beautifully appointed book with a style, content and collection worthy of being a well-chosen gift to a loved one, or for you to have to enjoy. It makes for a quick and easy diversion to everyday events, and would go well with a cup of your favorite tea or coffee, or a glass of wine. I look forward to reading more from Natania Patterson, as I hope she has another collection in the works for publication.