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Tee writes about acceptance, love and faith but many of the poems are repetitive and clichéd.
An "eclectic debut collection. Ariele Tee's work reaches out on an viscerally emotional level, and the progression of insights and personal growth shown through the five volumes reveals her maturity as well as her poetic gifts. In addition to evoking empathy, her work is intelligent and often as thought-provoking as it is emotive. This powerful combination of heart and head enfolded in poetic imagery will doubtless garner Tee an enthusiastic following." Publishing Review, ★★★★
Promising to be a tale of heartbreak and becoming, Tee’s Silent Muse is very much in ‘vogue’ as a poetry collection. In recent years, ‘poetry’ has become to mean thoughts/statements as well as pieces of free verse and form. For me, this extension of what poetry is has sometimes lowered the calibre of work published. Consequently, the work in Silent Muse read more as journal entries than poetry.
Over two hundred pages long, Silent Muse could have been the quarter of this length, with several pieces becoming repetitive and clichéd by the end. Although I do not doubt many will find peace and solace in Tee’s words on acceptance, love, the future and her faith; these themes felt belaboured. The structure lacked cohesiveness too; despite being split into five volumes, the pieces fluctuated between the themes above and so there didn’t seem to be any real progression throughout.
All this said, there were hidden gems which, if developed, could have enabled Silent Muse to flourish. ‘Sketchbook’ is a gorgeous exploration of the creative process (I’d break my bones, just to place them on canvas’), and several of the unnamed pieces are poignant comments on the nature of healing (‘I survived beautiful’). The messages and pieces in the first two volumes were the strongest and would have made a far better collection if left here - the inclusion of three more volumes meant it felt protracted and many pieces lost their meaning and impact.
However, if you enjoy journalling and reading the journalled thoughts of others, Silent Muse is a collection in which you will find hope and a voice to which you can relate. For me, personally, it stretched the definition of poetry a little too far and failed to capitalise on less being more.
I am a writer and freelance editor/proofreader based in the UK. I have self-published two poetry collections (Between the Trees and Flowers on the Wall). I enjoy reviewing poetry, short stories, literary fiction and historical fiction. I am the Editor-in-Chief for Free Verse Revolution magazine.
An "eclectic debut collection. Ariele Tee's work reaches out on an viscerally emotional level, and the progression of insights and personal growth shown through the five volumes reveals her maturity as well as her poetic gifts. In addition to evoking empathy, her work is intelligent and often as thought-provoking as it is emotive. This powerful combination of heart and head enfolded in poetic imagery will doubtless garner Tee an enthusiastic following." Publishing Review, ★★★★
I write love letters for lost people. @_arieletee view profile
Published on May 15, 2020
4000 words
Contains mild explicit content ⚠️
Genre: Poetry
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