Panorama: A World History

This command of language displayed in The Trouble with Abstract Paintings is not seen often. This is a collection of poems by an award winning poet, Shari Tewa. The poems were written over a span of several years. The writer evokes many emotions in the reader and paints beautiful pictures with her words. Accompanying the poems are some very striking abstract etherealist paintings, some of the artwork was done by the author and others are the work of her husband, Bagan Tewa. The poems in this book are inspiring and thought-provoking. Poems like, "The Troops Are Coming Home", where the writer states that , "as the camouflage suits blend neatly into the attics of the forgotten, hope becomes alive again..." evoke a very nostalgic feeling , or as in "Getting Back to the Sea" where she writes, "tightly curled brown leaves accepting the new direction of this wind bow forward", the reader is painted very intense imagery that transcends the reader to a place other than where he is at present, but always the author brings the reader back, as where she calmly states at the end of the poem, "it isn't always easy getting back to the sea, at night, in so few lines". Her poems are words that resonate with sound and pitch; the words themselves become music, very sweet and harmonious. At other times, the words are defiant and bold as in "The Search", where she describes what the customs officer is doing to the traveler," by stroking so hard and unforgiving in secret places." The writer at times moves the reader to tears in her recounting of events, because readers can identify with the stories as they can be experienced by any one on any given day. People who live in large cities and commute to work by mass transit can identify with "shoving in earnest for a space on the bus" as she writes in The Bowels of The Bus. This book is destined to be a classic in the annals of poetry. It is a must have for every poetry lover and readers of classic literature.