Uvi Poznansky's Blog, page 236
August 13, 2013
Poignant and Moving
I was so delighted when Ia Uaro, the author (as well as the cover artist) of the coming of age story Sydney's Song, bought a print edition of Home and gave it as a gift to the teacher of her children. Today I am doubly delighted that she posted this great review:
5.0 out of 5 stars Poignant and Moving, 14 Aug 2013By Ia Uaro (Sydney, NSW, Australia) - See all my reviewsAmazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)This review is from: Home (Paperback)
Book Title: Home
Poetry and prose by authors: Zeel Kachel and Uvi Poznansky
ISBN: 978-0-9849932-3-9
Zeev Kachel, son of a Russian Jewish family, was born in 1912, on the eve of the First World War. When German declared war on August 1, 1914 and its army marched into Russia, his parents bundled him and his sister into the wagon, leaving behind their store and worldly belongings, to escape for the lives.
"Ma, why did you fool me," Zeev was still bleeding as 70 years later his pen dripped "We Were Born in Darkness",
"what was it for,
When you sang me a lullaby, not a song of war?
Oh why did you hide the fateful truth from me
We were born in darkness, our life--not to be?"
Welcome to the poetry world of Zeev, beautifully rendered into English by his daughter Uvi Poznansky. He was a man of passion with the ability to capture it in his work, as Uvi aptly calls it. You can't but be emotionally affected by Zeev's powerful laments of loss. Of a child after his mother has departed,
"I had travelled to a place so alien, so cold
How bitter it had felt, to you I never told.
How you waited to receive a word from me, a letter..."
I feel a very special connection to Zeev. To me his moving words provoke long-forgotten memories, tucked away because they were too painful to remember, or to share. I could just imagine his agony as he wrote,
"You're asking me to record, on paper to pour
All that I lost, my esteemed counselor?"
And bravely he wrote, and wrote and wrote and wrote. Of very beautiful things that are only beautiful while they last, "Lie to me boldly, don't misgive"
Poetry is cruel honesty--and here is Zeev baring his soul, driving us to share his pain of the well-captured memories,
"For that lost moment, how I pine!"
of his confusion,
"Is this really the path I envisioned?
Then why is the night here so black?"
And yet even as he anguished over his loneliness, "In a night with not a friend, all's bleary," his daughter had understood him. His lucky daughter, in whom he has carved: "I am a poem, I inspire"
Five stars.
5.0 out of 5 stars Poignant and Moving, 14 Aug 2013By Ia Uaro (Sydney, NSW, Australia) - See all my reviewsAmazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)This review is from: Home (Paperback)
Book Title: Home
Poetry and prose by authors: Zeel Kachel and Uvi PoznanskyISBN: 978-0-9849932-3-9
Zeev Kachel, son of a Russian Jewish family, was born in 1912, on the eve of the First World War. When German declared war on August 1, 1914 and its army marched into Russia, his parents bundled him and his sister into the wagon, leaving behind their store and worldly belongings, to escape for the lives.
"Ma, why did you fool me," Zeev was still bleeding as 70 years later his pen dripped "We Were Born in Darkness",
"what was it for,
When you sang me a lullaby, not a song of war?
Oh why did you hide the fateful truth from me
We were born in darkness, our life--not to be?"
Welcome to the poetry world of Zeev, beautifully rendered into English by his daughter Uvi Poznansky. He was a man of passion with the ability to capture it in his work, as Uvi aptly calls it. You can't but be emotionally affected by Zeev's powerful laments of loss. Of a child after his mother has departed,
"I had travelled to a place so alien, so cold
How bitter it had felt, to you I never told.
How you waited to receive a word from me, a letter..."
I feel a very special connection to Zeev. To me his moving words provoke long-forgotten memories, tucked away because they were too painful to remember, or to share. I could just imagine his agony as he wrote,
"You're asking me to record, on paper to pour
All that I lost, my esteemed counselor?"
And bravely he wrote, and wrote and wrote and wrote. Of very beautiful things that are only beautiful while they last, "Lie to me boldly, don't misgive"
Poetry is cruel honesty--and here is Zeev baring his soul, driving us to share his pain of the well-captured memories,
"For that lost moment, how I pine!"
of his confusion,
"Is this really the path I envisioned?
Then why is the night here so black?"
And yet even as he anguished over his loneliness, "In a night with not a friend, all's bleary," his daughter had understood him. His lucky daughter, in whom he has carved: "I am a poem, I inspire"
Five stars.
A fabulous visit with Ia Uaro
My dear friend from down under, Ia Uaro, is the author (as well as the cover artist) of the coming of age story Sydney's Song. Today she features an interview with me on her blog, and among other bells and whistles she dsplayed my animation video! Check it out:
Meet Uvi Poznansky, California-based Author, Poet and Artist
Meet Uvi Poznansky, California-based Author, Poet and Artist
In the company of a gentleman
He turns to me with a sly look. To my surprise, his smile—even with those sharp fangs—is quite endearing.
“Job’s wife, I presume? Hallelujah! I have been expecting for you for quite a long while,” says Satan. His voice is sweet. He must have sung in a choir in his youth, because in some ways he sounds as pious as my husband. “Shame, shame, shame on you,” he wags his finger. “You sure made me wait, didn’t you...”And without allowing time for an answer, he brings a magnifying glass to his bloodshot eye. Enlarged, his pupil is clearly horizontal and slit-shaped. Which makes me feel quite at home with him, because so are the pupils of the goats in the herds we used to own. Meanwhile, Satan unfolds a piece of paper and runs his finger through some names listed there. Then, with a gleam of satisfaction he marks a checkbox there, right in the middle of the crinkled page. At once, a whiff of smoke whirls in the air. Satan blows off a few specks of charred paper, folds the thing and tucks it into his breast pocket, somewhere in his wool. Cashmere, I ask myself? Really? In this heat? Back home, when I would count my gold coins, this was something I craved with a passion... It would keep me warm during the long winter nights... Then, without even bothering to look at me, Satan says, “I swear, madam, you look lovely tonight.”For a moment I am grateful that my husband is among the living. Or so I think. Nowadays, influenced by the elders, he regards swearing as a mortal sin, as bad as cursing. He even plugs his ears, for no better reason than to avoid hearing it. But if you ask me, I swear: without a bit of blasphemy, language would utterly dull, and fit for nothing but endless prayer. Sigh.Strangely, Satan does not frighten me that much anymore. And so, swaying on my hip bones, I strut out of the cave in his direction. I feel an odd urge to fondle his horns. Along the path toward him I make sure to suck in my belly, because in the company of a gentleman, even a corpse is entitled to look her best.
Job's wife in Twisted.
Listen to the last paragraph, narrated by the one and only Heather Jane Hogan:
If your browser wouldn't play it, try this
My sculpture, half-life size, "In Darkness Take a Leap"
Treat yourself to a giftGet Twisted★ Audiobook ★ Ebook ★ Print ★
“Job’s wife, I presume? Hallelujah! I have been expecting for you for quite a long while,” says Satan. His voice is sweet. He must have sung in a choir in his youth, because in some ways he sounds as pious as my husband. “Shame, shame, shame on you,” he wags his finger. “You sure made me wait, didn’t you...”And without allowing time for an answer, he brings a magnifying glass to his bloodshot eye. Enlarged, his pupil is clearly horizontal and slit-shaped. Which makes me feel quite at home with him, because so are the pupils of the goats in the herds we used to own. Meanwhile, Satan unfolds a piece of paper and runs his finger through some names listed there. Then, with a gleam of satisfaction he marks a checkbox there, right in the middle of the crinkled page. At once, a whiff of smoke whirls in the air. Satan blows off a few specks of charred paper, folds the thing and tucks it into his breast pocket, somewhere in his wool. Cashmere, I ask myself? Really? In this heat? Back home, when I would count my gold coins, this was something I craved with a passion... It would keep me warm during the long winter nights... Then, without even bothering to look at me, Satan says, “I swear, madam, you look lovely tonight.”For a moment I am grateful that my husband is among the living. Or so I think. Nowadays, influenced by the elders, he regards swearing as a mortal sin, as bad as cursing. He even plugs his ears, for no better reason than to avoid hearing it. But if you ask me, I swear: without a bit of blasphemy, language would utterly dull, and fit for nothing but endless prayer. Sigh.Strangely, Satan does not frighten me that much anymore. And so, swaying on my hip bones, I strut out of the cave in his direction. I feel an odd urge to fondle his horns. Along the path toward him I make sure to suck in my belly, because in the company of a gentleman, even a corpse is entitled to look her best.
Job's wife in Twisted.
Listen to the last paragraph, narrated by the one and only Heather Jane Hogan:
If your browser wouldn't play it, try this
My sculpture, half-life size, "In Darkness Take a Leap"
Treat yourself to a giftGet Twisted★ Audiobook ★ Ebook ★ Print ★
in the company of a gentleman
He turns to me with a sly look. To my surprise, his smile—even with those sharp fangs—is quite endearing.
“Job’s wife, I presume? Hallelujah! I have been expecting for you for quite a long while,” says Satan. His voice is sweet. He must have sung in a choir in his youth, because in some ways he sounds as pious as my husband. “Shame, shame, shame on you,” he wags his finger. “You sure made me wait, didn’t you...”And without allowing time for an answer, he brings a magnifying glass to his bloodshot eye. Enlarged, his pupil is clearly horizontal and slit-shaped. Which makes me feel quite at home with him, because so are the pupils of the goats in the herds we used to own. Meanwhile, Satan unfolds a piece of paper and runs his finger through some names listed there. Then, with a gleam of satisfaction he marks a checkbox there, right in the middle of the crinkled page. At once, a whiff of smoke whirls in the air. Satan blows off a few specks of charred paper, folds the thing and tucks it into his breast pocket, somewhere in his wool. Cashmere, I ask myself? Really? In this heat? Back home, when I would count my gold coins, this was something I craved with a passion... It would keep me warm during the long winter nights... Then, without even bothering to look at me, Satan says, “I swear, madam, you look lovely tonight.”For a moment I am grateful that my husband is among the living. Or so I think. Nowadays, influenced by the elders, he regards swearing as a mortal sin, as bad as cursing. He even plugs his ears, for no better reason than to avoid hearing it. But if you ask me, I swear: without a bit of blasphemy, language would utterly dull, and fit for nothing but endless prayer. Sigh.Strangely, Satan does not frighten me that much anymore. And so, swaying on my hip bones, I strut out of the cave in his direction. I feel an odd urge to fondle his horns. Along the path toward him I make sure to suck in my belly, because in the company of a gentleman, even a corpse is entitled to look her best.
Job's wife in Twisted.
Listen to the last paragraph, narrated by the one and only Heather Jane Hogan:
If your browser wouldn't play it, try this
My sculpture, half-life size, "In Darkness Take a Leap"
Treat yourself to a giftGet Twisted★ Audiobook ★ Ebook ★ Print ★
“Job’s wife, I presume? Hallelujah! I have been expecting for you for quite a long while,” says Satan. His voice is sweet. He must have sung in a choir in his youth, because in some ways he sounds as pious as my husband. “Shame, shame, shame on you,” he wags his finger. “You sure made me wait, didn’t you...”And without allowing time for an answer, he brings a magnifying glass to his bloodshot eye. Enlarged, his pupil is clearly horizontal and slit-shaped. Which makes me feel quite at home with him, because so are the pupils of the goats in the herds we used to own. Meanwhile, Satan unfolds a piece of paper and runs his finger through some names listed there. Then, with a gleam of satisfaction he marks a checkbox there, right in the middle of the crinkled page. At once, a whiff of smoke whirls in the air. Satan blows off a few specks of charred paper, folds the thing and tucks it into his breast pocket, somewhere in his wool. Cashmere, I ask myself? Really? In this heat? Back home, when I would count my gold coins, this was something I craved with a passion... It would keep me warm during the long winter nights... Then, without even bothering to look at me, Satan says, “I swear, madam, you look lovely tonight.”For a moment I am grateful that my husband is among the living. Or so I think. Nowadays, influenced by the elders, he regards swearing as a mortal sin, as bad as cursing. He even plugs his ears, for no better reason than to avoid hearing it. But if you ask me, I swear: without a bit of blasphemy, language would utterly dull, and fit for nothing but endless prayer. Sigh.Strangely, Satan does not frighten me that much anymore. And so, swaying on my hip bones, I strut out of the cave in his direction. I feel an odd urge to fondle his horns. Along the path toward him I make sure to suck in my belly, because in the company of a gentleman, even a corpse is entitled to look her best.
Job's wife in Twisted.
Listen to the last paragraph, narrated by the one and only Heather Jane Hogan:
If your browser wouldn't play it, try this
My sculpture, half-life size, "In Darkness Take a Leap"
Treat yourself to a giftGet Twisted★ Audiobook ★ Ebook ★ Print ★
Reward the Reviewers!
I invite you to check out these great, eloquent reviews for Twisted, written by Grady Harp (Hall of Fame reviewer), Oleg Medvedkov (Top 500 reviewer), Dolores Ayotte, Christoph Fischer "Diebus", Wanda, Jeannette Joyal, Cindy J. Smith, Julia Gousseva, James Watts, Sheila Deeth (Top 1000 reviewer.) While you're reading them, please reward the reviewers! Vote up their reviews by clicking the YES button.
A sensitive melding of poetry, prose, and art The sharper the perception--the more complex the interpretation Captivating!! Simply Brilliant Yes, I loved it! Twisted Pieces of Heart and Soul! Twisted: Art and Life Interwoven Love this Author / Artist Fascinating and deeply involving prose and poetry
August 11, 2013
So which is worse. The betrayal of a son or of a mother?
Oh what a day! This is one more review from the pen of Wanda "Panda" Hartzenberg, a top rated reviewer ranking #3 top readers, #10 best reviewers , #1 top reviewers on Goodreads. I am so happy that she posted this review, on Amazon and Goodreads, for A Favorite Son:
5.0 out of 5 stars So which is worse. The betrayal of a son or of a mother?, August 11, 2013By Wanda "Wandah Panda" (Pretoria, South Africa) - See all my reviewsAmazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: A Favorite Son (Kindle Edition)A biblical fan fic with the emphasis on the dysfunctionality of a family.
A brothers betrayel. A mothers mental dissociative disorder and above all greed.
Lentil soup never tempted me though the kosher -- oops not yet a firm concept -- stew sounds far more appealing.
When a woman faints the first time she sees her husband you know something will go wrong.
Written with a very dry sense of humor using facts of a medley of the Christian and Jewish faith to confuse and lay upon the table the discrepancies of blind faith.
A unique story of human frailty and insecurities which is expressed in greed and deception. A true treasure.
WaAr
5.0 out of 5 stars So which is worse. The betrayal of a son or of a mother?, August 11, 2013By Wanda "Wandah Panda" (Pretoria, South Africa) - See all my reviewsAmazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: A Favorite Son (Kindle Edition)A biblical fan fic with the emphasis on the dysfunctionality of a family.A brothers betrayel. A mothers mental dissociative disorder and above all greed.
Lentil soup never tempted me though the kosher -- oops not yet a firm concept -- stew sounds far more appealing.
When a woman faints the first time she sees her husband you know something will go wrong.
Written with a very dry sense of humor using facts of a medley of the Christian and Jewish faith to confuse and lay upon the table the discrepancies of blind faith.
A unique story of human frailty and insecurities which is expressed in greed and deception. A true treasure.
WaAr
Yes, I loved it!
Wanda "Panda" Hartzenberg is a top rated reviewer. She ranks #3 top readers, #10 best reviewers , #1 top reviewers on Goodreads. So I am deeply honored that she posted this review, on Amazon and Goodreads, for Twisted:
5.0 out of 5 stars Yes, I loved it!, August 11, 2013By Wanda "Wandah Panda" (Pretoria, South Africa) - See all my reviewsAmazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Twisted (Paperback)Ive read some of the reviews on thisbook and they have reinforced the main impression I had whilst reading this book!
The author having a strong amd uniques voice never wavers in her storytelling.
Job's wife' s story treated with comedy and sattire is an excellent example. The author paints this character clearly. Still I stepped away from the story thinking that the way the author told this story will make each reader to latch onto something the next reader may dismiss.
Adam in the second story creates the image and referance to biblical creation and him staying mute was both iconic as well as disturbing.
The last two stories follow the same existential pattern whilst the feline in the last book was at the same time a paradox and also an universal icon.
What can I say. Somewhat dark, totally cyclical and thus all encompassing this is a unique strong read.
WaAr
5.0 out of 5 stars Yes, I loved it!, August 11, 2013By Wanda "Wandah Panda" (Pretoria, South Africa) - See all my reviewsAmazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Twisted (Paperback)Ive read some of the reviews on thisbook and they have reinforced the main impression I had whilst reading this book!The author having a strong amd uniques voice never wavers in her storytelling.
Job's wife' s story treated with comedy and sattire is an excellent example. The author paints this character clearly. Still I stepped away from the story thinking that the way the author told this story will make each reader to latch onto something the next reader may dismiss.
Adam in the second story creates the image and referance to biblical creation and him staying mute was both iconic as well as disturbing.
The last two stories follow the same existential pattern whilst the feline in the last book was at the same time a paradox and also an universal icon.
What can I say. Somewhat dark, totally cyclical and thus all encompassing this is a unique strong read.
WaAr
Come Into My Twisted Universe
I am announcing a new activity for everyone participating in the launch event of my book! Here is my watercolor, called Spirit, into which I have now brought in the bone princess from the cover of Twisted. So now, I invite you; come into the picture and become a part of the twisting.
Here's how:
Go to Get Twisted and click Join (if you haven't already)Send me an image of you--at any age--by PM (Private Message) on facebook, using Add Photo, and I will bring you into this universe.
Images contributed by Watercolor by Uvi Poznansky, Bone Princess by Uvi PoznanskyDragon Fly by Linda Miller Thurmond
Vincent Moore , Cindy J. Smith, Jim Watts, Deborah Davidson
Your Image coming soon!!
Get Twisted★ Audiobook ★ Ebook ★ Print ★
Here's how:
Go to Get Twisted and click Join (if you haven't already)Send me an image of you--at any age--by PM (Private Message) on facebook, using Add Photo, and I will bring you into this universe.
Images contributed by Watercolor by Uvi Poznansky, Bone Princess by Uvi PoznanskyDragon Fly by Linda Miller Thurmond
Vincent Moore , Cindy J. Smith, Jim Watts, Deborah Davidson
Your Image coming soon!!
Get Twisted★ Audiobook ★ Ebook ★ Print ★
August 10, 2013
Twisted is available for sale--and discounted--on Amazon
Twisted: Art and Life Interwoven
Born and raised in Russia, Julia Gousseva is the author of several books such as Moscow Dreams and Twelve Months of Soviet Childhood, in which she brings a taste of the literary heritage of her homeland to the American reader. I am greatly honored that she posted this lovely review for Twisted:
5.0 out of 5 stars Twisted: Art and Life Interwoven, August 8, 2013By Julia Gousseva "Author of 'Moscow Dreams', a ... - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME) Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Twisted (Kindle Edition)"Twisted," a collection of four haunting and addictive stories, provides a fresh and personal interpretation of the juxtaposition of art and life. On the surface, the distinction between art and life is clear: life is real and natural, and art is artificial. But the more you think about this distinction, the more lines get blurred until the Creation and the Creator, the Art and the Artist, become one. This idea has fascinated writers and artists -- and Uvi Poznansky is both, as well as a software engineer! - since at least Victorian times. Oscar Wilde believed that "every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist not of the sitter," referring to the emotions and "soul" that the artist puts into his/her work.
In Uvi Poznansky's book, you will explore this idea and many more (such as that vision is not a gift but a burden) through such characters as a clay figure, a ghostly woman, and a feline creature who never meows. Why? The answer is more complicated than you think. There is a reason this collection is titled "Twisted," and the unexpected but logical answer is on its pages.
5.0 out of 5 stars Twisted: Art and Life Interwoven, August 8, 2013By Julia Gousseva "Author of 'Moscow Dreams', a ... - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME) Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Twisted (Kindle Edition)"Twisted," a collection of four haunting and addictive stories, provides a fresh and personal interpretation of the juxtaposition of art and life. On the surface, the distinction between art and life is clear: life is real and natural, and art is artificial. But the more you think about this distinction, the more lines get blurred until the Creation and the Creator, the Art and the Artist, become one. This idea has fascinated writers and artists -- and Uvi Poznansky is both, as well as a software engineer! - since at least Victorian times. Oscar Wilde believed that "every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist not of the sitter," referring to the emotions and "soul" that the artist puts into his/her work.In Uvi Poznansky's book, you will explore this idea and many more (such as that vision is not a gift but a burden) through such characters as a clay figure, a ghostly woman, and a feline creature who never meows. Why? The answer is more complicated than you think. There is a reason this collection is titled "Twisted," and the unexpected but logical answer is on its pages.
