Review (1)
WRITTEN IN STONE (2016) Friesen Press, Canada
Author: Mark Olynyk
Review: Samson Nyarima
In Written In Stone, Mark Olynyk grapples with the age old question of meaning. As you read through the collection, the question of meaning - of life, existence, of death - crops up at every turn of the page.
Written in Stone (second edition, 2016, Friesen Press, Canada) is a collection of sixty-five short poems written in free verse which cover a whole range of philosophical ideas. The poems though independent of each other are interlinked by broad thematic content that subtly cover the real and ethereal in human existence.
The choice of the cover image, to the initiated, aligns the poems with the elements of cosmic realities, the other-world nature just like Stonehenge was aligned by its builders to capture the solstice. From the word go you get the awareness you are engaging with a mind at once learned in the ancient and futuristic and that seeks to merge them, make them meaningful to us.
The poems in this anthology seem to canvas through history, the sciences, the mystical, earth and outer space. It is not lost on the reader that Mr. Olynyk is comfortable in all realms of knowledge that he chooses to explore and that here is a mind steeped in the philosophical without losing sight of the common and the ordinary.
Written in stone is written in simple yet metaphoric language packed with different levels of meaning. The collection uses a simple vocabulary that spans a whole range of knowledge. It is an easy yet challenging read, captivating yet deeply profound in meaning, each poem a complete entity yet strangely linked with all the others in the treatment of the various poetic ideas while at the same time very demanding in terms of exposure to background knowledge of the variety of topics covered.
The poems in this anthology can be placed in several broad thematic categories. The ones that deal with the search for meaning and purpose of human existence; the perception of morality- good or bad and freedom; hope- or the lack of it, and fear; the struggle against conventionality, conformity and change; the relationship between faith, reason and what is factual; and, the independence and individuality that man must strive towards within the universe.
Whereas it is not easy to box any set of poems in any one of the above thematic areas, it is easy to note the thread that runs through the whole anthology. The reader is invited to interrogate the issues of morality, faith, fear, reason and life’s purpose in poems such as ‘Dark Matter’, ‘Phases’, Ghosts’, ‘Flat Earth’ among others. On the other hand, ‘Hammer Blow’ suggests the need to sort out issues here and now and not in the hereafter, ‘The Straw Man’ celebrates the uniqueness of ordinariness and escaping from convention while ‘Paper Tiger’ is an in depth look at the genesis of hostilities that result into violence.
The piece ‘Turn Left at the Sun’, explores the need to get out of the box into a world: '…where no men/ muddy the waters. /words are never/ misconstrued.’
Whereas ‘Talking Heads’, ‘Moribund’, ‘Blackout’ and ‘Change’ deal with issues of morals, change and freedom, others, like ‘The reality Is’ and ‘Speaking in Tongues’ challenge the reader to look at things- reality, truth, knowledge, freedom and faith- in terms of practical and scientific approach.
‘…If you can prove it
then it’s true.
Everything else is conjecture.’
The Reality Is- (page 33)
In poems such as ‘In Good Standing’, the poet encourages seekers, people who take risks and thinkers who challenge existing norms while ‘A Road Less Traveled’ opens one to the world of choice and consequences. He plays with different meanings we ascribe to words and phrases in such poems as ‘Passed On’ and ‘Eyewitness’, deals with issues of alienation and isolation in ‘Outsider’, the elements (‘Elements’ page 24) the uncertainty of what to do with an idea (‘Thoughts On A Thought’ page 49) and urges the reader to learn, grow, use knowledge to overcome new challenges in ‘Shadows’.
It could easily be said that the poem ‘Faith And Reason’ (page 57) summarizes the essence the collection, Written in Stone. “Take nothing for granted, seek to know!” seem to be the clarion call of this poetic master. The persona in this collection weaves a magical wand that transports the reader through levels of knowledge at the turn of each new page.
To read Written in Stone is to travel through a time portal, back and forth, far and wide accompanied only by a clear headed philosophical mind that knows, like all master poets, what to give without being prescriptive.
This is one anthology that defies the confines of space and time. Mark Olynyk treats very serious issues with the simplicity that makes the product at once popular and academic. Reading this collection leaves one not only satisfied by each piece of writing but also yearning for more from this gifted writer.
Samson Nyarima
Kisumu, Kenya
Author: Mark Olynyk
Review: Samson Nyarima
In Written In Stone, Mark Olynyk grapples with the age old question of meaning. As you read through the collection, the question of meaning - of life, existence, of death - crops up at every turn of the page.
Written in Stone (second edition, 2016, Friesen Press, Canada) is a collection of sixty-five short poems written in free verse which cover a whole range of philosophical ideas. The poems though independent of each other are interlinked by broad thematic content that subtly cover the real and ethereal in human existence.
The choice of the cover image, to the initiated, aligns the poems with the elements of cosmic realities, the other-world nature just like Stonehenge was aligned by its builders to capture the solstice. From the word go you get the awareness you are engaging with a mind at once learned in the ancient and futuristic and that seeks to merge them, make them meaningful to us.
The poems in this anthology seem to canvas through history, the sciences, the mystical, earth and outer space. It is not lost on the reader that Mr. Olynyk is comfortable in all realms of knowledge that he chooses to explore and that here is a mind steeped in the philosophical without losing sight of the common and the ordinary.
Written in stone is written in simple yet metaphoric language packed with different levels of meaning. The collection uses a simple vocabulary that spans a whole range of knowledge. It is an easy yet challenging read, captivating yet deeply profound in meaning, each poem a complete entity yet strangely linked with all the others in the treatment of the various poetic ideas while at the same time very demanding in terms of exposure to background knowledge of the variety of topics covered.
The poems in this anthology can be placed in several broad thematic categories. The ones that deal with the search for meaning and purpose of human existence; the perception of morality- good or bad and freedom; hope- or the lack of it, and fear; the struggle against conventionality, conformity and change; the relationship between faith, reason and what is factual; and, the independence and individuality that man must strive towards within the universe.
Whereas it is not easy to box any set of poems in any one of the above thematic areas, it is easy to note the thread that runs through the whole anthology. The reader is invited to interrogate the issues of morality, faith, fear, reason and life’s purpose in poems such as ‘Dark Matter’, ‘Phases’, Ghosts’, ‘Flat Earth’ among others. On the other hand, ‘Hammer Blow’ suggests the need to sort out issues here and now and not in the hereafter, ‘The Straw Man’ celebrates the uniqueness of ordinariness and escaping from convention while ‘Paper Tiger’ is an in depth look at the genesis of hostilities that result into violence.
The piece ‘Turn Left at the Sun’, explores the need to get out of the box into a world: '…where no men/ muddy the waters. /words are never/ misconstrued.’
Whereas ‘Talking Heads’, ‘Moribund’, ‘Blackout’ and ‘Change’ deal with issues of morals, change and freedom, others, like ‘The reality Is’ and ‘Speaking in Tongues’ challenge the reader to look at things- reality, truth, knowledge, freedom and faith- in terms of practical and scientific approach.
‘…If you can prove it
then it’s true.
Everything else is conjecture.’
The Reality Is- (page 33)
In poems such as ‘In Good Standing’, the poet encourages seekers, people who take risks and thinkers who challenge existing norms while ‘A Road Less Traveled’ opens one to the world of choice and consequences. He plays with different meanings we ascribe to words and phrases in such poems as ‘Passed On’ and ‘Eyewitness’, deals with issues of alienation and isolation in ‘Outsider’, the elements (‘Elements’ page 24) the uncertainty of what to do with an idea (‘Thoughts On A Thought’ page 49) and urges the reader to learn, grow, use knowledge to overcome new challenges in ‘Shadows’.
It could easily be said that the poem ‘Faith And Reason’ (page 57) summarizes the essence the collection, Written in Stone. “Take nothing for granted, seek to know!” seem to be the clarion call of this poetic master. The persona in this collection weaves a magical wand that transports the reader through levels of knowledge at the turn of each new page.
To read Written in Stone is to travel through a time portal, back and forth, far and wide accompanied only by a clear headed philosophical mind that knows, like all master poets, what to give without being prescriptive.
This is one anthology that defies the confines of space and time. Mark Olynyk treats very serious issues with the simplicity that makes the product at once popular and academic. Reading this collection leaves one not only satisfied by each piece of writing but also yearning for more from this gifted writer.
Samson Nyarima
Kisumu, Kenya
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