POETRY REVIEW: Tainted Lionheart By Christine Weimer

Title: Tainted Lionheart Book cover of poetry collection "Tainted Lionheart" by Christine Weimer

Author: Christine Weimer

About The Author

Christine Weimer is a native New York City Writer, Publisher, Editor, and Co-founder of Our Galaxy Publishing. Her passion for wordplay began at eight-years-old when she explored writing as an outlet of self-expression. The craft has flourished with her through all phases of life- both simple and complex.

After obtaining her BA in Creative Writing & English, Weimer sought a way to professionally express her voice to promote fresh conversation and thought through open interpretation. She currently resides with her daughter where she writes and runs her businesses from home. She prides herself on family values and thrives on learning and observing those around her.

Tainted Lionheart is her debut collection.

Book Blurb

Tainted Lionheart is a collection that focuses on the progressive phases of heartache. Broken into three parts, Christine Weimer takes you on a journey through the bruising and brooding of pain- and the process to which we breathe through it. It speaks to a vast audience in the representation of the mess-to-mending of heart. It gives voice to those who need to be reminded that it is okay to hurt, and it is okay to be angry but it is imperative that you find your inner-strength so that you may let go, rise, and begin anew. The compilation of poetry and prose works you through the motions of honing your inner lionheart by understanding that you are brave enough to recognize hurt, work through your fury, and find ways of acceptance. Though life may taint us, we all have a lion, or lioness, within us.

The Review

Tainted Lionheart by Christine Weimer is a book of poetry and prose that takes us through the phases that a heart undergoes from hurt to healing.

The first look at the book is a treat in itself. The beautiful image set in a minimalistic style is apt and powerful, and so is the introductory prose.

The book is divided into three parts, bruising, brooding and breathing, each of them consisting of poems relating to that phase of heartache as one encounters in unrequited love. Though the poetry is about the sadness of loss, one can often spy a thread of hope quietly running through it.

The poetry is freestyle, mostly unrhymed and interspersed with prose. A few poems do have a rhymed structure, and there are quite a few shape poems as well, especially in the last section. The poetry is very metaphorical and the imagery is beautiful. Devices like repetition and very short and single word sentences have been used to great effect.

Throughout the book, Christine speaks about things we have all felt at some point in our life and can relate to, even if not always with the same intensity. Gutted is one such poem where she talks about how we often let the people we love break us.

Also worth mentioning is the poem Vulture whose tone is sometimes full of hurt, at other times a little vicious, which reminds me of an angered lion who is now going to rise to take fitting revenge.

One of my favourite lines from the book are:

much like those stars
i am bursting. (from the poem Stars)

Though all the poems are very well written, the ones I liked more are Broken, Silence, Mother’s Words, Dreamscape, Voltaic Emotions, Poetry, Water and Wild Orchid.

The poems use all small alphabets but the I’s are small when they come at the beginning of a sentence, and capitals when they come in the middle of the sentence, which is quite inexplicable to me. This formatting puzzle is something I would prefer to see resolved.

Also, some would say that the poems are all sad, without a break. In this regard, I would like to add that it has to be so for a book that speaks about heartache! Though it is true that at times, one becomes terribly depressed with such a book, we must also remember that a person dealing with heartache finds happy poetry unbearable. It all depends on our own state of mind and I wouldn’t judge a book by this, even though my own preference is to read happy poetry. It is not possible to please everyone, and we all must make our own reading choices.

I found this book to be very well written and presented with poetry that has depth and an intensity that I really enjoyed. It gives support and shows the way to those struggling with sadness and loss. A very good debut collection, it makes me look forward to reading more from Christine in the future.