28 | THE VOICE NOVEMBER 28 - DECEMBER 4, 2013
Book review
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I’M THINKING... IS THE VOICE BOOK OF THE WEEK BY JACQUELNE ASAFU-ADJAYE
L
ike a morning shower, I’M THINKING‌, in a quick minute, leaves you feeling utterly refreshed, optimistic and ready for life’s challenges. The sheer honesty and simplicity of the poems, provide comfort, as she utters thoughts that your may have had on many subjects but never dared speak out. Good poetry hides nothing. Its purity is in its truth and James like all poets worth their salt is no different. She too bares her soul in each and every poem, leaving no memory unturned. As a result you grow with her at every turn of the page. In I’M THINKING‌, with every poem falls an experience, like Eden’s apples falling from the Tree of Life, the reader is free to pick her pearls
you are overwhelmed by events and emotions.� “I never set out to write a poetry book -those poems came out of real life situations- as the days passed I took the journey back to childhood and I found myself re-visiting situations- and different aspects of my life that I had glossed over. “I’ve found that we don’t really deal with things as we should. We sort of put it under the carpet and try to move on. Now when I wrote the cold prickled floor I felt so relieved. I felt healed from that particular situation I was in. I suddenly saw a window of a hope.� At times with ‘I’m thinking’, her poetry dives emotionally underwater, and then at the bottom of her ocean of memory, you discover treasure. The moment you come up for air, your are reborn into a brighter reality. James enjoys running her themes on a washing machine cycle. Where she washes the experiences of the
Meet Michaellee James,
POET OF THE MOMENT Michaellee James was born on the island of Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies. She was an extremely ill, premature baby. Her circumstances greatly affected her early educational achievement. By the age of fourteen, she still could not read. Her years at primary and secondary school were, by any standards, very difficult, and most times she was deemed hopeless. With will and determination, the help and encouragement of her parents, siblings, and just one teacher who believed in her, she systematically achieved far above the expectations of her teachers and peers. Having overcome her early childhood impediments, she began working as a payroll clerk in one of the country’s leading methanol companies and subsequently attended the Valsayn Teachers College in Trinidad and Tobago. She was later awarded a Teacher’s Diploma and began her career as a qualified teacher.
Michaellee went on to attend the University of Westminster, where she obtained a postgraduate degree in Psychology and a Graduate Membership with The British Psychological Society. She was then appointed as a Visiting Lecturer in the Faculty of Education at the London Metropolitan University. Having acquired a keen interest in law, Michaellee studied at The University of North London. There she obtained a Bachelor (Hons) Degree in Education and also completed her postgraduate law degree. She successfully completed the legal studies needed to become a Barrister at Law in England and Wales while attending the Inns of Court School of Law. She was subsequently ‘Called to the Bar,’ and is presently a member of The Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn. Michaellee is devoted to her work in the field of education, and over the years, her contributions have made a difference in the educational achievements of numerous children. As an author and poet, Michaellee is original, precise, and compelling. Her observations and expressions are genuine and insightful, characterised by her rich West Indian cultural upbringing and her integration into life in London, England over the last twenty years.
“Listen to the seed inside me breath... â€? of wisdom, that are left in the wake of every poem. James never fails to offer you a new perspective on ‘tried and tested territory’. Whether it is discovering love, coping with the loss of a parent, betrayal of friends, or a cheating partner, or a parent persuading the teacher to teach her child, the end is the same with the all poems in I’M THINKING‌ - the sun always rises. The central message of this beautiful poetry book is that with hope- a brighter day will manifest. With I’M THINKING‌ you are surrounded in the elements, you are in the world, walking through the meadow of life. You walk with James, travelling briskly through Antonio Lucio Vivaldi’s Four Seasons of human emotions: love, transformation, triumph and challenge. James explains the roots of her inspiration, for her book: “I’M THINKING’, was derived from my personal experiences- which spans from childhood to adulthood, as I went down memory lane.â€? “My first poem ‘cold prickled floor’ got me to think, as to why I reacted to that situation in the way that I did.â€? “Poetry is a wonderful way to restock, for some it’s the beginning of the healing process, its therapeutic and so often provides a positive way forward for those moments, when
human soul, until all we are left with is the stubborn stain of truth. Continuously recycling emotions of joy, happiness, remorse, anguish, reflection and seemingly we are going round and round in circles, but actually it is never the same journey. She explains: “Yes, we are going through one stage to the next, we are moving from one situation to the other. But each time the blessing is that we learn something new, if only we are willing to face the truth and take the responsibility of the challenge that it brings.� “Mama lends me your shoes looks at the strength of my mother. Life was very hard, she came from a background from which her mother and stepfather were descendants of indentured labourers. Her father was an African and in those days for an African man to be with an Asian woman was unacceptable, so she was an outcast from the beginning. So she never had the love of her mother, but her heart was genuine and she had a sea of love that was endless.
X I’m Thinking – get’s you thinking about your own life, and can only be described as a real treat that leaves you craving for more.
AVAILABLE FROM: AutorHouse.com t Tel: 0800 197 4150 Amazon, Barnes and Noble. You can also order this title through your local bookseller or preferred on-line retailer. Paper back: Hard back: EBook:
978-1-4817-9660-6 (SC ISBN) 978- 1-4817-9677-4 (HC ISBN) 978- 1- 4817-9678-1(Ebook ISBN)
www.michaelleejames.com
A must for the Christmas Stocking From Trinidad to Tobago to London, Michaellee James’s poetry collection chronicles her experiences, meditations on life and death, and everything in between.
What the critics said:
James starts strong, with poetry
featuring powerful metaphors about reality versus what the observer wants to see Blue Link. I’m Thinking... is a rare collection of poems that explores common emotions and experiences that appeal to people of various age groups, cultural backgrounds, and social status. This new book of poetry artfully renders the
author’s struggles and accomplishments in her unique life circumstances. I’m Thinking‌ is a mosaic fitting together West Indian and English cadence. Clarion Review by Lisa Bower Relentlessly optimistic and tirelessly gracious. Kirkus Review