Observational Expressions of Humanity
(Written Winter 2008-Summer 2009)
This poetry collection was published as a book in June 2010, and can be ordered from amazon.co.uk. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Observational-Expressions-Humanity-L-F-Whetstone/dp/1450051472/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1325863012&sr=1-1 )
Observational Expressions of Humanity is a wistful, evocative yet uncompromising collection of poems from an exciting new young talent.
Liam Whetstone reflects on the human spirit with a quiet intensity. He is clear that there is something seriously amiss in the way humankind responds to the gift of life.
The collection is based on the writers, poets, songs and popular culture loved by Liam such as television programmes, movies and albums. His list is wide ranging including Dostoevsky, Primo Levi and Steven Hawking to movies such as The Reader, The Queen and The Italian Job. FaultyTowersand Only Fools and Horses appear in his television list alongside albums by Joy Division and Manic Street Preachers. Offered then is a close up on poems and lyrics by artists such as Nicholas Wire, Ian Curtis and Richard Edwards.
To be sure there is a dark spirit threading its way through poems such as Progression and Internal Examination but there is wit and fun too expressed in Spring Cleaning and A remedy for Disappointment. Above all there are wise notes on identity in Boxes and Lists and on serenity and peace in the Poem by that name.
A beautiful collection – a poet to look out for.
Maggie Roux
Lecturer,Leeds Trinity University College
The Current Title—How catchy is it? How well does it convey the information in the book?
Observational Expressions of Humanity
By Liam Whetstone
This title is catchy and it conveys the information within the book. This is an intriguing title, and I feel that this title will draw readers in nicely. The readers will want to know exactly what this title means.
What is the power of the opening 3–5 sentences?
From here to there
But where do we mean
Life is not a ladder
To climb
It is a mountain that
Is continuously growing
The opening sentences are powerful. These sentences set the tone. This is an excellent beginning. The readers’ curiosity will be piqued.
Dialogue (if any)—Describe and comment.
The dialogue is smooth flowing, natural sounding, and appropriate for the target market.
The readers will have complete understanding of this entire book.
Conclusion
Overall, I enjoyed each poem. These poems contain very real concepts in which many individuals ponder about. Many, many readers will benefit from reading these entries. Liam Whetstone understands what a reader wants and needs from poetry. These entries are thought provoking and well versed. I am impressed with his writing style.
Cynthia Sherman
7/20/2010
Apologues from the Mind of an Existentialist
(Written During 2010)
(This collection is to be published jointly with Wandering the Avenues of Life as a double collection, and can be purchased from amazon.co.uk http://www.amazon.co.uk/Apologues-Mind-Existentialist-Wandering-Avenues/dp/147095995X/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1325863012&sr=1-2 .)
The title and epigraph to this collection suggest a poet who lacks neither ambition nor self-confidence. Reading the poems is to be struck by the boldness with which difficult subjects (self-harm, sin) are tackled, while the scaffolding of mainly existentialist philosophy supports a willingness to adopt positions of an aggressive outsider who approaches ethical issues from the perspective of an individual standing boldly alone, with only the self and its perceptions to enable life to be coped with. So these are ambitious poems and a feeling for the striking phrase suggests considerable potential.
Dr George Parfitt
Reader in English Literature (retired)
University of Nottingham
Wandering the Avenues of Life
(Written December 2010-February 2011)
(This collection is to be published jointly with Apologues from the Mind of an Existentialist, and can be purchased from http://www.amazon.co.uk/Apologues-Mind-Existentialist-Wandering-Avenues/dp/147095995X/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1325863012&sr=1-2 )
Notes on What Lies Beyond the Garden Gate
This new collection of poems will appear on this website at the beginning of January 2012
(Written 2011)
This is my fourth poetry collection, these 55 poems were written during 2011. The tone, themes, style and topics covered in this can be best described as left wing and humanist without being fanatical.
I believe that everything is there to be questioned and discussed without individual thought and discussion there can be no progression in modern society. It is my belief that poetry is a medium through which opinions, emotions, feelings and observations can be communicated. It is also a means through which specific topics and levels of social circumstance can be brought to the attention those willing to listen. Although I do like sentence phrasing and lines that catch the attention of readers. I am more interested in the content and messages contained within my poems. This collection will be available to read on this website.
The Inmates Should Be Running this Asylum
(Written 2013)
This is my fifth collection of poetry, the intended meaning of the tittle is as follows. The earth is an insane asylum run by corporate gangsters (no metaphorical meaning intended). The inmates are the wrongly victimised citizens of the world, the word inmate is used here in a tongue in cheek way. However you may have your own interpretation of the significance of the tittle. The inspiration for the title comes from three films, One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, Girl Interrupted and Quills. Some of the views expressed in specific poems are inspired by these films. All three of these films are set in mental institutions in my view it is the doctors and nurses in these films that are insane not the inmates. I hope this explanation is clear.
The inspiration for these 52 poems comes from significant events in culture, books, films, sitcoms and that most superior medium conversation. The ambiguity in some of the lines in the verses is completely deliberate I would like to present the reader with the challenge of picking through the fog of my thought process. This is the fun of reading poetry as opposed to prose. It would not be as fun for the reader if I laid out the contents of my mind on a plate. Some of you will also notice the sarcasm and satire in several of the poems.
The Inmates Should Be Running This Asylum
(this fifth collection of poems is available to read on this website )
Echos From the Catacombs
The Wisdom of an Alien from the Planet Nice
The Innermost Core
Liam Whetstone 