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Collected
Poems and Stories by Adam Donaldson Powell,
Cyberwit.net, India, 2005 pp. 175, $15,
81-8253-028-8
Adam Donaldson
Powell's Collected Poems and Stories
contains a number of outstanding poems having
"exquisite variety and varied
exquisiteness". In this collection, Powell
reveals an incomparable craftsmanship proved by his
classifying the poems into four different cycles:
Poetry Cycle 1 where the poet discovers the Magical
Tarot through verse, Poetry Cycle 2 is an admirable
and genuine effort of composing short stories
through verse, Poetry Cycle 3 is emphatically about
the Cretan myths, and in the final Cycle 4 though
subtitled "Notes of a Madman", we find no
trace of any kind of sensationalism.
Powell's
poem "Adjustment" is very thoughtful and
penetrative. The poet is well aware of "The
impartial Lords of Karma", and the path of
virtue is not a bed of roses:
Over the
heads of the righteous
Hovers the
pendulous blade of
The Daughter
of the Flaming Sword p. 17
"The
Hanged Man" is characterized by a spiritual
quest:
But he who
sublimates
Himself to
the Divine Plan
Recycles the
elements to the
Accompaniment
of Spirit. p. 21
This
yearning leads the poet to invoke "Energy of
the Divine", and the source of this energy is
present only in "the gaseous, primal roots of
\ The flaming triangle" ("Suit of
Wands"). Powell calls "the wise
journeyman" "to heed celestial
warnings" ("Suit of Disks"). The
poet is in quest of "divine light beamed from
\ The eternal flames of the sun" ("The
Sun"), "spiritual rebirth",
"the eternal vibrations of the Source"
("The Aeon"). He is aspiring
"toward that which \ Must be accepted on
faith alone" ("Notes of a Madman").
The most notable element in Powell's poetry is
his passion and hunger for eternity.
Even in
those poems where he is reconstructing the Cretan
myths, we find "the yearning of \ The soul
for individual expression"
("Prologue1"). The poet emphasizes that
"Treasures of Self-discovery" will be
revealed only to the "passionate" souls.
Powell's "pursuit of divine
retribution" is based on "faith
alone" ("Notes of a Madman" ). The
"glimpse of the Unknown" is made
possible only by "discovery of self"
("Mirror of Darkness"). There is in
Powell the keenest sense of uniting "the
Serpent" "with the Regenerative
Spirit" ("The Eye of the
Triangle"). Powell's poetry has a marvelous
quality of submitting itself persistently and
unflinchingly to the "Valley of Soul
making".
Powell's Collected
Poems and Stories also includes two wonderful
stories of horror-"Useless Occupation"
and "What Jonny dug up". The book is
dedicated to the memory of Tor Vågli (1949-2004)
and the countless Asian tsunami victims of 2004.
--Santosh
Kumar
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Collected
Poems and Stories by Adam Donaldson Powell,
Cyberwit.net, India, 2005 pp. 175, $15,
81-8253-028-8 For
his Poetry Reading in Argentina (In
Spanish by the author himself and translations
mostly by Maria Cristina Azcona )
Only
$15 
 Powell
is a multifaceted creator whose poems are enriched
not only by his capability in Literary meanings, but
also by his deep sensibility towards human problems,
nowadays society illness, joined to his bright
talent for visual arts. He has the privileged neuron
that allows him to play with his own sense of
aesthetics, as it was a children game. While reading
his amusing poetry, we find ourselves observing
reality from his point of view.
These
poems, from his book "Collected Poems and
Stories", which he is presenting to Argentine
public for first time, may be separated in two kinds
or groups, to be analyzed and commented.
The
First group is conformed by poems that are similar
to a modern, abstract painting,
Like
he does in "Green" where a mystery hides under
multiple images, colors and concepts. This mystery
is revealed at the final verse.
The
second group, which includes among others, The
Devil, Before the death of my love, Imagine and The
Prudent Cognoscente, presents us, at first sight,
techniques coming from Short Story like the abrupt
and unexpected ending full of an omnipresent irony.
In
the second reading, both groups present always a
philosophical content and customary social criticism
which depth leads us to Philosophical thoughts about
the meaning of existence
Powell's
work contains ironic humor, sharp criticism, the
clear idea and the divertimento of a short story at
the same time.
The
poem manages, in its mischief, to capture grotesque
of this Era, giving to our poetic palate a delicacy
more than a simple esthetic pleasure.
The
truth in an envelop of surprising originality: art,
beauty that is not other thing that authentic
poetry.
It
remains me of Ezra Pound's realistic style and, in
Spain, Francisco de Quevedo´s conceptual poetry.
The
most beautiful piece, to my understanding, is "The
Devil" in which the poet speaks to us, readers, he
orders us, he calls our attention, he prevents us of
that devil that exists, that is so dangerous sand
terrifying. The
poet frightens us with the Devil playing " To hide
and to find" games, petrifying us with its
threatening and unknown presence. Creates the
climate of fear of a terror story.
In
a magisterial synthesis, gives an impressive end
when he finally finds that devil in ourselves,
shocking us and forcing us to recognize the
wickedness that lives and hides in our human heart.
Here
the poet creates a personage, the Devil, that no
longer is the famous one but is a real, present
phantom, humanized, possible and burning, like the
fire of malice in daily life.
Originality
is a constant in Powell's poems, a surprising and
multifaceted artist who amazes us with his music,
his paintings, his poems, his humor and always with
his genius .He communicates himself in so many ways
and he revives in thousands of kaleidoscopic images,
that finally he gives himself the final luxury to
create a perfect and synthetic pearl of terror,
humor, beauty, social critics, universality and
creativity in pure state as he does magisterially in
the DEVIL.
--Maria
Cristina Azcona
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