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Songs for the Band Unformed Paperback – September 20, 2016

by John Passant (Author)

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'It's rare to receive a collection of poems that explore the possibility of rhymes in their form. These poems wear their rhymes lightly, and with grace, as they make their way through moods and movements, through the passions and anxieties of contemporary life.' - Jen Webb

'Here is a sublime collection of poetry, allowing us to reflect on humanity, in its nakedness, tenderness and brutality, carrying us from elegy, dirge, lament to triumphant symphony, from the minor fall to the major lift, with the well tuned dissonances and harmonies of the pen of John Passant.' - Mili Cifali, songwriter, composer, performer from the duo The Awesome

'This is a collection of work for our times, sometimes bleak, hard, gritty; but indignant, mobilising and marching against the bombs and profits of injustice. With politically charged insight and humanity, these poems reflect on what is, and softly invoke reflections on what could be, shedding light on the unformed future that we make.' - Tom Griffiths, Associate Professor of Comparative and Critical Education, University of Newcastle

Product details

Paperback: 86 pages
Publisher: Ginninderra Press (September 20, 2016)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1760411949
ISBN-13: 978-1760411947
Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 0.2 x 7.8 inches
Shipping Weight: 3.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 7 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #13,537,060 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #258248 in Poetry (Books)

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5 star		79%
4 star		21%
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7 customer reviews

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Dr Lex Fullarton

Unique

August 20, 2017

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

As unusual as its writer. This book challenges the reader. The contents are true to the label on the can. The writer provides the skeleton and leaves to reader to provide the flesh and finish. I should not imagine every reader seeing the same thing. A work of individualism.

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Tony

Confronting

December 4, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Challenge rhythms and metaphors, with sharp ideas

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Julian Cribb

'The legs of happiness are closed'

November 13, 2016

Format: Paperback

John used to tax our wallets. Now he taxes our hearts, souls, intellects with his poignant, searching, arousing verses. 'The legs of happiness are closed', but only for fleeting seconds until we find some other treasure and turn it, new-minted, in our questing palm to search its provenance. These are the verses of an older, wiser bard, freighted with sorrows as well as joys, with fury as well as lyricism, with subtlety as well as sentiment, with prophecy as well as remembrance. Here, he mourns the burning banners of a youthful zeal - there, augurs a darker world to come, summoning us once more to indignation, passion, rekindling the vital essence of our humanity. This is poetry you breathe, rather than read.

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Amazon Customer

A thought provoking experience

October 24, 2016

Format: Kindle Edition

I bought John's collection of poems today and haven't put it down since. The title's references to a 'Band' left me confused at first, and I thought nothing more of Bob's "orchestra" reference than a clever pun. Having read the volume, I now understand it truly is the best way to describe it.

John's poetry took me through a world of conflicting emotions formed by collapsing the barrier between self and society, tapping into the soul of an often cruel world. Embarking on this artistic journey placed me at the border of relating to the pain of an individual's experience, and empathysing with society through poems which captured the essence of societal issues, before increasingly blurring the borders between the two in a subconscious effort to magnify the broader contemporary issues at the heart of our personal struggle.

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Bill D'Arcy

Not so much a band, more an orchestra. ...

October 16, 2016

Format: Paperback

Not so much a band, more an orchestra. Not so much unformed, more life's outline. Herein lies a symphony to humanity, its movements capturing the tempo of our times.

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Sara

Five Stars

October 23, 2016

Format: Paperback

The most thoughtful, insightful and moving poetry that I think I have ever read - and re-read and re-read...

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Realistic Poetry International

Passant is definitely a poet-warrior; his weapon of choice; POETRY.

March 3, 2017

Format: Kindle Edition

This is the first time we have ever read Author John Passant’s poetry and it was such a unique experience, one that projects the reader into a world where truth isn’t always cordial and endings don’t always conclude with a happily ever after. So, if you are weary of the “politically correct” lies and promises…this book is for you!
The interesting metaphor, 'our bombs are love’, strikes our minds with explicit curiosity, wondering, what does it mean? When we first came across this compelling poem, admittedly, flashes of war tools, like explosives appear to almost fit the description...But where does love come in the picture, here?

Essentially, the quote/title is a message to differentiate “our” bombs between “their” bombs, indirectly referencing to the two opponents, one as 'liberators’ and the other labeled, 'the enemy’. Author Passant goes on to say, “our bombs are love, theirs are not…” convinced that bombing to protect ‘the people’ from ‘the enemy’ will ultimately lead to the pearly gates of freedom. Dramatically intense, political and controversial!

‘The legs of happiness are closed’, vents out some of the social imbalances the author perceives in a despondent tonality. Thick clouds of images symbolizing death, war, and bombs are inevitable to envision in this penetrating expression. You can hear a drift of defeatism emitting from the poet's words when he says;

“Today, tomorrow,
This is not sorrow,
But despair
Who cares
The legs of happiness are now closed”.

And this earnest and darksome poem is followed by similar poetry compositions, one being, 'The Grim Within’, a poem he wrote that was published in the Canberra Times the year of 1996. It's an abstract poem that confronts the reality of an inward darkness, hence, 'grim within’, which brings us to ask; within what? Interestingly, 'grim’ is personified and has the ability to 'grow its pain’, as if to feed on pain’s constituents. We can conveniently identify the grisly blackness of grim by the author's selective word choice, with throes, flames, sorrow, and “fire’s end” as examples.

Speaking of power words, we did notice a vivid pattern spread throughout the story of poems with themes centered on battle, pain, politics, freedom, and enemies, while on the other hand, concurrently offers compassion, reason, and validity for instances such as the sacrifice of lives at the expense of grievous war.

The cold picture of lifelessness freezes your heart in place in the poem, “Whose dead are these?”; a poetic illustration in which the author's piercing candid perception shocks you to the bone, as you envision several deceased carcasses, no name, no identification, thus referenced to as, 'these’. Alike other poems that we have read in this collection, the author uses a subliminal and indirect technique when making mention of the person(s) or group in the poem, however, provides enough detail for you to subjectively decipher between the subject, background, and underlying meaning.

One example of this that prominently stood out was, 'the prison that sets us free’. Examining this poem, we know that the subjects are almost accustomed to witnessing families in mourning and are in a predicament where even the rain comes down to soil their dreams and glasses of liquor 'fuel their brains’. The irony of this poem lives in the title of the poem; how could anything with the atmosphere or likeness of a prison have the ability to set anyone free? This has us our eyes streaming with enigma, curious to extract more ‘behind-the-scenes’ glimpses at the intoxicated men drinking to their earned stripes and badges of woes.

Passant’s concern for politics and how the topic affects society is reflected in the poem, ‘Oh we can’t tax the rich’, which he is not too happy about. Here is where we learn where the strong-minded author stands when it comes to economical strategies and apparently, showing leniency towards the millionaires and billionaires just isn’t the way. So, what is it? You’ll have to read Passant’s iron-fisted proposal to find out!!!

But we will say this, John is a wise mind that has seen a thing or two which contributes to his discerning mentality. His poetry speaks from his honest emotions, but also originates from first-hand experience.

Furthermore, it is nearly impossible to avoid absorbing the author’s resilient energy, especially after reading prize-winning poems such as, ‘We must not fail’. This is one of our favorite poems, recalling the haunting power of ‘grim’, discontent when considering the idea of regression and backtracking, saying; “…or shall we be Sisyphus falling back, rolling, rolling, rolling, past the past?; followed by a personal metaphorical confession – “I plant the seeds and everywhere grow, the weeds of yesterday…”; when observed, seems to imply the complete opposite of what the usual analogy “sowing seeds”, really means. In other words, a seed can bear good or bad fruit, in this case, we will presume the reference to weeds, dead grass, is a negative, and it's hard not to ask, why?

As we continue to read, we can't help but wonder if the author's profound and intense thoughts are responsible for a slumbering mind, as elaborated on in the poem, 'I had a poem last night’, where he tells the story of how he had conjured up the perfect poem, full of, fright and fear and fancy” until sleep decides to rob him of this incomplete masterpiece. This particular selection is artistic, clever, and easily relatable if you happen to be a scribe of poetry! But wait - there is more!

Passant includes a poem that reads and resonates as a victorious and powerful ode; “Poets are not generals”. In a sense, this poem establishes a concrete and distinguished difference between the roles of a general from a poet, which, boy, aren't there many! And we must say, out of the several poems Passant wrote specifically focused on the topic of poets and poetry, this by far, is the most impactful and also our favorite! Passant brings light to the fact that poets are exactly the complete opposite.

Unlike generals, poets do cry and typically refrain from tactical schemes and plots to get their point across. It is true, the fact that poets ‘inspire world's’, leading many from the dark, back into 'sweet freedom's space’. Besides the electrifying energy reflecting from this piece, it is a beautiful reality that genuinely captures the countenance of a real poet.

In summary, Author John Passant’s collection is bold, complete with heart-rending verbal illustrations, is mentally graphic, transparently reminiscent, haunting, and empirical. Taking into account the scenes his eyes have seen, distant ghosts from the past linger invisibly in the background of the author's mind, casting back the fogyish shadows from history. He is a passionate protector and a man of integrity, honesty, and respect, and demonstrates a deeper understanding of two inevitable essentials for any human being; life and death. Passant is a man of vision, but more importantly one of action; which in his case, is verbally, galvanizing the audience to fight their battles through the effectiveness and potency of words and poetry! So, John, we would like to say, marvelous work! Your statement providing background and insight into the creation of this book was such a valuable feature! Indeed, your mission is accomplished in this remarkable poetry edition. Bravo, Author!

We are privileged to rate Author John Passant’s book with 5 Stars!

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Songs for the Band Unformed Paperback – September 20, 2016

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