Author: Irwin Jack Nissman
Publication Date: August 28, 2013
Publisher: Outskirts Press, Inc.
Genre: Poetry
Pages: 176
Source: Paperback from Author
Rating:
Synopsis (from Amazon): New Poetry Book Evokes Whitman and Emerson, With “Leonardo da Vinci” Insight.
Born to generations of bookbinders, Irwin Jack Nissman was born into a love of books. He shares his talent for verse with all lovers of English, in his newly released collection, Preposthumous Poetry.
Yonkers, NY – Topics of every sort, for every sort of reader, abound in poet Irwin Jack Nissman's
Preposthumous Poetry.
Preposthumous Poetry.
The son and grandson of bookbinders, Irwin Jack Nissman was born into a love of books. At age 6, having read many volumes from the bookcase his mother had prepared for him, Irwin Jack Nissman's first creative inspiration was poetry.
The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, had propelled the United States into World War II, and a War Bond Drive had begun. Nissman’s first forays into poetic art were fortuitous contributions to the War Bond Drives, a poem with the slogan, “Buy War Bonds! Back The Attack And Never Slack!” The poem earned the six-year-old publication in The International Bookbinder. (The slogan proved so popular, it was used throughout the war!)
Brought up with a love of written and spoken words, Nissman would go on writing, as he had come to appreciate the power of his words to influence readers' thoughts and emotions. He had found his fellow humans to be remarkably receptive to poetry.
With Preposthumous Poetry, the author offers insightful and thought-provoking verses reminiscent of Walt Whitman, Ralph Waldo Emerson or Ogden Nash. Readers will be amazed by the range of topics covered in these tightly constructed rhyming poetic gems.
Irwin Jack Nissman spent nearly 40 years as an electronics engineer, originating many computer-based systems. His secure ID card patent inspired other inventors to create bankcards and ATMs. In 1993, he reinvented himself, studying Computer Science, earning Network Certification and another M.S. (in Math Education). From age 66 to 75, he served as a grades 7-12 math, sciences and technology teacher in New York City, and taught home-bound students for many New York State school districts. In 2004, he returned to his first creative art form – poetry.
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It's been a really long time since we've featured poetry on the blog, so I thought it was overdue! This book came with several inserts containing extra information for me to read through including the author's Mission Statement and a few Summaries. Mr. Nissman has clearly lived a full life of experiences and makes that prevalent in his writing.
First, let me touch on the format of this book. It is well organized, with each poem arranged into a respective category. These categories consist of:
America
Planet Earth and Beyond
Limitations and Complications
Observations
Musings & Reflections
On Loving Relationships
Edutrainment
Each poem is complimented with an explanation so the reader may be able to interpret the origins or inspiration for it. Although some of them are deep, the style of writing is very simple and easy to understand. They range from endearing to deep and Nissman even dabbles a bit into the absurd.
What I didn't like, and find to be common among poets, is the overabundance of wordiness, commas, and italics. It is almost to the point of being distracting and is often added fluff. I can see how it may echo what's in their minds, but it wouldn't hurt to rephrase and omit some things to get their points across more efficiently and effectively.
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