Cold Hearted, Warm Hearted
by Stacey Barlow

Reviewed by: Nia Jones

"Inspired by the observance of life," author Stacey Barlow shared her views on love, life, and friendship through a collection of her poems titled Cold Hearted, Warm Hearted. After a swift glance at the table of contents one will be inspired and even eager to read the poems set within the pages. With powerful and intriguing titles such as "Back Satan Back", "Notice Me", "Fire", and "Shhh Listen" one will unjustly get their hopes up as these titles are possibly the craftiest lines written in the book.

Poetry in itself is an acquired taste to some and once you have that taste, you begin to prefer and expect certain things as a reader. I am a person spoiled by Baracka and Hughes, Angelou and Brooks as well as the rawness of the Def Poetry Poets, thus my standards for good poetry can be assessed as a bit lofty. With that said Cold Hearted, Warm Hearted was an alright read. Although many of the poems were a bit contrite, a few such as "Night Horses" do pull through to be substantial, thought-provoking pieces. Many of the ones that fell short of my expectations started off strong in the first few stanzas, but lost their pizzazz and oomph when it seems the author tried to force her pen. Poetry is as fickle as dynamite, one bad word choice and the message will be lost.

What did you like best about this book?
I liked that the book was separated into two sections; like it's title suggests, one section is more or less about the unsatisfying experiences in life and the second section is warmer and meant to be inspirational.

What did you dislike about this book?
I did not like the cover art. The design, color, font, and image choice should be reconsidered as it makes the project look like an amateur attempt. The price point for this book should be lowered, $14.99 for 33 poems, which account for a total of 48 pages is a bit pricey.

How can the author improve this book?
The author could improve the book by being more selective about the poetry she includes. Because there were poems included in this book that were substantial, it is apparent the author has the potential to create a better compilation is she were to be more picky and not over think or force her poetry.

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