Book Review: Bula, A. (2020). Poetry as Throne for Sentimental Reticulation: A Review of Andrew Bula's Turns of Thoughts. Abuja: Old Press

Abstract

This review article is a critical inspection of Andrew Bula's collection of poems, Turns of Thoughts (2020). As such, critical searchlights are thrown on poems as “Turns of Thoughts”, “Who Knows”, “Keeping Vigil”, “Love to Love”, “Wall Gecko”, “Far Out to the Woods”, “King on Fours in the Wilds”, “Trekking Home on a Windy Night”, ‘Presence and Space”, “Neighbour, Let’s Hate Hatred”, "Much Minuses & Little Pluses", "To Illumine our Rich, Fine World". In investigating these pieces, the aim really is to uncover the message and artistry of Bula's poetry. There are, of course, other pieces in the anthology that are simply mentioned in this review, without depth analyses. In such circumstances, the tendency is to liken them to other piece(s) or, quite simply, to take a cursory view of them. And then there is a showcasing of dominant literary devices as found in the poems as Rhetorical Questions, Paradox, Simile, Metaphor, Personification, Allusion, and Code Mixing. In the end, it is made out that Bula’s poetry is one of emotional elation and it reveals high moral awareness of, and gratitude to, important members of the public who have positively impacted society. Likewise, it is discovered that the poems also explore nature, love, and philosophical themes, while employing literary devices such as have already been mentioned.