and this was my Happy Ending

Kevin Staniec
ISM Quarterly (2006)
ISBN 097760070X
Reviewed by Cherie Burbach for Reader Views (3/06)

“And This Was My Happy Ending” is a small, artsy book with a cover, title, and subtitle (“when fate finds fiction anything can happen... a story of love from a man’s perspective) to pique a readers interest. The book consists mainly of stream of conscious poetry that intersperses with random thoughts, lists, letters, and photographs. It is a fast read – perhaps 10-15 minutes – and as the title of the book would suggest it is about a guy’s thoughts on love in which things, to put it simply, just do not work out.

“And This Was My Happy Ending” is creative, to be sure – with poem titles displayed as dictionary entries, and eight full pages that show photos of clouds the author has taken. The promise of this book hints at insight, however, much of the work does not reach the emotional level required to tug at the reader and leave a lasting impression of imagery. Still, I believe the world needs more poetry and the only way to make that happen is to support it. With that in mind, I encourage readers to investigate this work for themselves.

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