A Man of His Word
by Melvin Williams
Published by Infinity Publishing(to come)
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Reviewed by Beth Cummings
Melvin Williams is a computer consultant and certified massage therapist. By his own claim, he is also a writer and a poet. His work is very personal and introspective and he claims that most of his inspiration comes to him at about 2:00 AM. Unfortunately, a large portion of it should probably never have seen the light of day.
A Man of His Word does contain some interesting work, particularly when Williams puts everyday activities into poetic form. For example, the first stanza of “Exam Day”
“Cramming information
into every minute and short crack
to prevent myself from
suffering a panic attack”
is a description that any student or former student can relate to. Another good line from “Work Week” says “Thank God it’s Friday/The weekend can end, if you blink too fast.”
I can’t say that I found his inspirational pieces particularly inspiring. The ideas seemed to be simply clichés. I found the entire section titled “Dear Love” to be too much like the ramblings in a personal journal to be interesting reading. Much of the poetry has similar problems – Williams lifts lines and phrases from “old” songs, speeches and other works by changing just a word or verb tense, i.e. “This little light of mine shines” and “All I wish for Christmas is you.”
Melvin Williams has succeeded in convincing me that he is a very nice person with some very pleasant ideas. I don’t think that makes his book worthwhile. If it were half as long, it might still be trying to say too much.
Armchair Interviews says: Heed this reviewer’s comments.
Author’s Web site: http://www.MelvinWilliams.com