Description
Angela van Breemen is a Canadian poet, novelist, and musician whose work explores empathy, connection, and the natural world. This body of work encompasses the beauty, resilience, and power of the natural world and Gaia’s enduring grace to heal, even after humanity’s neglect. It explores love, hope, and the darker emotions that define our human experience, revealing both our fragility and our strength. Finally, it reflects on how culture, migration, and art shape our identities, reminding us that creativity and tradition flow through us as naturally as breath.
In praise of Whispers in the Dancing Wind:
‘Embark on a journey within, where the poet’s heart bleeds through every line and her hope for humanity and Mother Earth will have you reading these poems again and again.’ – Mike Madill, Award Winning Poet
Reader Views –
It’s rare to find a collection of poetry that shares a new perspective about Earth, nature, and the seasons. In the poetry book Whispers in the Dancing Wind: Poetry Collection by Angela van Breemen, readers will get to enjoy poems celebrating nature and the seasons. There are also poems giving voice to our dying Earth, with pleas for care and healing. Some poems introduce readers to brief snapshots of the author’s lost loved ones, as well as poems that speak of political turmoil and an addiction to electronics. No matter what the poems are about, however, they are all written so well, and the author arranges the poems in each part of the book in a way that provides a satisfying reading experience.
Part One is titled “Mother Nature,” and it includes poems about the Earth, nature, and the seasons. All of the poems van Breemen writes about the seasons are enjoyable to read. She doesn’t write about winter very much, nor is it included among the other three seasons in the poem “Cycles.” She writes lyrical verse about autumn in her poems. In the poem “Fall’s Hot Flashes” on page 31, she writes:
I have come to the conclusion that fall
Is behaving as if it’s menopausal
She goes on to prove this by calling fall “an unpredictable season” in another part of the poem. It is almost appropriate to see autumn as a menopausal season, as it borders on the last season of the year: winter, the crone season that harkens the end of a year. I love the poem “Winter Solitude” on page 34, a poem with lines like:
Is the snow so innocent
Or does it conceal an unknown blight?
Should I fear what it reveals
When the warm winds come?
Will it uncover a charred barren landscape?
Or will it be as it always was?
Verdant with life
Part Two, “Human Nature,” is about our emotions and our relationships with people. Most of the poems in this part of the book are ones which the author wrote specifically for someone in mind – a parent, sibling, or friend – but there are also poems here which readers may be able to relate to. There are poems about friendship, nature, COVID, and parenthood.
I especially liked the poem “Ode to the Maple Tree” on page 55, a love letter to a favorite childhood tree. It seems that there is usually always one favorite tree from childhood, that one tree we just can’t erase from our memories. And here the tree is written about lovingly, with lines like:
This tree
Filled with memories
On sunbaked days
Climbing it, hugging it
Encircling my arms
Around its thick trunk (page 56)
Part Three, “Second Nature,” includes poems about life. “The Nirvana of Music” on page 112 is one of the poems I really liked. The author does so well in bringing the scene of a club to life, with lines like:
A murmur of soft voices
Blended with those boisterous
Energy infused expectation
Musicians on stage
— And —
The music begins
Unnoticed by the crowd
Soon the notes permeate the room
Heads raised in surprise
Lost in a primal rhythm
Transfixed by the music
Trancelike gaze far away
Angela van Breemen’s Whispers in the Dancing Wind is an unforgettable and beautiful collection of poetry celebrating the Earth, nature, life, love, and family. The poems in this book speak to the soul and soothe the heart, offering kind words and gentle musings about the important things we cherish while on this planet. Capturing the beauty of friendship and the strength of emotional bonds, these poems are sure to be enjoyed by readers who love poetry, focusing on the things so often left unappreciated and unnoticed.