THE BEST OF 'LOVE AND LIES'

 


The essence of poetry is being able to capture moments with as few words as possible. Unlikely lengthy novels, which slow burn through meaty description to their inevitable ends, poetry is the mere bone of an idea. And it can be quite chilling how the words can sit under your skin adamantly.

No poetry rings more true to this than the "Love and Lies" anthology by Kwanele Sifunda. 

The 130-poem anthology (refreshingly large for books in this category) contains work that made us feel both blissful and disconcerted at surprising times. Here is a little scrap-book post of some of some of our favourite verses from the book:

POEMS ABOUT LOVE

The book starts off on a sweet note. We felt a little high on the love drug during this pretty part of the book!

 

page 7 - Love and Lies by Kwanele Sifunda


page 12 - Love and Lies by Kwanele Sifunda

page 23 - Love and Lies by Kwanele Sifunda

POEMS ABOUT HEARTBREAK

The flow of the verse gradually twists (so subtly that it's a shock when it's finally realized) into poems about heartbreak when this pure love is betrayed.

page 27 - Love and Lies by Kwanele Sifunda

page 31 - Love and Lies by Kwanele Sifunda

page 43 -  Love and Lies by Kwanele Sifunda


page 56 - Love and Lies by Kwanele Sifunda

POEMS ABOUT BEING THE HEARTBREAKER

It's a delicious 'plot twist' - if poetry can have such a thing! - when the verse shifts again. This time the poems are about the inner thoughts of someone who has become a careless lover.

page 76 - Love and Lies by Kwanele Sifunda

page 74 - Love and Lies by Kwanele Sifunda

POEMS ABOUT FAMILY, SOCIETY, AND HOPE...

Fair enough, the turn the book takes next is a bit ambiguous when it attempts to now visit a sort of 'character backstory' (but naturally there are no actual backstories or characters in poetry anthologies.) But it doesn't detract from the reader experience. The poems become excitingly miscellaneous - every page turn becomes a surprise!

page 86 - Love and Lies by Kwanele Sifunda

page 99 - Love and Lies by Kwanele Sifunda

page 95 - Love and Lies by Kwanele Sifunda


INTERSPERSED ILLUSTRATIONS

You would have seen from these little cutouts that some of the poetry is illustrated. In the trend of modern poetry, a great part of the delight is the accompaniment of line drawings. We don't want to spoil the surprise. After seeing these, there's more than 100 poems in the book you have yet to explore. Go on and enjoy it all with fresh eyes.

WHERE TO PURCHASE THE BOOK

The book is available at the following purchase points:

Paperback: Available in RSA only

The KREST Online bookstore: Love and Lies by Kwanele Sifunda at R180

eBook: Available  worldwide

The KREST Online bookstore: Love and Lies by Kwanele Sifunda at R60


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