See A Dream Within – A Found “Poe”try Collection

Have you ever read found poetry? It’s when you take a piece of writing and using the words in that piece, you create a poem! I did not know this sort of creative pursuit existed until David told me about his book.

Decades after his poetry and short stories were published in the early to mid 1800’s, we still respect, revere and admire the writings of Edgar Allan Poe, celebrated master of the macabre, suspense and horror.

Within this collection of found poems, David Ellis has examined the collected poetry works of Edgar Allan Poe and crafted new poetry that will move you and inspire you as much as the original works themselves.

In this book, you will find many new ways to appreciate the words of Edgar and his distinguished poetic works, as he influences a passionate poet who is keen to breathe modern day life into his magnificent words.

Poems like The Raven, Annabel Lee, Lenore, A Dream Within A Dream, Alone and many other literary gems are used as foundations that pave the way for a whole different kind of intimate poetic experience that will surprise you time and again.

For Poe fans, this collection is an essential purchase. Edgar Allan Poe may be long gone but within these pieces, his spirit continues to shine and live on.

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Why I chose to read See A Dream Within

Though I have never read any of Edge Allan Poe’s works or found poetry, when David approached me to read this book, I was interested in learning about both. I wanted to read David’s work and then find Poe’s original work from which David had created his poem. This academic style of reading and researching really appealed to me so I dived right in.

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Themes for Thought

This collection touches upon love, romance, loneliness, growing up, amongst other things. Two of poems that stood out to me:

• The Riddle – It made me think of how, even when we meet the right person for us, it is circumstantial for when we find them… the point in our lives that we are at. David has a beautiful way of describing this, inspired by Poe’s A Valentine.
• Those Heros – This one made me think about war heroes and their relation to the origins of the wars they are fighting.

Below, I’m going to look at the original poems that these two were inspired by and draw some parallels.

The Riddle

Based on Poe’s A Valentine which you can read here.

I found an in-depth analysis of this poem on Louie’s blog and learned that this poem has a secret message – the name of the woman that Edgar was in love with. As Louie explains, “The name of the woman who Poe is crazed about exists in every line throughout the whole poem, Frances Sargent Osgood. She was another great poetess who shares her secret affair with Poe through poems.”

Isn’t that neat?!

David’s poem, The Riddle, may be inspired by Poe and does have the sentiment of expressing love but its interpretation (due to the easy to read way it is written in) is much more personal. It made me think about the number of times we fall in love in our lives and every attempt to find someone we will spend out lives with is based on the present. We do the best we can and that means admitting later on that the person we chose wasn’t the best one for us.

Those Heroes

Based on Poe’s Hymn to Aristogeiton and Harmodius which you can read here.

Poe’s poem is based on the legend of Harmodius and Aristogeiton, (died 514 BCE), the tyrannoktonoi, or “tyrannicides,” who, according to popular but erroneous legend, freed Athens from the Peisistratid tyrants (course Britannica).

While Poe’s poem is about the war and consequences of fighting in the war with Athens and the glory that the sacrificed soldiers received, I really liked David’s take since it is more modern and relatable. Who are heroes ultimately? I am currently reading a series by Marissa Meyer which is brining up similar questions about who is a hero and who is a villain, and I find it interesting that David’s short poem brought up the same ideas.

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This was quick, relaxing, at times thought provoking read. I am thankful to the author for providing me a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. I would recommend fans of Edgar Allan Poe, and anyone interested in short poetry, to definitely pick up this collection.

** See A Dream Within is now out in stores so get a copy and let me know what you think! Let’s have a book-discussion! **
Amazon Print
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Cover image: Photo by Jeremy Thomas on Unsplash