Poetry Collection de Jolie-Laide - wanting to be lost within... [Paperback]

Diane Anjoue (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 5, 2006

Poetry Collection de Jolie-Laide ~ A collection of poetry filled with love, life, laughter and even heartbreak. "Jolie-laide" is a fascinating slang expression borne of the French. Literally it means "pretty-ugly" yet it describes an aspect of feminine beauty that is human, and not artificially created. It is a form of wonderful quirkiness implying charisma, a face you're drawn to, even if you can't decide whether or not it is beautiful....

Editorial Reviews

Review

Diane uses words like an artist - layering with delicate strokes. -- Scott Adelmann, fellow Lulu.com author, partner in PoetryCache.com, 28 Aug. 2005

It is this simplicity mixed with complexity that gives her poetry a unique sense of "comfortable elegance." -- Brian Douthit, author, editor, Internet Radio Station Manager and Amazon reviewer, 07 Nov. 2005 ,

She has an admirable personality and her work is straight from the heart- -- James Lagoski, fellow Lulu.com author, 29 Aug. 2005

From the Publisher

"The word ‘lulu’ is an old-fashioned term for a remarkable idea, person, place or thing, and Diane Anjoue and her work certainly fit that description," said Henry Hutton, Director of Operations, Lulu.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 89 pages
• Publisher: Lulu.com; second edition (January 5, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1411644751
• ISBN-13: 978-1411644755
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,262,008 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Is Tusa Mo Gra De Mo Chroi", October 25, 2006

By 

Rebecca*rhapsodyinblue* (CA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Poetry Collection de Jolie-Laide - wanting to be lost within... (Paperback)

"Each refreshing drop
and its endless source
reminds me of you,
proffering infinite care
and encouragement, selflessly.

Helping to cleanse
my heart of pain
and sneaking in a smile." ~ Ritual Cleansing ~

I truly enjoyed reading "Poetry Collection de Jolie-Laide - Wanting To Be Lost Within," a collection of poetry written by Diane Anjoue, whose poems are thought-provoking and reflective of all aspects of life, love, laughter and heartbreak. What made this collection so special is her use of foreign words that add up to the magnificence and "it-factor" to her beautiful poetry.

Here are some examples:

"Mianzi" (a Chinese word which represents the inner dignity that is possessed by every human, which all others dealing with its possessors are duty bound to uphold, and neither to threaten nor to challenge - roughly translated as "face").

"Actions misconstrued
misinterpreted,
written thoughts
twisted for pleasure
turn to broken words." ~ Mianzi ~

"Rou" (Chinese word meaning soft, tender and gentle)

"Soft and tender
the moments saved
true and lasting.
A timeless romance. ~ Rou ~

"Is tusa mo gra de mo chroi" (an Irish phrase, which means "You are the love of my heart")

"It is love turmoil and love ecstacy all in one.
It is pain and yet joyous, so distant and yet so near.
I sit thinking about how my heart is breaking
Yet overflowing with yearning to come home.
Tears pool in my eyes and cloud my sight, as
You take my hand across the heavens, drawing me close
And you whisper to me "is tusa mo gra de mo chroi." ~ Aria of Endearment ~

Being a lover of poetry, I have collected a good number of books on poetry and have written poems and free-verses myself. I do it if and when the spirit-to-write moves me usually on my sleepless nights into "the wee small hours of the morning." And I find Ms. Anjoue a very serious poet who has a unique gift of words and her poetry is very interesting and yet sometimes intriguing. Her mind's eye goes beyond and above par in creating poems that are expressive, heartfelt and evocatively written and this book is a perfect representation of how good a poet she is.

"Across the miles, keys rhythm click
the dips, she sways, tongue in cheek
a night-sworn soundtrack, their musical.
Feathered fingers, quickstep light,
they promised to meet again." ~ A Tango of Two Cities ~

This book is an absolutely beautiful work of art and an ideal gift to someone who shares your love of poetry. With this book, I was introduced to a remarkable-poet-in-the-making. I'll definitely look forward to more of her works.

With my heartfelt recommendation for your reading pleasure.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thoughts and Words and Emotions from Both Sides of the Pain Threshold, April 13, 2006

By 

Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Poetry Collection de Jolie-Laide - wanting to be lost within... (Paperback)

Diane Anjoue. Remember the name and read this collection of short poems: she is a fine new voice. In this disparate collection of thirty-one poems Anjoue manages to open the windows of memory and expectations, of grief and anger, of crescendo and diminuendo that mirrors the manner in which we all traipse through the world of love - won, lost, and draws.

Often collections such as this can wax superfluous because the author maintains a unidirectional stance. But not Anjoue. Each of the poems feels as though she has entered the minds of as many different women as the number of poems she composes. No, they are not dissimilar in style or content: they are simply and consistently unique, passing the wavelengths of both sides of the threshold of pain - exhilaration to annihilation - that love commands.

Yet beyond the fact that these are poems about feelings and scars, these are writings about descriptions of times and places, moods and atmospheres, dreams and realities and Anjoue's word paintings are fully focused, if Impressionistic. In TRAVELING LIGHT she begins 'I love the rain, but/ it usually chaperones/ my tears,/ I never lack for those.' Immediately we are at her side, knowing her well before she even shares the 'why' of it all.

Contrasts. I suppose that is the operative word here. Seeing life and love from both sides and from within. These are tasty morsels, these poems, and we can only hope there will be more! Highly Recommended. Grady Harp, April 06

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars (3.5) "Within you I lose myself, without you I find myself wanting to be lost again." (Anon.), April 21, 2006

By 

Luan Gaines "luansos" (Dana Point, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Poetry Collection de Jolie-Laide - wanting to be lost within... (Paperback)

"Jolie-laide" is a French expression that implies contradiction, literally "pretty-ugly". For this poet, the words are seductive, "a wonderful quirkiness implying charisma", the poems reflecting both seduction and ambiguity. Indeed, the works include myriad contradictions, love won and lost, regretted:

"Wake up and sip the hemlock...
dull the pain and accept love's demise.

Spread your wings, bare your heart
Teach me a sorely needed lesson." ("Redeemed and Justified?")

There is a sense of opposites, that while love wallows in its charmed existence, its twin, loss, waits in the wings, prepared for the next act:

"Yet being strong is not enough
when my heart opens without pause;
for as the notion of reality invades
my dreams, I'm left numbly wide awake." ("Bel Hevi")

Reading, one cannot help but be caught by the essence of a woman on the cusp of despair, her honeyed words fanciful, joyous, preparatory, followed by tears, anguish, rejection. She is the pursuer, offering bounty, but left to ponder in the morning light what pain her romanticism has wrought:

"Used up and damaged, worthless;
she has naught to bring him. Yet,
he's offered more than he deserves." ("Tempered Anguish")

Sprinkling in cultural references ("wabi-sabi", "Sassafras Bitch") and the occasional line in French, it is difficult to intuit these poems, each new ecstasy burdened with the requisite payment in anguish. Truly, amour is laced with danger for the romantic, highs followed by throes of despair and the burden of tears. Certainly jolie-laide is evoked, too few the moments of contentment without drama. Luan Gaines/ 2006.