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New Way to Pack Rat

I have found a way to squirrel-away some of the charming review replies I have clogged my email space with over four-years' worth of time. I am placing some (edited) here.

That's very kind of you, truly. Its been years since I actually reviewed anything properly (since Uni) so I am actually glad that it was worth something to you. I certainly do enjoy reading but have very little time to write and
there is such talent in the reading available here that the pieces which I have written I am not confident or happy enough with to post at least yet! Maybe someday!!
Claire

You have pleased me to have written so eloquent a commentary on my piece. I assume you enjoy the reading available here, but I sense there is much you could write and share. So, I am saddened that you have no public portfolio currently. Someday?

On 11/23/2004 at 07:12:14, claireg wrote:

... From the Writing.Com Review and Comment System ...

> > You have just received the following private comment/review about
> > item #902054 entitled: "From the Shore"


Oh that is lovely!!

I think that Tolkein in fact doesn't give much emphasis on "the women" in general (I admit that I felt the increase of Arwen's role in the films as incongruous). He almost downplays the love of Aragorn/Arwen and her choice of "both the sweet and the bitter" as a small part of a greater story, which means that it is a part of the story with room for a lot to say!!.

Her lament is however very congruous, your images are very moving, Tolkein-ish in evoking her grief, her seperateness but most of all her enduring love for he whom she gave up so much to love. There is sadness in the elven style, but it is sadness tempered with glory of such a love, with acceptance and a hint of eternity unchanging in the change of the ages.


I loved this!

> > Claire

This next one is made all the more interesting by the fact that the piece I reviewed is no longer available in "Suze" port

In your review for "Invalid Item" you said:

I try not to be in a hurry when I read 'n review, nor be the type to read the shortest piece of prose simply because it is short. I often pick out one of the shortest pieces in someone's port first to give myself a benchmark for the author's qualities. I think if the author can grab you in an instant, with the solidness of his or her craft, then longer reads are likely to have that heft or better.

Such is the case with the piece, Regrets, bySuze seeking readers.
It's treatment can pull your thoughts a little further out on the topic of having children, or not having them in your life. Generally, discussions on the topic leave one feeling like it can only be looked at in black and white, an issue based on a choice. The voice in this piece doesn't make it definitive that it is a lifestyle choice, in fact it is stated: "They know that sweet cherub faces and puppies make for sales, and that’s all fine- other people don’t know my pain, they have to go on living and making money." I find clear communication, in these few lines, of an anguish that often goes unspoken.

I am also able to move right along with the mirror metaphor used. I only felt one instance of shake to the image created, and that's when the word "glare" is used. It is a glaring fact no one else shares her mirror image, but the tone of emptiness and the dark spaces it creates might've been employed one more time. In all other instances, the could-be children are described as "shadows." Of course there dose have to be a strong light source to make the shadows, so maybe I'm wrong.

In response to your review, Suze seeking readers (51)
sdodger

sdodger sends:

What an excellant review! So many reviewers simply say, "I like it" and go on with life. You gave it much thought and wrote a detailed account of how the piece reflected to you-- the reader. Well done, and thank you so much. Please come back and visit me again. Reading I'll save you space by the fire and you can stay as long as you like. Bigsmile

Finally, that a WDC Moderator would tell me I gave her a lovely review is beyond flattering for my soft soul.
-- This email is being relayed through the Writing.Com Review System. --

Writing.Com Review System provides a small textarea when emailing reviews to an item's owner. The individual may use that box to quickly respond to any reviews he/she might have.

In your review for "Two Laments" you said:

*Sigh* Blush
The perfect romantic irony. The fact that it has been classified as a lament is what drew me to it. I wrote a lament based on Tolkien's Aragorn and Arwen. But for form - by presenting both sides of the shared (unspoken)emotion - the poem here takes on such power. And it need not rely on long explanations - its simplicity also makes it strong from a readership perspective.

In response to your review, animatqua (139)
animatqua


animatqua's Portfolio!


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Email User: animatqua [Offline / Private]Add animatqua To My Authors sends:

What a lovely review!

You let me know I accomplished what I had attempted to do, and I really appreciate that.

Thank you so much for taking the time.