The Cellaring by Ken Allan Dronsfield Book Review

The Cellaring: Poems from a Darkling Side of the Shadowed Mind Paperback by Ken Allan Dronsfield

Information and Ordering  Amazon

The Cellaring by Ken Allan Dronsfield will keep you captivated by fear, excitement, gripping darkness and wit.  After each poem, I found myself saying WOW!

Ken is the master of imagery.  He, Sylvia Plath and Edgar Allen Poe altogether would have had their own poetry empire.  What I enjoy most about his poetry is the way the endings will surprise you, entertain you and having you sit up and take notice.

Ken also has a voice which allows for effortless ebb and flow with traditional style as in the poems Time Not Sleeping, Hounds Delight and many more.  It is rare to find a poet who can write this type of verse and make it work.  I truly enjoy this type of writing.  If you like Poe, you are going to love Time Not Sleeping.

Pink Flower (A Requiem For Death) is a beautifully sculpted piece sharing an eloquent message.  So many of the poems, if not all have creatively styled and subtle messages within the body of the piece.

The poem Down in the Cellar Behind The Axe I think is one of my favorite poems in this book.  There is a story within a poem that will grip your senses and with an ending that just takes you by surprise leaving you in chills.   Nocturnal Creeper is another such poem that tells a story with an ending that took me completely by surprise.  I loved these two poems.

I think I Died Today is the perfect example of Ken’s writing style. A story within a poem with the ending “I think I died today, I just don't know why” which leaves the reader with a question mark permeating their mind.

Another favorite is Diabolical Nature.  What is it about? It’s about the diabolical side of nature and a spider, mosquito and cricket. That is all I will say but you have to experience this poem.

Blissfully Waiting For Lithium’s Last Kiss – A superb write!!!

And from the poem The Deeper Wood, The style and imagery is second to none.

Dance by the fire, whilst absorbing warm desire within the fistula of life, a steamy purge of strife moving with a gallop through the life of a trollop cast spells in the dark, to a stars reddish quark. I am whom you think, wasting away in the stink; listening to "Lunatic Fringe", on tape in the parlor readying the knife, I'll dissect your wretched life within a dilapidated cottage of the deeper wood.

All of the poems in The Cellaring written by Ken Dronsfield tell stories within poems. Ken has the uncanny ability to incorporate imagery and metaphor in a unique and entertaining manner which envelops the reader within another realm. 

When I first began reading the book I envisioned myself reading the entire book over a few days.  However, I picked up the book and literally could not put it down.  Poets like Ken are masters at their craft and this book exemplifies the mastery of imagery and poetic expression.

Review by Joanne Olivieri

Stanzaic Stylings