Darkness, gloom, shadows, anxiety, passion, despair, dread, fear. All of these descriptive terms and feelings are brought to mind when considering Shadows Amongst the Threads. Here, J.A. Santana takes a deep dive into the spaces where that which lurks among the shadows is forced into the light. While the timeless world of poetry has no end of desperate pleas for love and impassioned expressions of grief, this compact collection moves down a less traveled path toward the irrational and unhinged. Highly decorated language and unexpected syncopation are used to create word pictures that will prompt a visceral reaction in readers, though just what that reaction might be is sure to vary based on personal experience. Santana spares no opportunity to explore the unexplored, unearthing subjects typically labeled as taboo or unacceptable. Although these ideas are often willfully obscured in the bardic composition, there is no mistaking the angst and animal instinct that radiates from the page. The constant struggle between our base inner desires, suppressed urges, and a learned sense of morality forms the basis of conflict and fire within this abstract collection.
Poetry is an evocative form of art that pairs a conscious rhythm with clever interplay of words to set the mood and convey an idea, emotion, or story that fully engages readers’ senses. Santana’s distinctive compilation may be startling and unconventional at first approach, but it certainly accomplishes the goal of cutting through to the heart. This is borne out in Tale of a Sleeper’s Mind. Ego, illness, inequality and the nature of truth are touched on in this compelling and fast-moving poem. Time Lapse is perhaps the most resonant poem, vividly depicting our inevitable march toward mortality as unstoppable, flowing waters. Throughout the collection, the verse is emotive yet disorienting, marrying well with the conflicted tone of the poems. Santana calls on mythology, psychology and the entire human experience to work through our very nature in this highly symbolic collection. A sense of wonder and yearning will fill audiences as they begin the dark poetic adventure, Shadows Amongst the Threads.
