Why You Should Read '7 Shades of Love' by Daniella Blechner

7 Shades of Love: Daniella Blechner
Poetry Anthology
Conscious Dreams Publishing 2014
Available on Kindle (Price: £2.52)
(Did you know you can download a Kindle free from Amazon?)

Book Review:

7 Shades of Love by Daniella Blechner is a collection of poems written by international contributors; women and men from England, Jamaica, USA, Malaysia, Canada and Kenya . The collection includes contributions from authors that express their perspective on love in their own unique style. 

Whether you like poetry or not, you will be in for a treat; 7 Shades of Love is much more than a poetry collection.  What attracted me, apart from the striking book cover's image and poems, was the 7 shades, which turn out to be the colours of the rainbow and each colour, from red to violet, leads you beautifully and smoothly into each section of the poems.

From the book's introduction, which not only puts the book in context, through to the captivating poetry from many of the contributors, including Daniella, who showcases her own poetic take on love, this book is a gem. As soon as it was released in September 2014, I was eager to download a copy on my Kindle. 

The book's unique quality of exploring the subject of love in 7 shades of colour adds a fascinating layer to the question of what is love? As well as exploring love through colours, Daniella delves into their associated meanings through both Eastern and Western traditions and beliefs. 

7 Shades of Love also provides fascinating and inspiring information about Chakras - there's much to learn - which adds a spiritual element that is rather uplifting. Positive affirmations that provide a soothing page break between chapters remind us of how using 'I' language provides a simple way to stay lovingly and positively focused on ourselves.

I liked 7 Shades of Love a lot.  This collection has something for everyone. You can dip in and out of the wonderful poetry, absorb the information about colours and Chakras and be uplifted by the positive affirmations.

In terms of poetry, there were two that stood out for me: Kate Robinson's Unconditionally was a lyrical delight:

don't love with conditions
and parentheses and quotation marks
and doodled brackets around the reasons
why today you love him but tomorrow you are unsure...

(Excerpt from the Violet Section)

Tamera Malya's thought-provoking poem The Eye drew me right in:

You gave me the eye the other night.
Looked me down hard.
The air between us cracked for a hot moment
with a bolt of ambiguous desire...

(Excerpt from the Orange section)

Daniella Blechner is a South London based writer/director whose real writing journey began by writing comedy sketches for Youth Project Phenomenon '98 featuring Gina Yashere and Richard Blackwood.  She has always been a keen writer and penned her first book All The Happy Animals and Lucille and her Great Adventure at just 8 years old. 

For more on Daniella Blechner