I received a copy of Akif Kichloo’s Falling Through Love for review purposes. As always, this review reflects only my honest thoughts on the book.
Falling Through Love
by Akif Kichloo
Publication Date: 5 November 2019
Publisher: Andrews McMeel
Genre: Poetry, Mixed Media
Falling Through Love submerges readers into Kichloo’s deeply personal yet widely resonant experiences, exploring relationships in their most exposed and honest states. Written in a variety of poetic forms—free verse, rhyme, prose, and visual poetry—Falling Through Love takes the reader on a poignant journey with the writer, about charting one’s own path in life, investigating failure, family dynamics, and love. Looking at life backward and forward simultaneously, this collection brings forth new perspectives on what it means to be alive, to have made mistakes, to have fought for an identity, to have loved and lost and then loved and lost again.
Andrews McMeel | Amazon | Bookshop
My Review
I was lucky enough to publish Akif’s poem, “Dreamers Dream Dreamers Do” in our very first issue of Nightingale & Sparrow. So, when he reached out to see if I’d be interested in reviewing his full-length collection, Falling Through Love, I knew I was in for a treat. Even still, this collection blew me away!
Reading Falling Through Love felt like what I imagine Alice felt like falling into Wonderland. It’s beautiful—almost overwhelmingly so. It evokes a remarkable variety and amount of emotions, and ultimately causes you to look inward towards yourself.
I started off on a particularly emotional note when I spotted the acknowledgements page, where N&S was noted as the initial publisher of “Dreamers Dream Dreamers Do.” It was the first time I’d seen my little lit mag/press noted in print beyond our own publications and it made me tear up a bit. To amplify the moment, Andrews McMeel is one of my favourite publishers. Really—I hope to have a book of my own with them someday!
Of course, this “perfect storm” was only the beginning. The poems and artwork throughout Falling Through Love create an emotional journey that you can’t help but relate to. In this book, there’s such a broad spectrum of pain, love, and everything in between—something will inevitably hit home.
For me, this was the poem “Elegy for Our Unborn Child — 1 & 2.” This particular piece struck me to the point that I had to put the book down for a moment to catch my breath. In fact, I needed to pause before continuing at several points. Akif’s work is truly powerful in that way. You’ll be doing yourself a favour in picking up a copy of Falling Through Love for yourself.
About the Author
Akif Kichloo is a Poet, Doctor of Medicine by profession, and Author of three full length poetry collections: Falling Through Love (Andrews Mcmeel Publishing, 2019), Poems That Lose (Read Out Loud Publishing, 2017) & The Feeling May Remain (Read Out Loud Publishing, 2016). A graduate of JU, Akif holds a bachelor’s degree in medicine and surgery.
Akif Kichloo started writing at an early age, having contributed for publications like The Huffington Post and The Wire. His poems have appeared in Glass, Fly Paper Magazine, Obra / Artifact, Sheraza, Nightingale & Sparrow, Homology Lit, Kissing Dynamite, Verse of Silence, and more. In addition, he was invited to speak at the prestigious TEDx stage at Christ University to present his talk Follow Your Confusion.
Amidst the uncertainties of this amazing, terrible, magical, horrible, yet beautiful, life, as he puts it, Akif Kichloo writes of love, grief, healing and self care, posting a couple of poems weekly to his various social media pages with a huge following of avid readers and poetry lovers from all over the world. You can follow him on Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest or Twitter @akifkichloo