Review of Small Town Kid by Frank Prem

On By Mick CanningIn Frank Prem, poetry, Review, Small Town Kid, writing

Small Town Kid (Frank Prem Memoir Book 1)

I have enjoyed Frank’s poetry ever since I discovered it a couple of years ago.

Small Town Kid is a book of poems about growing up in a small town in Australia during the 1960’s and 1970’s. The town is provincial, the way that small towns invariably are, where everyone knows everyone else, and everyone else’s business.

In those days, a small town was very different to a small town today, now the internet and social media have changed even the slow-paced life of these places forever. And so those of a certain age will recognise many of the situations and much of subject matter of these poems, while to those much younger they may well seem almost alien.

Rich in emotions, as well as in visual detail, we listen to Frank describe experiences such as hunting rabbits, letting off fireworks, and going on picnics, turning his nose up at his mother’s cooking and enjoying his grandmother’s cakes, suffering school and returning home at the end of the day. We find ourselves both observing and participating in the day to day life of his town.

This could be any small town, and any child. If you could extract the peculiarly Australian nuances and replace them with others, the poems might be about a small town anywhere and any child who grew up in it.

The poems are presented in an order showing the boy growing up from his earliest years through to reaching young adulthood, taking the reader on a journey alongside him.

And they have that power, that they transport you there.

Frank writes sparingly, knowing like an artist when to stop. But everything is there, and the writing invariably has beauty no matter what its subject matter.

Unhesitatingly, I give this book five stars.

You can find more of Frank’s poetry on his blogsites:

https://frankprem.wordpress.com/

https://seventeensyllablepoetry.wordpress.com/

27 thoughts on “Review of Small Town Kid by Frank Prem”

  2. Sounds like a fascinating collection Mick. That small town world has completely disappeared here now hasn’t it? A real shame in a lot of ways but it guess its progress and young people have more opportunities etc now. Seems sad though.

    Liked by 2 people

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  4. Hi Mick.

    Thank you so much for a wonderful review of Small Town Kid.

    Thegreyeye makes the point that we know and are in touch with each other only through the good graces of modern communications, and that is completely true.

    The world is a conundrum, but I wouldn’t miss a moment – then or now – for quids.

    Thanks again.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. You’re welcome, Frank. I’ve enjoyed the collection hugely. And yes, it’s a conundrum, it’s a trade-off, it’s a balance. It’s all of those things and more. But I’m reminded that technology, like anything else, isn’t intrinsically either good or bad; it’s only the uses made of it that are.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  8. Pingback: Review of Small Town Kid by Frank Prem — Mick Canning | Frank Prem Poetry

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