The Invitation Paperback – November 24, 2010

Poetry must be approached gently with all our senses and faculties attuned to the melody of the words and the message behind them, because poetry speaks to all our senses in a language of its own; a language beyond the ordinary."The Invitation" invites us to a landscape within the author's mind, as she observes what is, and what might have been, in her profound and humoristic reflections about the ordinary and the extraordinary aspects of life.In "Past and Current Potential Lives" Joyce Åkesson tries to imagine past lives, and then she wonders how her life would have been, had she made other choices in life. Why do we make the choices we make?In "Traveler" there is a strong sense of loss. Loss of self, loss of autenticity, loss of joy?"I lost my sense of time.I lost sight of the railroad trackswhich led to my childhood's home."Some of the poems are expressed as hypnotic, almost drum-like statements,or as repetitive questions; as "Searching for a poem", "The Adventurer," "Eyes", "Intrusions","Complexities", "Longing", "Fire", "Drive", "Memories";while others like "Conflict" paints a Bergmanesque scene where the couple wonder if they will ever be able to love each other again.In "Questions About Love", "Some go and come", "The Secret Mirror", "Love's Essence" and "In Spinoza's World", Joyce Åkesson explores the eternal questions about the essence and the different aspects of love:"to be rebornthrough someone else-with eyes closed-"and how the world would look if we could not feel any deep passion."Love is the Master and the Path."In "Reflections", "Soul and Body" and "Possibilities" Joyce Åkesson reflects masterfully about life and "the awareness of living". "The Invitation" will leave you smiling, filled with awe and joy and wonder. It will invite you to look at life and love and everything in between a little differently and you will be very glad you accepted the invitation. Every time.L. Holm author of "Fairytales for Femmes" and "Clonehead; Once in Everland."

I never know what to expect when I pick up a book of poetry. I think good poetry is spare and simple, yet I hope it can make me think about important ideas. The Invitation does that. It's a small book that gave me a great deal to think about, and I enjoyed it very much. I highly recommend it and I hope to see more from Ms. Åkesson.

This was a wonderful read for me. The 53 poems drew me in with their different themes about what makes life worth living for, like the awareness, imagination, expectation, dreams, sublimation, encounters, interactions, drives and philosophical and mystical contemplations.I like very much these verses in The Art Of Living:"There is a talent in findingthe right information at the right time,a happiness in pleasing someone else.Love is the best teacher in this journey.It is simple:you take the initiative and throw the dice."In this book, I have found a new author to enjoy and I look forward to reading her other works.

I have to be honest...I usually don't like poetry. It seems that everyone thinks they are a poet, but few can pull off something worth reading. This book is the exception: these poems are exquisite. Reading this book is as relaxing as a cup of chamomile tea but as though provoking as a philosophy jam. Joyce tackles life's big questions and presents her philosophy via poetry.This is a must read for any poetry fan, especially those who are into deeper poetry (William Wordsworth comes to mind). And even if you don't much care for poetry, you won't be disappointed with this book.