Anima by Anna Casamento Arrigo is a beautiful collection of poems that speak about a life lived to its fullest, intently aware of the emotions of each moment, each feeling, expression, and action. Arrigo uses each word in her poetry purposefully with an acute awareness of her feelings and those of others. For example, Through Papa's Eyes, she speaks of a little girl watching her father drink himself into a stupor, the time he missed, the dreams he lost, and the waste of that lost time. A Small World is where Arrigo reminisces about a simple time when she only understood the world through her mother's stories. She yearns for that time before the war, before the pandemic, a time before she had to question everything or choose a side. In the poem Where Have The Days Gone? Arrigo reminisces about raising her children and the times of the kitchen sink baths.

Anima by Anna Casamento Arrigo is reminiscent of the past and the simple pleasures that make life worth living. Anima is absorbing, eloquent, and emotionally resonant. Arrigo includes poems about her emotional experiences of living with others, especially her children, her relationship with herself, her childhood memories, and her understanding of watching her parents live and how they loved. My favorite poem is Through Papa's Eyes, and the child's awareness of her father's alcohol abuse and missed opportunities or dreams. She wishes for something different for him. Anima is a beautiful collection of poems I loved reading.

After suffering a life-altering stroke, noted author and poet Anna Casamento Arrigo turned to writing as a form of therapy, finding poetry to be the perfect medium to express her innermost thoughts, fears, and desires. Anima is a thought-provoking collection of poems penned in her own unique vision and style. In this book, she delves into her own life as an inspiration to convey deep-rooted ideas and thoughts that every one of us has experienced to some extent. From metaphorical poems about dragons and unicorns to personal ones reminiscing about loved ones, each poem tells a different story while staying true to the overall narrative of exploring the varying facets of this extraordinary experiment we call life.

Anna Casamento Arrigo's poems are deeply personal yet somehow relatable. Stylistically, I found them to be a breath of fresh air with experimental structures and non-rhythmic verses. Some of them feel abstract, yet others have clearly discernable subject matter. The universal themes related to human desire, anguish, pain, love, anger, hope, and joy add a lot of emotional weight to her words as they make the verses provocative and highly immersive to read. Poems like "My Bipolar Mom" and "The Little Girl Survivor" find a way to pierce your heart and hit your very soul. "Intelligent Women Bore Easily" and "Time's Warriors" were two of the poems that stayed in my mind, and they were probably my favorites from the first read. Anima is a beautiful piece of work that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys poetry.

Anima by Anna Casamento Arrigo is a collection of interesting poetry that goes deep into the heart of the author, giving readers an insight into the author's feelings. Many of the poems are peppered with magic dragons, unicorns, and angels, as Arrigo tells in her poem Once Upon a Fairytale. Some poems carry the heights of the author's being, with an upbeat element that had me praising her, to the deepest darkness of her soul, and urging her to move forward to the beauty around.

As I read these poems, some I didn't connect with, and others I could feel the heart of the author because I understand what she was saying. I enjoyed her heartfelt feelings; small children, and as they grew, were written in several of the poems about life when the children were small. Through Papa's Eyes, as his little girl kept watch, wondering...and wondering. My Loves reflects on the things Arrigo loves and has loved in life. Reminders speaks of things here and now, and of things long gone. I could go on, but this is a small reflection of the poems in this collection. I don't read a lot of poetry, but I was drawn to the book by its intriguing cover, and I find that the beautiful cover gives a sneak peek of what's in the book. I am happy that I followed my instincts and chose Anima. I thoroughly enjoyed each poem. If you love poetry, or maybe you want to try a book of poems, I think you will find Anima to your liking.

Anima by Anna Casamento Arrigo is a splendid example of abstract poetry to convey feelings. Her words dance across the pages filled with desire, hope, loss, and tragedy. These feelings are so deeply personal yet you cannot stop reading. ‘Through Papa’s Eyes’ is a story about debilitating alcoholism and the effects it has on those around, especially a daughter looking to her father. In ‘Intelligent women bore easily,’ she plays with the idea that the intelligent woman is not swayed by the mundane but lives for the exciting and fascinating things this world has to offer. ‘Autumn Calls’ is a beautiful poem summing up everything that we have come to love about the season. You could almost see the leaves turn and the coffee brew. Then we have the sensual ‘Redbud’, a story of how two become one. These works are a peek into Anna’s world through her eyes and experiences.

Anima by Anna Casamento Arrigo is a special book to me. She is a stroke survivor and has used her creative skills to convey what she might not otherwise be able to. I loved the fact that you could listen to the poems as they were turned into songs on YouTube. Her poems are very deep and vivid. What you read is how she feels. The unicorns and dragons are just a part of a deeper story. Her work is inspiring and, for those of us with disorders and setbacks in life, it is living proof that you can use words to overcome any tragedy. Although her poetry might be abstract and modern, I do believe that everyone will find a favorite in her work. I recommend this book to lovers of abstract poetry.