Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Pieces of Heart and Soul!

How rewarding it is to get a review from a reader who is not only a truck driver who has seen most of the continental US through her work--but a poet and author as well! Cindy J. Smith, the author of Voices In My Head and They Won't Shut Up, has just posted her awesome review on Amazon and Goodreads for my book, Twisted:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pieces of Heart and Soul!July 30, 2013
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Twisted (Paperback)
This is a collection of 4 short stories, each with an unexpected twist! Uvi has again shown her mastery in the writing field. The stories are all told first person and you can tell that Uvi has left a piece of herself in each of the characters! A beautiful sampling of artistry to be visited again and again. Darkness and hope abound! 

Her art work also shows what a talented woman Uvi is! Amazing!

In the first story, I Am What I Am, we meet Job's wife as she tries to deal with the Satan attempting to keep her name. The dialogue between them is pointed and you are easily drawn into the discussion.

I Am Woman, lets us become a piece of clay that is being molded into a woman. We can feel, as Uvi does, the loving creator's hands.

The Hollow takes you to a place where your ideas of reality are brought into question.

The One Who Never Leaves is a haunting story about the life of a cat.

Uvi also shares a poem, Dust, which is told by both a man and woman's point of view as they share their feelings with us.

He:
"If shadows peel and lift away
If ever you break free
From my embrace
If you catch sight of me
In light of day--
Go... Leave me here,
My Grace,
In my debris--"

Their love and doubt is felt so deeply!

This is a true masterpiece! Kudos Uvi! Keep sharing yourself with us!

Monday, July 29, 2013

Fascinating and Deeply Involving Prose and Poetry

Back to back reviews, last night and today, for Twisted! How much fun is that!
Sheila Deeth is a top 1000 Amazon reviewer, and the author of several books of biblical fiction. So I truly value her opinion about the biblically-inspired hell in my book, and am thrilled that she focused on the woman's voice expressed in my book. 
5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating and deeply involving prose and poetryJuly 29, 2013
This review is from: Twisted (Kindle Edition)
What is woman? Uvi Poznansky's four curious tales in her Twisted collection find various answers to this question. Is a woman denied existence if we hide her name, or if we define her just by relationships to man? Does the female sculpture come first or second to the creator's hand? Does death create, destroy or preserve, and can imagination fly?

A haunting story of Job's nameless wife starts this short collection and sets the tone. With pleasing plays on words and history, evoking intriguing shades of Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, the author renders the Biblical story of Job into a timeless world where Job's wife stands in need of a name.

It's not hard, after these pleasing Biblical allusions, for the reader to identify with a slab of clay in the next tale and share its search for the creator's purpose. But the slab is woman and the purpose is filled with beauty and pain.

From lilting poetry to feline's fearsome claw, these pieces draw the reader in, enticing with intriguing depths and surprising with sudden light. Twisted, puzzling, but perfectly put together, the collection has the feel that it was meant to be this way, no random grouping of fiction but a twisted exploration that turns and returns this reader to the singular question: What is woman?

Disclosure: The author kindly gave me an ecopy of this book with a request for my honest review.

Sunday, July 28, 2013

The Sharper The Perception--The More Complex The Interpretation

Oleg Medvedkov is the amazingly gifted author of quite a number of humor books such as Take a Break & Have a Laugh Series. Passionate Mind-Control Worms, The Dragon Who Loved Water Lilies and Other Funny Stories. He is also a top Amazon reviewer (with an incredible ranking of 300.) I am greatly honored that he posted this review for Twisted:

5.0 out of 5 stars The sharper the perception--the more complex the interpretationJuly 28, 2013
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Twisted (Kindle Edition)
This book, "Twisted," is a collection of stories that give a feeling of being painted on the page. When you read them, come loser to see the touches of the brush and then stand afar to see the whole picture. Then, turn away and savor the after-taste before looking back to make sure you have really seen all of it.

In her potent style, Uvi Poznansky weaves mythology with modernity in "I Am What I Am." Elevators and high heels are mentioned together with camels and sheep in what might have been a retelling of a Biblical story. Yet, this is far beyond any retelling or re-imagining. Trying to find an answer to a seemingly simple question "What's my name?" the Wife of Job moves through emotions and the labyrinth of logic to arrive to a conclusion that will surprise the reader and is open to a slew of interpretations.

"The One Who Never Leaves" is a story that is seen through the eyes of a cat. But is it really about a cat? The story has a lot of symbolism that makes the careful reader relate and think and paint her own image of what this story means.

"The Hollow" takes you in a world of a strange perception where you, little by little, lose the touch with reality and give in to the sensory stimuli of the imagined(?) awareness.

My favorite story by far in this collection is "I, woman." When you start reading it, you get a sense of "Oh, I know what's going on! It's just a retelling of the creation story, be it original. Well, aren't I smart!" Then, as you read on, you lose that certainty, bit by tiny bit. When you are almost done, you are hundred percent sure that your first hunch was wrong and you have created a new theory as to what the story is all about. Yet, when you finish reading, it hits you. "Wait a second! Could it be? No, surely not... Perhaps, but... What's going on here?"

To quote the author: "The sharper the perception--the more complex the interpretation." This statement applies to all the stories in this book. Yet, I'd like to add to that statement that with the sharper perception, your interpretation becomes not only more complex, but from a singular, it will split into multiples, then it all will twist in on itself, and then branch off into whatever direction your mind is capable of taking it.

Yes, this is that kind of book, written for a smart and perceptive reader, who is not afraid to let her imagination fly. If you are that person, pick up this book, your won't be disappointed.

Saturday, July 27, 2013

Parting is such sweet sorrow

Parting is such sweet sorrow... Once I clicked the "Approve audiobook" button, indicating that the project is completed, I felt this tinge of satisfaction mixed with sorrow. Do you know this feeling? Time to move on, this project is done... 

It  has been such a joy, listening to my quirky characters  come to life through the voice of my brilliant narrator, Heather Jane Hogan. So now, this baby is out of my hands and on its way. Please stay tuned: in a few days I will kick off new facebook launch event, inviting you to celebrate the launch of audiobook edition of Twisted.



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Friday, July 26, 2013

Anita Laid Eyes on Ben

T'was a hot summer evening, Anita laid eyes on Ben   
But summer's gone now, and so is their kiss   
The only witnesses left are my paper and pen   
Let me tell you what happened, from conflicts to bliss   
   
T'was a hot summer. And now, touch my hand   
Let me give you my book. Here, turn a page   
Being Apart From Love is hard to withstand   
Here are Ben and Anita... Let them take stage 





So much more could be said about the manner in which the author brings understanding to the hierarchies of relationships, but that would be robbing the reader of the joy of discoveries that Poznanasky accomplishes in this profound novel. 
-Grady Harp, Hall of Fame Reviewer

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Muse

The lamp swings like a pendulum
                                   Pictures sway on their nails
Then slip down the walls, leaving scratched trails
Amidst the quake, the grief, the confusion and scare 
Slowly ascending is my father's armchair

And beyond all these outlines of what I see there
Beyond the sofa, the knickknacks, the old furniture
Light pours in, and it paints something new
It reveals, it unveils at this moment a clue

The clue to a presence only he could once see
A presence he longed for, because only she
Could call him back home, and envelop him so
Touching-not-touching, her hands all aglow

These pages, upon which he'll never scribble a line
Are floating out of shadows, into the shine
Only she can now read the blanks, she and no other
He's ascending into the arms of his muse, his mother.


Detail from my oil painting, inspired by the same moment in time as the poem above 

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Sunday, July 21, 2013

Simply Brilliant

Christoph Fischer is a high-ranking reviewer on Goodreads and Amazon. Just as importantly he is the author of two historical fiction books, Sebastian and The Luck of the Weissensteiners. I am greatly honored that he posted this wonderful ★★★★★ review for my book, Twisted:


5.0 out of 5 stars Simply Brilliant July 21, 2013
By diebus
Format:Kindle Edition
"Twisted" by Uvi Poznansky has been on my reading list for some time. After having read and adored "Home" and "A Favourite Son" I decided to save this expected treasure for a special occasion but I only lasted a week.
The book is nothing short of amazing. It is a fantastic selection of four short stories, all slightly dark and - as the title promises - with their own kind of twist.
My favourite story is the first, a tale about Job's wife that is based on a very imaginative and simply terrific idea. Job's wife, who in the biblical story told her husband to curse God, who is trying Job's faith with all sorts of misfortune, faces the consequences of her dis-loyal action. God and Satan's bet about Job's loyalty is one of the key stories in the bible in my view in that it asks believers to have blind faith. Job's wife just had about enough after plagues and death and what not and represents one of the most challenging and controversial figures in the Bible. Told in her own voice this is a rather fascinating and intriguing story that almost ended too soon for my liking and addictive personality.
The second short story reads like a take on creationism by giving a voice to a clay figure who observes her creator. With the mentioning of Adam in this story the Biblical reference is implied albeit less specific, yet challenging one's perspective of the Eden story.
Freedom, identity and fate are some of the themes running through the stories.
This is an amazing and exciting read, one that is playful as it is intellectually stimulating and founded in sharp observation. The characters created are certainly quite a long way from the norm and a firework of originality.
Adding unusual elements, such as the mention of a lift and the King David Hotel in a biblical story, using the perspective of a cat and of a clay figure, these pieces take the reader deliberately out of their comfort zone and out of their experience into their head, only to draw them back into the story and the reality the characters are experiencing.
A great book, not easily forgotten.


Late Lover appears on Servante of Darkness

On his blog, Servante of Darkness, Anthony Servante has just posted a fascinating article. It quotes the works of several poets--my work included--and then, it offers a review and analysis of each work. 

Anthony starts with this premise:

Let’s discuss the premise before looking at the words. It is an axiom in academic writing that poetry must speak for itself. A writer cannot interpret meaning for the reader, giving insight to his own words as if they required his presence to clarify the work’s intents. The poem must stand up to the scrutiny of the reader alone...

From my work, Anthony selected the poem Late lover, with my oil painting to accompany the poem. Check it out here: 



Saturday, July 20, 2013

Find Me In The Chat Chair

This morning find me in the chat chair, opposite Nikki Walker, author of In Search of a Healing Place (Redemptive Series) and many other books. I am so honored that she give me a great opportunity here. Her first question (three in one, actually) is this: Who is Uvi Poznansky? What are your passions outside of writing? Where are you from?

Want to know more? Please check out my interview at Nikki's place:



Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Naked I came from my mother’s womb

And so I knew the mourners had started to disperse by now, which was truly humbling. Alas, they had been at it for a shorter time than usual—but how could you blame them, really? 
There was no money, and of the seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen and five hundred donkeys we used to own, not a single one was left. Nothing you could offer them for payment; alas, nothing left to sustain the customary expression of grief. Sigh. 
Job stayed with me awhile. Again and again he mumbled,  in his inexplicable, pious manner, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I depart.” Men! Always thinking of themselves! All the while there I was, flat on my back, in need of some attention, and some clothes, too! 
Finally he left the gravesite. I waited, waited until the sound of his footfalls had shuffled away—oh, how well I knew this tortured gait of his!—until it too was gone.

The biblical Book of Job never tells you what happened to Job's wife, nor does it give her a name. By the end of the book he has a new set of children and a new wife. What a happy ending! One that leaves you in the dark... So in my book, she describes waking up to the moment of her death, and what happens in Hell.

When I chose Heather Jane Hogan to narrate Anita's voice in my novel Apart From Love, I refused to imagine how she might look, because to me, she was a voice. But now, as she is narrating her second project with me, I did look her up and she is not only a brilliant voice actress, but a beautiful one too!

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Friday, July 12, 2013

A Glimpse into Rise to Power

Here is a  glimpse into my novel about the life of David, Rise to Power. In this segment he is old and trembling, and a young woman called Avishag is brought in to keep him warm:

"And her breasts... I have forgotten how juicy and yet how firm they can be on a young body. 
Behind us on the wall, centered among the rest of my daggers, knifes and swords, hangs an immensely large bladebut in this blackness I can only imagine it. It is a frightful sight to take in, a sight that can bring some women to their knees. She cannot spot it now, but come morning, she too will be touched.   
Moonlight glitters off a fold here, a crease there in the shadowy curtains that hang over our heads. It runs down through the folds, then leaps to her feet, slips over the slope of her hip into the valley, I mean, the valley of her waistline. It is hugging her with a soft touch as if to try, ever o stealthily, to figure out how slender she might be. Then a silvery ray clambers up her shoulder and from there onto the pile of pillows, which is where it halts, it dims out, perhaps to rub out the features of her face. This is just as well. 
Who wants to look at her. I do not wish to see myself there, reflected in her eyes. I refuse to learn how much I have shrunk.
Outside, the stars are traveling in measured, imperceptible degrees across the night sky. It is nearly time for them to give up their ghost. I close my eyes, the better to imagine them. And at once I can hear the groans, the tortured groans of my enemies dying at dawn on some faraway battlefield... 
Oh Lord! There is nothing sweeter, nothing makes the blood run faster than victory! Oh let me come, let me be reborn, young and carefree and strong once more! Sword in hand, there I would rise again! Again I would rein upon a bloodied, conquered ground...
She holds her breath. Can she guess my thoughts? 
In the window facing east, you can now detect a faint impression: a horizon. It has turned a touch rosy. The girl dares not turn away from menot even to gaze at it, to let it bring back a vision of her father’s place.
In my youth I have seen those tittering cabins, up on the slopes of the Judea mountains. As I fled from my enemies, I hoped to find shelter in one of them, usually in vain. No one would hide a rebel, no one would aid a fugitive... So I can imagine that cabin, that feeling of security within its shaky walls. I can even understand how, until earlier this evening, she has called it home. That place is now obscured not only by the blur, and not only by distancebut also by the tears glazing her eyes. 
She is only fourteen years old; yet Joav, my right-hand man, assures me that she knows her duty.
Sometimes I shudder to think how he gains his confidence about such things. On our early adventures I have seen him plunder the countryside and carry away the spoils of warnot before raping women and children. Believe me, I am not as high-minded as you might want me to be, but when it comes to sex, my inclination has always been toward a gentler seduction. 
Yet I cannot tell you that I failed to understand him, or his bloody cruelty. I could see how intense his need could be and what it could drive him to do. This awoke in me the darkest, most wickedly delectable thoughts, which I have never committed to paperuntil now.
Even without seeing her face, I know her eyes are wide open. It is taking her hours to fall asleepI can sense how tensely she draws airbecause this is our first night, and she knows her duty. 
“The sheet,” I say, “look out” 
She gasps, as if to ask, What?
“It’s falling out of place,” I say, hoping she cannot hear the slight tremble in the back of my voice. “Now, tuck it under me. And where’s the other blanket?”
“Are you cold?” she asks, and I can hear a sudden astonishment.
“No,” I lie, and in my mind I cannot help cursing my bad luck with women. If I am hot, they are cold. If I am cold, they are hot! 
As if to spite me there is always a battle, not for glory, or for survival or the spoils of war or or some other lofty goalbut rather for control, petty control over the stupid feather-stuffed thing.
“Just, humor me now,” I say. “Pull it over my shoulders. And the other one too. I like the feel of wool. It reminds me of where I came from.”
“Yes,” she whispers. “That I understand.”
“Wool,” I say. “It has the smell of home.”
“Yes,” she says. “It’s the only thing here that does. My God, everything around you is perfumed. Heavily so. At times it makes me wonder what it might smell otherwise.”
I hold myself back from saying, You don’t really want to know. Without these exotic perfumeswhich I can afford because her father and other peasants like him have been paying heavy taxesthings in the palace would stink. I mean, really. Of all my senses, smell is the only one that has remained sharp. So without a doubt, this I know: My flesh has begun to rot. Without the delicately calculated mix of my cologne, the scent of my body would gnaw at you.
She pulls the woolen cover over my ears, on top of a pile of other layers. Then, lowering her eyes with what seems like a childish shyness, she draws closer and wraps her arms around me. 
I have no doubt she is a virgin. Joav is quite particular when it comes to choosing merchandise, for himself or for me. But at this moment, one thing becomes clear to me: innocent she is not. 
Which arouses in me a sudden, inexplicable disdain, even anger for her. How can a man pursue a woman, when she is this obedient? 
She knows her duty all too well."


This painting, titled Double-Crossed, sparked an immediate connection in my mind to this story. It is by Klarissa Kocsis, an artist friend whom I met on Facebook.

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