This is a beautiful collection of hauntingly crafted poetry of nature. I think there is so much more below the depths of these poems that the author does beautifully well in transposing into words and feelings and images with in the poems. The imagery in these pieces is stunning, there are no words for how intense these feel.

I am not a big reader of poetry, I find that I do not have the same thought processes as many but this book was really good. Did I understand all of it? No, but I don't think I needed to.

The best part of it were the images that were in here. They were perfectly placed.

I probably should not have requested this book, I was trying to reach outside my normal wheelhouse. But I do not understand poetry, it doesn’t speak to me the way it does to some. I suppose these are well written poems, but I don’t understand what they’re trying to say or how putting them together in this collection is supposed to mean something. I just don’t think I’m the right audience for this.

I don’t normally read poetry books. I’ve probably read maybe three in my lifetime. But looking for some ideas for coffee table books I came across Frank Watson’s “In the Dark, Soft Earth”. This is a collection of beautiful minimalist poems.

The book immediately pulls you in with the first enchanting poem. Most of the writings are about love; falling in and out, longing for it, the sadness and happiness, loneliness and hope of it. I found myself going back to the ones I could relate to the most.

The writing is spare and elegant and also makes for good meditative reading. A nice read!

I don't normally read poetry. The poems were gentle and beautiful, though the further into the book the got a little darker. The poems looked at Love, Nature, and Spirituality.

The book was just okay to me. As I said though, I am not a fan of poetry. If you like poetry, you will probably enjoy this book, so I say go ahead and try it.

Thanks to Netgalley for the Kindle Version of the book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A beautiful book that is full of heartbreaking realities and wonderful prose. While I found some sentences stilted and not quite landing with the intended emotional impact, I still found myself enjoying the author"s unique perspective. I think this work would benefit from a bit more vigorous editting. But I am so glad I had a chance to peruse this new author; I look forward to what else they have in store for their readers.

Beautiful cover.
Pretty poems but I realized I'm not into poems.
I rarely found poems I really love and these are not in the list..

I'm going to be totally honest I tried but it was not for me. I do appreciate the chance to review it as it opens me up to new things but this i couldn't get my head around Thank you Netgalley and thank youFrank Watson .

In the Dark Soft Earth” by Frank Watson is a beautiful book of poetry that you will want to read many times. It has lush, thought provoking imagery.
This is a great book for those times when you crave something captivating to read but don’t want to spend hours reading in a novel. I enjoyed it very much.

Hi, I lost the eARC of this book so I won't be able to review this book. I hope you understand. I really wanted to read it but unfortunately my phone got formatted and I lost the copy.

In the Dark, Soft Earth by Frank Watson is a collection of poems separted into sections or books as the author calls them. Each poem in the book move forward in a theme that will give the reader satisfaction as they progress through each poem. It's quite interesting how each poem is woven to build on one another. They explore themes of nature, spirituality, dreams and can be quite dark at time and even sensual at times.

If you are the type that enjoys exploring 'the self,' I think you will definitely enjoy this beautifully and thought provoking poems. They are short, sweet and leave you in wonder at times. You will probably pause and reflect on some of the poems whether or not they agree with your perception. There is even art that accompanies some poems that you will enjoy. I think Watson carefully chooses each word to paint a passionate picture without overdoing it.

As I said, the poems are interesting and infused with art but I wasn't prepared for a lot of nude artwork in the book. I was taken aback from that and could also done without the Tarot section of the book. Overall, I appreciate the chance to read this.


Thank you #Netgalley for providing me with this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This might be the most haunting book of poetry I have ever read, and not just because there are some poems that cover death, the occult, etc. It is because the words that author Frank Watson weaves together can often have both a lyrical and almost spooky quality, often simultaneously. The language here is gorgeous and the words flow beautifully. This book took me just over an hour to read, so this isn't something that will take you all week to read. You can easily do it in one evening before bed, but I would suggest not right before bed. The reason is that some stanzas will really make you think about your life and mortality, and those are heavy topics best not pursued when you are supposed to be relaxing your minds for fitful sleep. Still, a great read that you will want to keep and return to periodically when you are feeling angsty or adrift.

𝑺𝒆𝒅𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒐𝒆𝒎𝒔

I have loved poetry since I was a young child. I think it was the realization that something written could sometimes resonate with me in a deep way. This collection of poems is exquisite and was a pleasure to read. As with any collection of poems, I liked some poems more than others. I found myself reading the ones I did like more than once and made notes to be able to go back and read them yet again.

𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐤𝐞𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐛𝐲𝐬𝐬
-Frank Watson

There were poems inspired by love, nature, tarot, and jazz. There were a few that stood out for me such as "Bohemia" and I enjoyed the collection from the chapter titled, "Percussion Mind".

𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆 𝗹𝗼𝘂𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗱
𝗮 𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮 𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗴𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲
𝘄𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗱
-Frank Watson

One of the things I liked best about this collection is how the author showed where some of his inspiration came from. Namely... art. There is art speckled throughout the book and I appreciated the background to the birth of some of the poems. All in all, a very delightful read.

In the Dark, Soft Earth is a poetry collection that is not one, but ten “books” unified by common themes. The poems in each book are linked to a central image (visual or metaphorical) so that each poem is part of a movement of thought. The result of this organization is that the poems build on each other in a kind of crescendo or resolution that is very satisfying for the reader.

In addition to poetry, the book is also a visual delight. The poems are often inspired by surreal art, paired to suit each theme. The section featuring Tarot cards is probably the most evocative, and the poems correspond to them perfectly.

This is more than a poetry book - it melds visual art and poetry to create a complete experience.

The poems also reflect the varied influences of traditional short poetry, especially the haiku. He also leans into the imagists like Wallace Stevens and William Carlos Williams. In this, he demonstrates not only his range, but also his ability to engage each art form in a conversation that circles back to the preoccupations of nature, spirituality and interconnection. Simple and elegant, these poems belie their deeper significance. This is perhaps their greatest accomplishment, to trick the reader with their direct prosody, while delivering deep and abiding truths about the soft, dark things that tether us to this earth.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

It's rare for me to read a poetry book, and love every poem.

Each poem had such beautiful and rich imagery, I was shocked at how brilliant Frank Watson's writing style is. I also love that the author incorporated paintings with some of the poems. It brought each poem to life. I especially enjoyed the occult themes, it gave this boook a gothic feel which I really appreciated. This poetry collection is dark and sensual and completely beautiful, and I highly recommend if you're a fan of poetry.

"𝓣𝓱𝓲𝓼 𝓷𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽
𝓘 𝓯𝓸𝓵𝓵𝓸𝔀 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓻𝓸𝓾𝓽𝓮𝓼 𝓽𝓸 𝓪𝓷𝓬𝓲𝓮𝓷𝓽 𝓵𝓪𝓷𝓭𝓼
𝓵𝓲𝓴𝓮 𝓪 𝓬𝓱𝓲𝓵𝓭 𝓽𝓱𝓻𝓾𝓼𝓽 𝓲𝓷 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝔀𝓪𝓷𝓭𝓮𝓻𝓲𝓷𝓰 𝓭𝓾𝓼𝓽"


I enjoyed this collection by Frank Watson 'In The Dark Soft Earth'. The poems explore themes of nature, spirituality and dreams and are quite dark and sensual at times. The poems themselves were quite short and meaningful which I liked and the book is split up into sections. This would make it easier to return to particular poems at a later date or pick up here and there.
I definitely felt like the poems were sultry and mysterious and I enjoyed his writing style.
Book Six 'Beneath the Raven Moon' was very reminiscent of Shelley, one of my favourite romantic poets. The author uses words like 'reverie', 'sleepless dreams' and I loved the use of vocabulary in this section. The book as a whole felt like a dark fairytale that explored emotions in a beautiful environment.

Beautiful words to read, re read and enjoy. Each has its own sentiments and meanings, but do they have a message for you?

A simply beautiful collection of poetry. Deep, lyrical, at times mystical and definitely musical. Accompanied by works of art (my favorite, Nicholai Roerich, whose work itself is poetry), this is a book I want to keep on my nightstand and escape into often. Because I have to Kindle edition, provided by Net Galley, I plan to purchase the hardcover so as to completely immerse myself in its beauty.

What a great poetry book! These poems have everything. They cover a wide range of topics with beauty and grace. I was given a copy of this book for my unbiased review.

This collection of poetry was short, sweet, and thought provoking. Not all 10 books stuck with me but I would say two or three of them did. The poems were well written and I enjoyed the art that was included.