Poetic Book Tours: The Jane and Bertha in Me by Rita Maria Martinez

The Jane and Bertha in Me by Rita Maria Martinez


Synopsis of the book:

This spring marks the bicentennial of Charlotte Brontë’s birth. In her ambitious and timely debut, The Jane and Bertha in Me, Rita Maria Martinez celebrates Brontë’s classic novel Jane Eyre. Through wildly inventive, beautifully crafted persona poems, Martinez re-imagines Jane Eyre’s cast of characters in contemporary contexts, from Jane as an Avon saleslady to Bertha as a Stepford wife. These lively, fun, poignant poems prove that Jane Eyre’s fictional universe is just as relevant today as it was so many years ago. The Jane and Bertha in Me is a must-read for any lover of Brontë’s work.

My views:

Poetry is not easy to review. Mostly because, it is pretty personal. 

Jane Eyre is one of my all time favourite novels. And taking each of its characters  in the contemporary context is really very touching. The eternal feelings do not die out. The language is so beautiful that I paused a few times to savour those. The poems are as timeless and memorable as the novel. The poet has done full justice to the characters. The images she creates stays in our mind long after we finish reading the poems. I am a fan of Charlotte Bronte but one can enjoy the poems without even knowing anything about Jane Eyre or the author. The poet is so talented and imaginative. I wish I had the print copy. To simply hold it to my heart.....

I recommend......


.Author bio:

Rita Maria Martinez is a Cuban-American poet from Miami, Florida. Her writing has been published in journals

including the Notre Dame Review, Ploughshares, MiPOesias, and 2River View. She authored the chapbook Jane-in-the-Box, published by March Street Press in 2008. Her poetry also appears in the textbook Three Genres: The Writing of Fiction/Literary Nonfiction, Poetry and Drama, published by Prentice Hall; and in the anthology Burnt Sugar, Caña Quemada: Contemporary Cuban Poetry in English and Spanish, published by Simon & Schuster. Martinez has been a featured author at the Miami Book Fair International; at the Society of the Four Arts in Palm Beach, Florida; and at the Palabra Pura reading series sponsored by the Guild Literary Complex in Chicago. She earned her Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing from Florida International University.

Tour Stops:

April 4: Musings of a Bookish Kitty (interview)

April 10: Emma Eden Ramos (review)

April 12: Everything Distils Into Reading (review)

April 15: Book Dilettante (review)

April 16: Suko’s Notebook (review)

April 18: True Book Addict (review)

April 22: Jorie Loves a Story (review)

April 25: Diary of an Eccentric (review)

April 26: Unabridged Chick (review)

April 27: Pretty Purple Polka Dots (review)

April 28: Impressions in Ink (review)

April 30: Create With Joy (review)

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