Art and Heart: A Collection of Poems | Nathan B. Gumba

Write Things is so pleased that Nathan B. Gumba, one of our most impassioned and committed writing students finally has his first published book “Art and Heart: A Collection of Poems.” This has been long in coming as he has had a body of works over the years, merely awaiting a publisher’s notice. It comes as a pleasant surprise—but expect surprises from Nathan and his travels to the multiverse. I was expecting his novel, long in progress, but am delighted with this collection of poetry. Read on and discover the rich and creative imagination of this eighteen year old who I feel I no longer know, having come a long way from his early years with us as a most enthused writing student. Relish Nathan’s four chapters of poems, so well organized that the reader will be thankful for. Enjoy lyrical lines as “Then the six months were gone/And paradise found became paradise lost/And she faded like the brightest stars do/When the dream ends and day begins and “…how my self esteem rests on a swing.” It is fascinating to see that even as he uses his poetry as mnemonic devices for college entrance tests, he manages not to lose his personal voice, his juvenile angsts. For a list of synonyms, he writes, “If virile=manly, masculine/And wont=custom, habit/Ameliorate=make better, improve/And crony=friend, buddy… /Then why can’t me=you?” Nathan’s “writing mentor” Teacher Roel (in quotes because more aptly, the latter is this young poet’s Alfred Pennyworth) has had the pleasure of witnessing firsthand vast, Spidey-Sense-tingling worlds being deftly created, particularly the multivolume, in-progress Seventh Descendant series. Definitely an author with immeasurable art and heart up his sleeve. And with this, here’s looking forward to the next Nathan B. Gumba title. Writing lives on!

– Neni Sta. Romana Cruz Founding Director WHERE THE WRITE THINGS ARE