Collection I
Pen and Paradox Collection I
Published October 16 2020
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Tess Seda's first collection of poetry and prose divided into seven sections: The Wild, The Battle, The Life, The Body, The Mind, The Heart, and The Prayers. These sections poetically capture the human experience and highlight strength through difficulty, resilience, and the power that comes from feeling and processing emotions to the fullest.
Brooke Goodwin, a book reviewer @thewritebrooke and author of Exposed, referred to this collection as "an experience" and "a big book of life." Brooke continued "All the things that Tess writes is packed neatly into 7 wonderful sections. This book really keeps you grounded in each concept or message but gives your mind something to run away—a head in the clouds & feet on the ground kind of experience." She described Tess' writing as "incredible" and "an interesting combination of polished wording, sophistication, & imagination. Not to mention, that wordplay!"
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Dan @everdamnpoetry commented "I really relate to this body of work, even thought it is very personal to Tess. The poems are easy to read, they seem to blow across my conscience, but the power of the words linger in my mind."
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This collection is available in paperback and e-book on amazon.com
Additional Reviews
"I absolutely loved this poetry collection and I can’t believe this is her first book. Her writing is something the world needed to read years ago. She writes with such poise and precision about topics that many find difficult to discuss. Her descriptive language and metaphors make this collection so captivating to read. But more than that, this message of triumph, of coming out victorious with battle scars comes across so vividly that by the end of the book, the reader feels that much stronger and confident to face challenges in their own life. The prayer section is so unique because I have never seen that in any other poetry collection that I’ve ever read and it is so raw, vulnerable and beautiful. Please give this book a read as it will be just what you need at this moment in your life. I’m also looking forward to reading the next collection by this author."
-Kaitlin Kendrick
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"It seemed like Tess had crawled inside my brain and knew everything about me as I read her book. I related to that many pieces! It had everything I wanted in a poetry collection: poems about not fitting in, heartbreak, mental illness, vulnerability, being an empath (one of my favorite pieces in one of the pictures included), tons of celestial imagery! Even poems about some struggles of womanhood. I could find a personal connection to all of those. I appreciated her attention to detail and her word choice. Tess is a true storyteller and I will treasure this book forever."
-Aubree Barnum author of The Birds and The Beasts