Peter Nevland - I'm Going To Be A Zebra: How To Follow Your Dreams
STYLE: RATING OUR PRODUCT CODE: 117917-BOK610 LABEL: FORMAT: Book General book
Reviewed by Tony Cummings
One of the surprise hits of Soul Survivor over the last few years has been slam poet Peter Nevland. Often gigging under the name Spoken Groove this red-headed extravert from Texas, with or without a guitarist in tow, is a riveting and hugely entertaining performer whose dazzling displays of thought provoking rhyme would put most rappers to shame. This fairly brief paperback is a fascinating account of his rise if not to stardom, but to a place where he can tour the world entertaining and engaging audiences tiny and huge. His triumphs over fear and early disillusionment are colourfully written and those sometimes one wishes for more detail and, ironically, more examples of his actual poetry, Peter succeeds in communicating the perplexing journey of becoming a full time performing artist. The one major flaw of the book is echoed in the subtitle, How To Follow Your Dreams. Nevland's account, fascinating though it is, gives no real insight as to how a poet, a musician or anyone else can actualise their dreams and neither does it bring any real emphasis to the important point of identifying from where one's dreams originate because if truth be told, many creative artists, sports people and businessmen embark on trying to fulfil dreams emanating from their own needs for acclaim rather than seeking any direction from the living God.
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