“The Lyric-Spiritual and Civic Poetry of Elisabetta Bonaparte” by Hossam Barakat: a review of “THE BREATH OF LIFE” by Elisabetta Bonaparte

Hossam Barakat is a poet and literary critic, a graduate in Italian Language and Literature from the Faculty of Al-Alsun at Ain Shams University (Cairo).

Elisabetta Bonaparte’s collection “THE BREATH OF LIFE” unfolds as a lyrical, spiritual, and civic journey through the core experiences of existence: love, motherhood, loss, pain, memory, war, peace, nature, and rebirth. The title expresses the central symbol of the work: breath as a metaphor for life, resistance, memory, love, and the ability to continue hoping even in the most difficult moments.

The work is structured into three sections — “Love,” “Peace,” and “Universal Love” — preceded by prose texts that serve an introductory and narrative function. The overall progression moves from individual experience to the collective dimension: from the self to the “we,” to humanity. The prose provides narrative concreteness, while the verse transforms personal events into universal reflection.

Bonaparte’s poetics are built around recurring natural imagery: light, sun, wind, sea, sky, flowers, and dawn serve not merely a decorative function but constitute a true grammar of the inner self. Nature thus becomes a mirror reflecting the emotions, conflicts, and transformations of the soul.

Stylistically, the author favors free verse, alternating between short lines and longer sentences, and employs devices such as enjambment, metaphors, personification, and anaphora; her language is clear, musical, metaphorical, and communicative.

Ultimately, the collection possesses a distinct symbolic identity: nature becomes the language of the soul, and light becomes a poetic response to pain. The title is thus more than merely evocative: "breath" is the principle that binds together body, soul, nature, memory, love, and hope.

“THE BREATH OF LIFE” is a cohesive and sincere collection, distinguished by a strong lyrical, spiritual, and civic identity, as well as by remarkable emotional intensity and poems of exceptional poetic impact.

ELISABETTA BONAPARTE

Elisabetta Bonaparte is an Italian poet, writer, lawyer, and teacher. She has published three books; her latest work is THE BREATH OF LIFE, published in September 2026, it is bilingual Italian-English book features poems and short stories centered on universal love. Her poems have been published and translated into numerous languages- including English, Spanish, Albanian, and Arabic- in magazines, anthologies, and publishing projects distributed across Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. She has also been featured on the covers of “Literary Barcelona” (Spain) and “Humanity Global Magazine” (Venezuela). She has received numerous honors in national and international literary competitions and awards. She is a member of prestigious international academies and associations, including the Academy Circle of Pharsala (Greece); the contemporary cultural and literary association “La Fenêtre de Paris” (France); the “Maison Naaman pour la Culture” (Lebanon), where she is an honorary member; and the “World Poet and Literature Organization” (India), where she is an honorary active member. She has also received numerous prestigious honors recognizing her literary and cultural impact. She has been included among “Messengers of Peace Though Literature” and recognized by international organizations for her contribution to positive and humanitarian values. She is featured on WikiPoesia and participates in poetry initiatives both in Italy and abroad, taking part in festivals and cultural projects dedicated to intercultural dialogue and contemporary poetry.