Fiction. Noir Fiction. Punk Rock. Working Class. Urban Studies. In this powerful collection of linked stories, debut author Brian Jabas Smith gazes into the lives of the stunted and the lost. There's the teenaged bicycle–racing champion from the Arizona desert who's escaping an abusive home life. The jaundiced rock 'n' roll singer whose neon–lit gaze takes us from a Beverly Hills mansion to the crack–cocaine streets of old Hollywood. The desperate addict in the Phoenix barrio with nowhere to turn, strung out on crystal meth, porn, alcohol and nude dancers. Elsewhere, a Detroit journalist discovers that sobriety wasn't part of his job description, and the internally crippled mother whose lovely daughters are doomed for life. These stories are disturbing and raw yet offer eerily beautiful portrayals of loss, ultimately, reclamation, and perhaps, redemption.

Spent Saints & Other Stories

Literature & Fiction

Smith, Brian Jabas

Contemporary

The Ridgeway Press

Poetry. A few days after the November 8, 2016 United States presidential election, Ken Waldman considered Donald Trump's surprise victory, and wrote the sentence: "You make George W. seem a statesman—this your opening trick," and made it the first line and a half of a sonnet he titled, "To Donald Trump, from Baltimore." Waldman wrote another Trump sonnet a few days later, then the following week wrote one more. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas 2016 he wrote an additional 68. 41 were in the voice of President-elect Donald Trump. 28 others were addressed directly to him. There's also an opening and closing sonnet. The result is a detailed examination of the first fifty days of Donald Trump's ascension to the highest office in the United States. It's a worthy sequel to Waldman's AS THE WORLD BURNS, a collection that took on the presidency of George W. Bush. About that book, the Irish poet and critic Kevin Higgins wrote in nthposition.com: "More than poetry: they are documents which will help others, 50 or 100 years from now, come to grips with what is was like to be in the world in the aftermath of 9/11…It is a rare but great thing to see a contemporary poet working in the satiric tradition of Dryden, Pope, and Swift…It achieves the almost impossible by forcing the reader to come to terms with George W. Bush, the three dimensional human being."

Trump Sonnets: Volume 1 (The First 50 Days)

Waldman, Ken

Poetry

Poetry. Like the first collection, Waldman opens with a preview poem, and then he starts in with a list, one titled "Trump, By the Book" with the opening lines: "Challenges what a common thesaurus can do: lamebrained, schizo, preposterous, bugged out, imbecilic, dense, ludicrous, one and only trumpus dinosaurus," Waldman follows that with a dream poem in the president's voice. This format continues throughout the two main sections of the book: after each commentary there's an italicized dream poem in Donald Trump's voice. Toward the end, there's "Donald Trump, Dream #32" which begins: "A big stage, me with Batman, Superman, Popeye, and a trim Miss America. That was Candy from South Carolina. Batman called me a real American, said I was more potent than Superman. Candy called me Mr. America, said I should move to South Carolina." TRUMP SONNETS, VOLUME 2 is sad, disquieting, angry, smart, hopeful, and often very, very funny. It's an apt follow-up to TRUMP SONNETS, VOLUME 1.

Trump Sonnets: Volume 2

Humor & Satire

Trump Sonnets: Volume 5 (His Early Virus Monologues)

Humor & Entertainment

Humor

Poetry. Wednesday morning, November 9, 2016, sitting in his car, listening to the news, Ken Waldman took out a notebook and wrote that this guy is going to make George W. look like a statesman. A few days later he turned that line into a sonnet, and by mid December had written 70 more, enough for a book. Titling it TRUMP SONNET VOLUME 1 was one of the jokes. Most of the poems were in the president-elect's voice, and though it was broad satire, Ken Waldman later sold a few copies to Trump supporters. That was another of the jokes. Six months later he'd written VOLUME 2. Half of the poems were dreams Waldman imagined Donald Trump having. The other half, commentary. A year later he wrote VOLUME 3, THE INTERNATIONAL EDITION, with imagined voices from 72 countries. Another year, VOLUME 4, THE SHRUNKEN SOUL EDITION, a single unnamed day of sonnets, many in Trump's voice. The others were in voices from his orbit. That might have been enough but for COVID-19. Quarantined in rural Virginia, spring and summer jobs canceled, Ken Waldman again started writing in Trump's voice. VOLUME 6, HIS MIDDLE VIRUS SOLILOQUY is where Catch-22 meets Hunter S. Thompson. Says Paul Fericano in the book's Afterword: "It's Allen Ginsberg's HOWL on Thorazine with a loaded gun." Ken Waldman says that this is a continuation of his work as engaged citizen.

Trump Sonnets: Volume 6 (His Middle Virus Soliloquy)

Poetry. Music. Legendary British Beat Poet and Cream lyricist publishes his first book of poems since the mid 1960s. His work is filled with satire, lyrical genius and humor. Pete was one of the original Mersey Beat Poets from Liverpool, England in the early 1960s.

Mundane Tuesday & Freudian Saturday

Brown, Pete

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