Anthologies
November 15, 2015:
Poetry With Legs An anthology of Sin by J. Edwin Whitelaw and Friends
Poetry With Legs An anthology of Sin
by J. Edwin Whitelaw and Friends
Červená Barva Press, 2014-
These pages that connect fourteen poets whose chance encounters with one who is no longer with us make fifteen. J. Edwin Whitelaw, obscure to all but those who knew him, provided a connection between those whose works and comments appear within, and to whom this anthology is dedicated.
Born in the Arkansas Delta near Helena in 1953 Whitelaw escaped, however the South’s influence upon him for good and bad played an important role in all aspects of his life until his death on Christmas Eve in 2006. Near his death, he described himself as “a slightly older man” who had become a mere caricature of his former self.
His poetry ran the spectrum from bitingly cruel as you will find in “An Acute Friendship” to the painfully romantic “Icarus Dreams Of Aphrodite” that appear in this collection. And so say his ex-wives and lovers. Once asked for an explanation of his paradoxical approach to poetry, he would not give one.
After leaving the South he began working as an analyst for the Security Service, a branch of the National Security Agency during the early 70’s in San Vito, Italy. “Cooling his heels from the Vietnam Era”, as he put it, he developed a distrust of all things governmental. He later entered teaching on both the preparatory and college level. He held a doctorate from the University of Arkansas, and viewed his colleagues as “boors and pompous asses.”
During the Bush Eras, he found an increasing and alarming distrust of Americans abroad. “This unholy alliance between the Patriots of the Religious Right and the Republican Party will push this country to the fascist brink. But hey, look on the bright side, oppression has always been good for poetry.” according to J. Edwin.
He retired from teaching in the late 90’s. Having lived in three foreign countries, he was conversant in five languages, and later worked as an independent consultant to international firms seeking to do business in the United States.
Divorced more times than he cared to discuss in detail, he once said he was destined to die alone surrounded by his books unless his large dog outlived him. It was a statement that proved to be prophetic. His dog in fact did not outlive him, and he was found dead in his rented flat in the Trastevere District of Rome on Christmas Day 2006 having apparently died the evening before quite alone.
In putting this collection together one contact led to another tied with the common thread of poetry. For his enumerable faults, defects and sins all of which he freely confessed, he with a few exceptions managed to salvage his broken relationships converting them into strange forms of friendships that included me.
Another acquaintance, who asked not to be identified commented to me, “J. Edwin had his share of baggage, but I have to say it was the Louis Vitton of emotional baggage. He suffered from potential.” Not a religious man by any measure, he had somewhat of a distorted moral code that had at its core a disdain of hypocrisy. His take? “By and large self-professed born-again Christians have no sense of poetry, reflection or self examination. Show me one, and I will show you someone who gives Jesus a bad name.”
Fittingly in his honor this anthology is subtitled “An Anthology of Sin” and dedicated to an extraordinary ordinary man.
GISELA FALABELA
$16.95 | ISBN: 978-0-9910091-9-0 | 121 Pages | In Stock
February 10, 2011:
A Story and Poetry Chapbook Collection Edited by Susan Tepper
Valentine Day Massacre Edited by Susan Tepper
Červená Barva Press, 2011-
Fictionaut Authors' Valentine Day Massacre Challenge
Because I am a fool for love, I couldn't resist starting a Valentine Day Massacre challenge at Fictionaut. The result, as you see, is a complex assortment of printed goodies (white, milk, and dark chocolate) dedicated to valentines everywhere.
—Susan TepperStories & Poems by:
Doug Bond, Angela Brett, Estelle Bruno, Sheldon Lee Compton, Sara T. Einhorn, David Erlewine, Susan Gibb, Frank Hinton, Matt Kang, Dorothee Lang, Ryan McDermott, John Minichillo, Kevin Paul Myrick, Nora Nadjarian, Ajay Nair, Gabriel Orgrease, Derek Osborne, Meg Pokrass, Sam Rasnake, Beate Sigriddaughter, Marcus Speh, Paul Steven Stone, Miles Tepper, Susan Tepper, xTxFebruary 11, 2011, Fictionaut blog:
$7.00 | 49 Pages | In Stock
http://blog.fictionaut.com/2011/02/11/valentines-day-massacres/
Home | Červená Barva Press Books | Poetry Chapbooks | Poetry Books | Anthologies | Fiction | Flash Fiction | Literary Journals | Non-fiction | Plays | Memoirs | Audio CD's
