From the introduction
by Michael A. Arnzen:
Welcome to one of the meatiest
collections of grizzly, grotey, bizarro
poetry you’ll come across. In other
words, “the good stuff.” The stuff
you like to read. The guilty pleasure stuff
that’s hard to come by. Not the stuff
you used to read from your lovers or childhood
heroes, or the stuff you were made to read
by your teachers or parents. The stuff you
genuinely like to spend time with, musing
and mulling and mashing. The stuff that
makes you guffaw with laughter and want
to read out loud to other unsuspecting people.
What they're saying about
The Troublesome Amputee:
"Reflective and, at times, philosophical. Lawson's use of language is accomplished and often very evocative."
— HorrorScope
“Mr. Lawson makes a good case for himself as a poet. He comes on like Catholicism, Palahniuk, and Lovecraft on bad acid. Sometimes rambling away on a titular theme, but occasionally spouting a bit of profundity. To say he’s focused on the macabre, the moribund, and the painful is understating where Lawson’s coming from…if you can get past the “disturbed” nature of the first third of this collection and want to read some humorously nasty gems I can recommend The Troublesome Amputee.”
—Skullring.org
“Lawson proves he’s a poet to reckon with…The Troublesome Amputee not only confirmed John Edward Lawson as a triple threat (editor, poet, writer of fiction), but shows why he’s among the leading pioneers of the Bizarro genre.”
—Midwest Book Review
“I believe I am now a Lawson convert. The Troublesome Amputee has opened my eyes to new possibilities in poetry, and I am eager to seek out more of his work. Lawson has a way of getting under my skin with his words, making them memorable long after the pages have closed. That said, I wouldn't recommend reading many of the poems in one sitting; there are so many ideas and images that come so quickly that I needed time in between readings to process things properly. Too much is bound lead to some sort of mental or emotional overload.”
—Craig’s Book Club
“Lawson is genuinely one of the best horror poets writing today.”
—The Swallow’s Tail
“Did somebody say ‘crazy poetry’? I am actually running out at 5 p.m. today and finding myself a copy of John Edward Lawson’s The Troublesome Amputee. I can think of few things sweeter than going up to a be-turtlenecked struggling poet, giving the sullen fellow a copy of this book, and saying, ‘Nice angst there, Raven, but your poems don’t have nearly enough werewolves.’”
—Bookgasm
“Lawson’s poetry
inspires, sings, dissects, and screams,
reflecting his unique insight to a world
willing to indulge in self-amputation: harming
itself in unexplained ways. Whimsical, strange,
and unflinchingly true, Lawson’s work
is always entertaining. Like coming home
to unanswered screams, Lawson’s poems
weave words into unforgettable songs of
sweet darkness.”
—Linda Addison,
Bram Stoker Award winning author of Consumed,
Reduced to Beautiful Grey Ashes
“I’m a big fan
of John Edward Lawson’s work, and The
Troublesome Amputee is by far his best
poetry collection to date. It’s sometimes
hilariously funny, sometimes deadly serious,
but always morbid (often really morbid)
and thought-provoking. Any horror fan—even
those who aren’t into poetry—should
check this one out."
—Jeff Strand,
author of Pressure and Casket for Sale (Only
Used Once)
“With this blistering
salvo of poetic gutshots Lawson has proven
himself Bizarro’s true bard, its mad
laureate. Switching from dark whimsy to
retina-blast shock to political outrage
without missing a beat, The Troublesome
Amputee is a powerful collection of
pitch-black verse.”
—Jeremy Robert
Johnson, author of Angel Dust Apocalypse
and Skullcrack City |
