| The Troublesome Amputee |
Poetry collection by John Edward Lawson, Raw Dog Screaming Press, 2006 Bram Stoker Award Finalist |
|||||
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: "John Edward Lawson's poetry jumps out and burrows inside my mind with the precision of a scalpel. He takes risks with his readers and is not afraid of offending them...The Troublesome Amputee has stayed with me, even though I read it months ago. This is the best collection I’ve read in years and I’ve become a fan of Lawson’s work." “Reflective and, at times, philosophical. Lawson's use of language is accomplished and often very evocative.” “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.” “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.” “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.” “Lawson is genuinely one of the best horror poets writing today.” “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 AmputeeI 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.’” “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.” “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." “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.” |
|||||
|
