Good day, good people of the internet. This is a real quick post to promo an interview I did with Dean Krosecz on his podcast “The People I Meet”. We chat for 45 minutes about life, love, and the pursuit of happiness. Give it a listen if you have time. As always, feel free to say hello and check my Insta @mrroachpoetry for new poems daily. Hope all is well, folks. The link to the interview is below.
https://open.spotify.com/episode/3TtFVnC3OLUKFUUIvKIFwv?si=plF6PqWGSmKFK53xuAljbQ
Anyone that follows my IG page and those who have run across this blog, may have noticed that I all but disappeared during the previous three or four months. While I welcome occasional periods of solitude, the prolonged isolation and seemingly increased and endless atrocities being committed worldwide, drove me mad and directly back into the arms of my deadliest of vices. Without damning myself to public ridicule, I can divulge only the vaguest of information. Under normal circumstances, when the world isn’t collapsing on itself, drugs and alcohol are an idle pastime, at worst; at best, a tool for inspiration and creativity. Yet every man, no matter his constitution, has his limits. The pandemic drove me mad, which is within my comfort zone, but the dozens of other vulgar acts of barbarism ushered me to a thin (white) line, which I crossed. There were fights, cops, medics, a couple trips to the hospital, an out-patient detox, and a self-monitored detox 9,000 feet about sea level in the middle of nowhere that finally took hold. On an average day, I’m confident death is not something I am afraid of, but having met it head on recently, I was forced to reevaluate my ego-driven bravado. I’m glad to be healthy and well after such unrelenting self-destruction. Clear-minded, sharp, and back in my element. Pleased to be rattling off stacks of gritty and abrasive poetry for (hopefully) years to come. Thanks for reading. See you soon. -btr
Word press is somewhat new to me and I really haven’t had a chance to get to know many of you and realize the community the future surly hold. But this is my chosen behind-the-curtain, under-the-bonnet platform in which a reader of my “good stuff” found out there in the other world might have a chance to see who the fuck this btr guy really is. That’s why this is the perfect place to touch on the epidemic at hand. If you have ran across my poetry on IG or elsewhere, I’m certain that you would see I dabble in the satirical arts. Often I come across as a self-absorbed prick, aloof, uncaring; a possible sociopath. At times, those descriptors may be accurate. I feel it necessary to assure the masses that if I seem to be joking about a sensitive subject, such as a virus wreaking havoc on the life we once knew, it is not written as cold-hearted funsies, spitting in the eye of my fellow man. I am one with you all and want to get through this mess together. Satirical poetry is a pastime to weather the malcontent of the gods. Having had moderate asthma for the long haul, I understand all too well the horror of drowning in your own bronchial fluids. It’s terrifying and deserved by no one. That said, I wish all of us the best. Stay safe and separate and wash your hands. But most of all… keep on rockin’ in the free world! – btr
#dontpanic #wereinthistogether #prayerdoesnthelp so #lovethyneighbor #keeponrockininthefreeworld
I’m going to transcribe this poem from my 3/26/20 notes. I don’t think it’ll make it through the typer and I kind of view this blog as a behind-the-scenes dear John to the loving and bored. Commentary always welcome, encouraged, and reciprocated.
They think of Buk, as a fizzed old ledger, poke fun, on a dead bear. Do they think, of the man, under the skin? We post the pictures, of guilt, for shame, forgotten. Virtue and valor, heroics ill-gotten, to the victor, the pages, but was it who won? Were there three men, raising the flag? Or one? – btr
#poetry #newtothis #imnew #howdoesitwork #hashtaghell #bukowski
Alright, I’ll see if I can’t string together an actual blog post here. I’ve never been a blogger, but I write a lot of, and care deeply for, poetry. I’ve recently started press shopping for a publisher to collect and bind some of my work. I keep reading that it is a good idea for a person with my literary ambitions to keep some sort of blog site. I can’t disagree with the logic, connect with readers, other writers, so hear I am. I’m not really sure what my hang-up on blogs was in the first place. It’s a very logical thing for a person who fancies himself a writer to be doing. I’m looking forward to social interaction with like minded folks, digital as it may be. So feel free to comment or email. I have all intentions of being a very active and interactive word presser. Tell me your blogging tips and tricks; call me out on bad blog etiquette. It would be well received, I assure you. I’ve pretty thick skin for a bleeding heart poet. Until next time…
Again, thanks to anyone reading this for your time, and unfortunately, your patience. As it turns out, I am not adept in blog-site building. I’m working on it, so check back soon!
mrroachpoetry