#timber mouse

Timber Mouse Publishing, 2014 I wasn't super familiar with Ronnie K Stephens prior to reading this collection; I knew he had a poem published in RATTLE which I rather liked, but beyond that hadn't been exposed to much of his work. I actually bought this as a bit of research; Timber Mouse is releasing my debut collection sometime later this year, and I wanted to get a feel for how the physical product might take shape. That all being said, I really enjoy this work. There are a few themes here that I can appreciate, even though I can't relate to them myself - marriage, fatherhood, teaching, being from Texas - and then there are themes that resonate so deeply with me that I had to take a minute to breathe. I read a few poems that dealt with self-injury, depression, and body image that gave me a much-needed boost of strength. It's a beautiful thing to read a poem and feel like the author knew EXACTLY what you were going through. I admire the bravery in this work. It challenges me to be less hesitant to write about these same devils that show up in my own life. I really appreciated the 'teacher' poems as well. Stephens does an excellent job at writing about the things he sees & experiences without falling into the trap of setting himself up as the hero of the narrative. The students, their lives, their experiences, are the focus in these poems, not the person writing about it. 

A couple months ago, in the writing workshop I help run with my friend Mckendy, we discussed the title poem from this collection (which you can read HERE) at pretty great length. This poem actually does a decent job at illustrating the overall book. While the vocabulary of these poems is pretty simple, there's a pretty decent amount to digest, and this book is easily good for a couple of repeat readings, in which you will still find yourself discovering something new that you missed the first time around. 

I don't really think that Ronnie K Stephens has reinvented the poetic wheel. I do think that this is a straightforward and bold collection from a fearless poet. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing what comes next.

I've been keeping quiet about this lately, but today Kevin Burke gave me the go-ahead to share this. In the spirit of posting all of my rejections publicly, here is the best fake-out ever: "Dear Willliam James, We at Timber Mouse would first like to thank you for the submission of your manuscript. We receive countless manuscripts from very talented writers like yourself, and selecting the right ones to be published is a very difficult decision. It is with a heavy heart that we regret to inform you we have decided to publish your submitted manuscript. Unfortunately your book was too good to not be published and we were unable to send you a rejection letter that you could proudly post on your personal social media accounts. We wish you luck in your future endeavors and recommend you keep writing, but in a much sucky manner in order to receive politely worded, but ultimately cold and impersonal rejection letters, emails, or messages on your pager. Really. Try sucking more, you beautiful beautiful freight train of a man. Sincerely, Kevin W. Burke Timber Mouse Publishing"