Official Book Release.
It has been a very long wait. I am in my 58th year and my first solo poetry book finally goes on sale tomorrow.
When I was nine my class teacher wrote “Good creative writing. Presentation can suffer sometimes from rushed work” (see below). I hope they were right about the creative writing. I am not sure about the rushed work since it took another 49 years to publish a book.
“Old & UnWise – A Haphazard Collection of Poetry and Thought” is as close to a reflection of who I am, and how I think, as I am ever likely to produce. I have been asked whether the book has a central theme and while I did consider focusing on one theme, I eventually opted to show the full range of my poetry. It was not an easy decision. Books with a particular theme are easier to promote, but I wanted my book to be as authentic as possible, and Old & UnWise covers topics including social justice, domestic abuse, the environment and humanity in general. At the same time I believe that we should enjoy the creative process for what it is, and there are a number of poems that are simply flights of fancy and fantasy. These can range from the whimsical to the dark. They can be nonsensical or have an underlying message.
Those who know me well know that I fret over the legacy my generation will leave for the youth of today, especially since I am both a father of a wonderful daughter, and a coach of young men. At the same time I also love to have fun. Both the thinker in me and the comic are revealed in the book.
I trust that it will contain something for everyone and perhaps a little surprise in between.
Steve
Stephen Buttigieg - Words 