Howard W. Robertson

“The delight of this book is the constant surprise. The narrator’s physical and contemplative world is where the quotidian meets the sublime and does a hula dance. Howard W. Robertson creates a persona who whispers in our ear to come along on his bumpy and glorious ride. The reader is then placed in lush rooms of wordplay and acute observation, while also being allowed a sense of intimacy. The poetry accesses the narrator’s perspective with a curious and compelling simultaneity, akin to reading a journal and hearing internal monologue. This is a landscape where a sensei wears a cowboy hat and scrambled eggs are symptomatic of authentic being. However this is not an entirely ethereal world; the poems also create a narrative where we meet the children, the ex-wife, and even the new city budget manager. Robertson reminds the reader that living is a beautiful and terrible mystery that is best faced with humor, endurance, and love; his intense language makes this a most pleasurable and powerful reminder.”