Wiser Pills
by Richard Stevenson
The joke used to go, “Wiser Pills: take just one and you’ll be wiser,” as the cynical victimizer offered a rabbit raisin to the callow youth. From rabbit raisins to psychedelics, the edict of better living through chemistry had Sixties boomer kids dropping this, smoking that, snorting something else, or poking it directly into their veins to grow taller, get smaller …. Join poet Richard Stevenson on his own exploration of the rabbit warren of consciousness from childhood rites of passage, through dumb jobs, to middle age complacency as the perimeter of that age-old symbol of acquisitiveness, the immaculate lawn, grows smaller and smaller and the poet’s wry grin grows wider …
$15.95 CAD
Additional information
Weight | .166 kg |
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Dimensions | 8.5 × 5.5 × .3125 in |
Page Count | 96 |
Binding | Soft Cover |
Year Published | 2008 |
Richard Stevenson
Richard Stevenson is the author of twenty-one books and a CD of original jazz and poetry with jazz/poetry troupe Naked Ear. Recent titles include Hot Flashes: Maiduguri Haiku, Senryu, and Tanka (Ekstasis Editions, 2001), A Charm of Finches: Haiku, Senryu, and Tanka (Ekstasis Editions, 2004), Parrot With Tourette’s (Black Moss Press, Palm Poets Series, 2004), and Flicker At The Fascia (Serengeti Press, 2005). He lives and teaches in Lethbridge, Alberta.
Rich metaphors … a distinct voice … the reader hangs off the crispness of each word.
~ Vernon Mooers, Writer’s Lifeline
Richard Stevenson gives expression to our alter ego: It’s the part of us that wants to be oblivious to social norms; the part driven to tell it like it is, with street smarts and a limber tongue.
~ Lori Lavallee, Lethbridge Insider
… a forceful combination of narrative and lyric styles that successfully portray the several seasons of being male.
~ Matthew Manera, The Canadian Forum
Stevenson is adept at making his own poetic windows, framing experience and impression with a feel for how words sound and images might be perceived .… His often off-kilter takes on things are permeated with a gently rueful sense of humour.
~ Valerie Warder, NeWest Review