Our new audio series "The Authors Read. We Listen." is an incredibly special one for us. Hatched in a NYC club during BEA week, this feature requires more work of the author than any of the ones that have come before. And that makes it all the more sweeter when you see, or rather, hear them read excerpts from their own novels, in their own voices, the way their stories were meant to be heard.
Last week, we listened as Carissa Halston read from her novella The Mere Weight of Words. Check it out if you missed it.
Today, Ryan W Bradley whispers sweet nothings in our ears. Ryan is the author of Prize Winners, Code for Failure, and writer and editor of the collaborative poetry project You Are Jaguar. He has also published two chapbooks - Mile Zero and Aquarium. His writing may be heavily influenced by the jobs he's had pumping gas, changing oil, painting houses, sweeping the floor of a mechanic's shop, working on a construction crew in the Arctic Circle, fronting a punk band, and managing an independent children's bookstore. Then again, it may not be.
For those of you who may not be in the know, Ryan also designs book covers and posters, and just about anything else he can get his hands on. Heck, his designs are so cool, Vol.1 Brooklyn fell in love with this and dubbed it the best cover of 2012! When I mentioned this audio series to Ryan, I kinda-sorta selfishly requested that he read from his unpublished collection of Rod McKuen-esque poems. I've loved Rod McKuen's poetry ever since I stumbled across it in my college library freshman year. And I love what Ryan has done with these.
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| Ryan spoofs on Rod McKuen's poetry style |
For those of you who may not be in the know, Ryan also designs book covers and posters, and just about anything else he can get his hands on. Heck, his designs are so cool, Vol.1 Brooklyn fell in love with this and dubbed it the best cover of 2012! When I mentioned this audio series to Ryan, I kinda-sorta selfishly requested that he read from his unpublished collection of Rod McKuen-esque poems. I've loved Rod McKuen's poetry ever since I stumbled across it in my college library freshman year. And I love what Ryan has done with these.
With Ryan's permission, here is the first poem in written form:
The Recent Knowledge of Fear
I have decided
poetry is fear.
Every line
wants to get
shorter.
Like our
conversations.
Your breath
sounds so perfect
over the phone.
When will we
meet?
When will you listen
to the poetry
my fear is writing
for you?
I am afraid
of the dial
tone
and what it means
for this relationship.
You can totally download an ecopy of Love & Rod McKuen right now!
Ooh, love it. Beautiful poems and beautifully read. I love listening to poetry (especially in the author's own voice.) It gives me a happy thrill.
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