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SWEET: New and selected poems by Dave MorrisonSWEET: New and selected poems by Dave Morrison (book)Print: $16.95 Download: $10.66 A hardy weed in the garden of American poetry, Dave Morrison's work is equal parts blue collar skepticism, jazzy dreamscapes, and dark humor. Dave has been extensively published in on-line literary magazines, plays Fender guitars and amps, and lives on the beautiful and rugged coast of Maine. "So there's obviously no f**king with Dave Morrison's writing…read [it] by candlelight while drinking straight from the bottle, the radio playing softly in the corner." -Matt DiGangi editor Thieves Jargon - "A tidal wave of outrageous creativity; a wild rift of lines that leave you out of breath, fascinated, manipulated, articulated. Watch out!" - Elizabeth Garber, author of Pierced by the Seasons and Listening Inside the Dance - "...like Mary Oliver with a leather jacket and a sense of humor." -Sharon Mesmer author of HALF ANGEL, HALF LUNCH and THE EMPTY QUARTER - 
Dave Morrison reads SWEET: New and Selected PoemsDave Morrison reads SWEET: New and Selected Poems (CD)Disc: $10.99 Low-fidelity and high-adventure, this is bootleg poetry, recorded live in front of an audience of one. Hunched over a cheap microphone in a small room in Maine DAVE MORRISON reads SWEET: New and Selected Poems, including crowd-pleasers Sweet, My 2 Minutes are Up, Award, My Dream, and more. 
HIDEAWAYHIDEAWAY (book)Print: $13.92 Download: $5.95 Jack Dupree has done a lot of things he regrets, and a lot of things he can’t remember, but that’s behind him now. He doesn’t drink or tend bar any more. He doesn’t play piano any more, at least not in public. He works the door at a blues club called the Hideaway – he is trying to put his life back together and move on. Jack feels no obligation to find his missing brother; Danny is a charming liar and coke-head, and has disappeared before. But it is Annie, Jack’s wild ex-girlfriend who begs him to help. When Annie is murdered Jack has to find out who was responsible and bring them to some kind of justice, not knowing that he is about to open a Pandora’s Box of family secrets. HIDEAWAY is a contemporary noir thriller that will appeal to readers who enjoy Dennis Lehane, Robert B. Parker and James Lee Burke. 
Brand New DayBrand New Day (book)Print: $16.95 Download: $10.65 Morrison writes poems about the landscape of the heart, the weather inside the skull, and how Rock & Roll becomes part of your DNA. Morrison's second book of poetry is chock full of poems about String Theory, Khrushchev, Death, Jerry Lee Lewis, Fear, Norton Commandos, Time, Transistor Radios, Keith Richards, and the blues. 
CamaroCamaro (book)Print: $13.92 Download: $5.95 A series of linked short stories about Kid, a seventeen-year old suburban boy who believes, as rock and roll songs have told him again and again, that if he could only get a car and a girl the rest of his problems would work themselves out. Some of the stories in CAMARO have appeared in magazines including FRiGG, Dispatch, Triptych and Poor Mojo's Almanac(k). 
The Lonely Life of SpiesThe Lonely Life of Spies (book)Print: $16.50 Download: $7.50 In his fourth poetry collection Morrison's best work seems to be behind him - either he's lost his edge, or he just doesn't care anymore. On the other hand, this could be his boldest and most powerful work yet, the book that will finally put him in the ranks of kick-ass contemporary poetry. You be the judge. 
SliverSliver (book)Print: $16.95 Download: $10.65 A sliver is something small that feels much bigger when it gets under your skin. Writing poetry can be the act of teasing out that sliver. 
ACME Book of PoemsACME Book of Poems (book)Print: $7.92 Download: $2.50 The ACME Books of Poems is a collection of Dave Morrison's poetry specifically created for open-minded readers of any age, but particularly Middle and High School Poetry/Writing classes and book groups. Taken from Morrison's previous two books of poetry and including new poems, this collection is friendly while keeping its teeth. The ACME Book of Poems is an excellent primer for those looking for an introduction to Morrison's work for cheap. As Morrison suggests, "you probably like poetry more than you think..." |
 Name: Dave Morrison Location: Camden Maine United States E-mail: Juke.Books@yahoo.com Send this user a message.
Morrison's Poetry Lives Up To Its Name
REVIEW by Dagney C. Ernest Courier Publications CAMDEN "Sweet," Dave Morrison's first book of poetry, is well titled. Though it takes its name and cover imagery from a rather disconcerting poem within, I mean the word in the popular slang usage as something really fine and welcome. The week I worked my way through the paperback, I was reading selections aloud to friends and colleagues, enjoying their reactions to the many poems I found compelling. Morrison, a familiar face to those who took in last spring's People's Poetry Project gatherings will introduce his book and read from it 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 12, at the downtown Camden Public Library. His background includes years as a New England rock singer/songwriter, as well as creative writing studies at New York City's New School University. While "Sweet" is his first book of poetry, he has had poems, short stories and a novella published in literary magazines. The performer and writer synch in many of these poems and not just via subject matter. I'm told Morrison falls into the performance poet category at readings and many of these poems seem geared towards that. "My 2 minutes are up" tracks a racing mind, one seeped in music and other forms of popular culture, while "When I go" depicts a mind racing to all the wrong conclusions. The latter is harrowing, while the former provokes laughter, but both ring true. Close observations and boisterous energy abound in "Sweet," from a skewering of joke-telling clichés to the experience of sitting through a mediocre play to "Filling Out the Poets and Writers Directory Form." The latter is one of several poems that address the writing of poetry itself; my favorite is "Good day." This poem uses a device Morrison employs in several selections, a repeating line at the end of each of every few staves. In general, I found that a little pat, although Morrison gives it a final twist at the end of "Gone." Maybe the repetition rubs me the wrong way because so many of the poems have a forward-driven momentum that really grabs and takes the reader along for what is often a humorous ride, albeit with a cutting edge. A blurb on the jacket calls Morrison's work "like Mary Oliver with a leather jacket." I'll buy that. I also bought the poems that left humor aside. I particularly like "learning to grieve," which subtly uses drowning as a metaphor for a process that often feels just like that. Other poems include fine images that I turned back to savor again after reading to the end. "Snow 10:30 am" ends by describing its subject as "a / criss-crossing shower of / cold clean / dust." "October 1" begins with: "my favorite jack-o-lantern / is my own fingers / cupped to light a cigarette." Smoking is a regular player in "Sweet," as is love and music and insecurity about the future and memories of the past, especially a coveted '69 Camaro. Two poems are the epitome of the "what if" writing exercise: "Award" and "looking out to sea" both take their conceits and run away with them to ridiculous, yet curiously intriguing places. "Cain" is an eight-part exploration of the biblical murder story that takes its cues from the love/hate bond of brothers. Morrison seems up for trying all kinds of things when he writes and even when he doesn't think he can. In "Failed Poem," he finds himself with "No rhymes, no rules, no rhythm; nothing more than tiny sparks on / wet wires. / All I can say with any / honesty is that it is / Saturday night and I am / hungry." If you're hungry for honest poetry, "Sweet" will fill you up. The book is available at local book stores and online at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and publisher lulu.com.
Please visit www.dave--morrison.com
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