Shorties
Meditations in Short Verse
by
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After publishing "Enlightenment" I found that people reacted in a generally grim way to the subject; too seriously to be able to take it seriously; too ready to crawl out of one bag and into another; too frequently singing praises for what they believed but didn't understand; too ready to not see what was showing through the glass darkly; so I decided to add some spice to the mix. Welcome, the Shortie.
I've been writing for years, and I've had bits and pieces of verse rattling around in my head, like rats in a barn, forever. I discovered a group of writers who believe in Seriously Short Poetry -- four lines maximum. It was like falling into a summer pond. The bits and pieces formed up, and swam together, and made things that make sense. They didn't call them shorties, but I do because I think it's cute.
So, here's a shotgun blast of shorties to riddle your shorts for you. Name a topic, and it's probably alluded to (in passing) somewhere. There's a thing in a pit, an old Indian, women, social commentary, cats, shorties themselves and, of course, a glorious enlightenment, all for the price of pulling a string with no strings attached. Give it a tug.
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About the Book
So, here's a shotgun blast of Shorties to riddle your shorts for you. Name a topic, and it's probably alluded to (in passing) somewhere in this collection of short verse. There's a thing in a pit, an old Indian, women, social commentary, cats, Shorties themselves and, of course, a glorious enlightenment, all for the price of pulling a string with no strings attached. Give it a tug.
About the Author
The author was born in Sydney, Australia in 1949. In 1961 the family moved to Montreal, Canada, and then on to Beloit, Wisconsin in 1963. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Philosophy, in 1972. He worked part-time as a draftsman during the summers. In 1975 he completed a Secondary School Teaching Certificate in English at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, but he continued to work as a draftsman and then as a designer. He began writing during these years. In 1980 he followed his parents to their retirement home in Clearwater, Florida where he continued to work as a contract mechanical designer until 1983 when he entered engineering school at the University of South Florida in Tampa. In 1985 he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. He continued working as a contract engineer until he entered graduate school at the University of Florida in Gainesville in 1987. He completed his Master of Science degree in 1988, and his Doctor of Philosophy degree (mechanical engineering) in 1991. He served on the faculty of the University of Southwestern Louisiana in Lafayette from 1992 to 1995, at which time he returned to Clearwater to care for his aged parents. In 1999 he joined the faculty of the University of Texas at Tyler. He retired in 2008, and returned to Florida where he continues to pursue his interests in literature, engineering, philosophy and writing. His first book, Enlightenment, is also available from Xlibris.