| Muses Review - Book Review- Summer 2005 |
| Andrew Angus's Book Review |
| Buy This Chapbook: Hemlock Suicides Planned by Well Dressed Men In Suits by LB Sedlacek |
| Andrew Angus's Book Review is copyrighted to Muses Review. Ask permission from the author if you want to use this. . |
| Book Data: Title of Chapbook: Hemlock Suicides Planned by Well Dressed Men In Suits Author: LB Sedlacek (North Carolina) Author's Website: www.thepoetrymarket.com Genre: Poetry. ISBN: Publisher: Assume Nothing Press Release Date: 2004 Book Format: Paper back Book Binding: Stapled Book Size: 5 in x 8 in Pages: 30 Price: $5 Shipping: 1.50$ for first book.(1.00$ for second piece.) Bookstores: Muses Review Method of Payment: Credit Card or check Email: editor@musesreview.org Postmail: 2267 Woodranch Road, San Jose CA 95131, USA Awards: >1st Muses Prize - Best Poem Chap of Year 2004 - Male - Hemlock Suicides Planned by Well-Dressed Men In Suits |
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| Title of Poetry Book: Hemlock Suicides Planned by Well Dressed Men In Suits Author: LB Sedlacek Published by: Assume Nothing Press Place of publication: Pages: 30 pp ISBN: Price: US$ 5 Book size: 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 Format: Paperback Binding: Stapled Author's Website: www.thepoetrymarket.com Rating: 4.5 laurels out of 5 laurels. (4 laurels = Very Good, 5 = Excellent) ----------------------------------------- Chapbook Review by Andrew Angus LB Sedlacek's chapbook has a long title - Hemlock Suicides Planned By Well-Dressed Men In Suits. The chpabook has 30 pages. The chapbook contains a 27 poem collection that deals with the harsh realities of city life such as divorce, crimes, murder, suicide, corporate environment, bisexuality, mail mix-up, etc. Sedlacek is a poet who is not afraid to write poems about the burning social issues of our time. He is a social commentary who writes his social views in the form of poetry. LB Sedlacek does not compose poems in rhymed. He writes all his poems in free verse. His title poem "Hemlock Suicide.... " is about suicide or murder that is made to look like suicide. This is the most shocking poem in his chapbook. The poem "Secret Language of Poets" has three different themes: about the problem of spying in your computer while composing poetry, what poetry is about, and why poetry should be read or written. The first nine lines: "Hidden messages in my poems-- at least I know somebody's watching somebody's reading every keystroke looking for extra spaces or commas out of place. With..." The poem "Aluminum Altitudes" is about the problem of being trapped in an airplane and the landing is delayed too long. It took me so long to understand the poem. I realized the "aluminum body" is the airplane. "Beneath the clouds above the fog captive passengers languished within aluminum bodies with only one recourse for freedom." His poem "A Fly's Journey to the Electric Chair" is an excellent poem that is very symbolical. The fly in the poem can symbolize a man. The fly dies in the poem when it landed on the electric chair. A man will surely die if he sits on the electric chair. But a fly cannot distinguish a dangerous electric chair and a safe landing. A man can differentiate an electric chair from an ordinary chair. However, some men end up landing in the electric chair because they have done something evil in society. This poem received a gold medal for "1st Muses Prize-Excellence in Printed Poem in 2004." His poem "Swatting At Sunlight" is a poem about his cat with a dose of science fiction where he suggests a possibility of men landing on the sun. The second stanza says: "One day we may land on the burning surface and live for more than a second discovering if the atmosphere is friendly or not." His poem "30 Second Tragedy" is a poem about the evils of mail not reaching the right address or right person. His poem "The Silent House" is about life of a divorced man. His poem "In the Middle of Nobody Cares" is a poem about alienating life in a big city. His poem "Grocery Store Headline" is about the dangers of living in a city when you are drunk or stoned."Alien Showers" is a poem about the problem if your water heater is broken and only cold water comes out of the shower. His poem "Red Sports Car's Mid-Life Crisis" is about the issue of bisexuality in city setting. Sedlacek is fond of using animals in many of his poems- ex. "Baby Bunnies on Crack", "One Fly's Journey To the Electric Chair", "Cats Who Hates Balloons", "12 Flamingoes and 2 Clowns on Horses", - to drive his point or message. Sedlacek's poem chapbook won the "1st Muses Prize - Best Poem Chap of Year 2004-Male Category" because the chapbook contains good poems that feature life in a big city and the harsh realities of city life and the dangers of living in the city. (End of review) |
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| LB Sedlacek is based in North Carolina |
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