Daily Archives: October 24, 2020

October 24, 2020

Shedding Grace

By Tony Brown

The driver of the white Sentra in front of me 
at this legendary most dangerous intersection in the city

has tossed a handful of crumpled bills into the face
of a panhandler on the curb. 

He’s turned left onto the highway ramp,
accelerated, is gone.
I could see him laughing
through his open window
before he got away.

I turn wide around the old man
as he steps off the curb into traffic, 
bending to try and collect the money
before the wind takes it.

If this were not
the most dangerous intersection
in the city, I would stop to help,
or at least to block the cars
behind me. As it is

I’m hydroplaning
as I turn onto
that same ramp —

slipping toward ruin
on a puddle of shed grace.

4 Comments   |  tags: , , | posted in poetry

October 24, 2020

eBooks available!

By Tony Brown

Bumping up…

I have eBooks/PDFs of my work available for sale to those who might be interested. All were previously offered as rewards to various tiers of my Patreon subscribers (a program I will be continuing there, btw). If you want access to the most recent collections as they come out, I’d go there. Just sayin’.

The titles include:
Annual “best of the year” collections. Currently available: 2017 — 2023.

“Then Play On,” a chapbook of poems about music

“Pushpins and Thumbtacks,” a volume about icons and cliches of American culture

“Noted In Passing,” a revised eBook of a chapbook from 2012 that was a limited edition written for a single feature

“White Pages,” my collection of poems related to race and its role in my life

“Decay Diary,” a collection of poems about aging

“In the Time Of Contagion,” a collection of poems about you-know-what

“The Wrong Flowers,” a prose/poetry meditation on the state of the USA in 2020

“Show Your Work,” an eBook version of an earlier, out of print chapbook.

“The Day,” a selection from 20 years of poems about 9/11/01.

“Ideation,” a short collection of poems old and new about living with depression and suicidal ideation.

“Long Winded,” a collection of longer poems.

“songs for reluctant warriors,” poems for the US political moment of early summer, 2022.

“3 Quarters” released in October 2022. Random and recent.

“Owner’s Manual” released in December of 2022. Poems in the form of directions.  

“Worksongs,” March 2023. Poems about the world of work.

“3” or “Tercets.” July, 2023. Poems with stanzas of three lines. An experiment in craft.

“Missing.” October, 2023. Another craft experiment. A chapbook that’s missing…something. Or a couple of things. Up to you to figure out what…

“Incredible Roses” which dates from September 2024 and contains post-stroke work.

“mirror, mirror” is from April, 2025. Random pieces from pre-stroke and stroke work.

“Mercy and Bullets”: coming soon!!


Minimal # of repeats among the collections.

All are available as both PDF and ePUB formats.

If you are interested, let me know with a comment on this post. Right now? They are 1 for $8 through Paypal, Venmo, or Cashapp — 3 for $16. We can talk about larger quantities and discounts if you want more. Message me for the details.

Thanks.

4 Comments   |  tags: , , | posted in bookings and gigs, Patreon news