O, But in the Library by Susan Stevens
$14.99
Men in Bars
were not the ones
I wanted to meet
in my twenties, or ever.
O, but in the library
was my idea
of a good man.
There, I could scan
the stacks for the bright guy
in 811.08 or 811 L95Yh
(and always with glasses–
they stirred me
as half-dressed
women did men),
position myself
around the corner
from his fixed reverie,
push a book
through to his side
and onto the floor–
then run around to
retrieve it and apologize.
I waited. I had to find out
if he was as intelligent
as he was meant to be.
Rating: ***** [5 of 5 Stars!]
For all her façade of professional restraint, it is Stevens’ own pounding inner breast that reveals this exacting punctuator is herself beloved of our Muse, goddess who is forever breathed in via the breast, even though it may seem controlled by somewhere in the cerebrum. This poet’s over-all paradox of intellect vs. feeling is played out through her stress of intellect, muscular brain waves, learnéd epigraphs, these poems, and all their buried but throbbing passion.
–Dick Bakken, author of The Whiskey Epiphanies: Selected Poems 1963–2013 (Pleasure Boat Studio) and Greatest Hits 1967–2002 (Pudding House Publications)
Rating: ***** [5 of 5 Stars!]
SUSAN STEVENS is what I call “a dangerous poet”! In her new collection O, But in the Library, she takes you into a sexual world of questions and eroticism that defines love, fear, and that aching “tension of desire” you feel in your gut. Her poems are like a confessional that haunts and lingers at the edge of your mind. You won’t forget Stevens’ poems, not because you don’t want to, you just can’t.
–J. S. Kierland, author of “15”: Short Stories and Hard to Learn (Underground Press)
Rating: ***** [5 of 5 Stars!]
Description
O, But in the Library
by Susan Stevens
$14.99, paper
978-1-63534-096-9
2017
With a dual emphasis in English and music, Susan Stevens studied voice, bassoon, and comparative literature at the University of Redlands. She owes much to the exceptional tutelage of the late poet Jim Simmerman at Northern Arizona University, where she received a masterʼs in creative writing. These poems and her novel-in-progress explore the galvanizing aspects of distance and positive tension between people.
Susan Stevens has taught English composition, literature, and creative writing on the Navajo reservation and several campuses, including Eastern Arizona College where, partnered with the Arizona Commission on the Arts, she directed the Visiting Writers Series. In federal positions covering 25 years, she finished as an editor for Engineer: Professional Bulletin for Army Engineers. Her previous book With Ridiculous Caution was published in 2013 by Finishing Line Press. She is a freelance writer-editor living in Springfield, Missouri, although her essence resides westerly in Flagstaff.
Rating: ***** [5 of 5 Stars!]
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