E M Schorb

Apollo wears many hats. The physician Apollo puts his stethoscope to the heart of darkness; the poet Apollo heals through song; therapeutic Apollo, no matter what else, for he is the classic renaissance god, is always the healer, bringing strange joy to the psychically damaged. The good poet is Apollo's assistant and ward-nurse; his or her painless injections of magic lighten and brighten the darkest heart, the darkest mind. E.M. Schorb's book of pathologies and cures, Murderer's Day, reflects life on the mosquito coasts, the plains and foothills of Parnassus. There is less magic down here than there is up there, and the poet seems certain, as all poets must be, for wonder is their way, that there is even more magic beyond. Schorb hopes that his little missal/missile shines with truth and reflects his faith that, although it is dark down here, we are all going into a world of light.

You're the real thing-the way you're able to write on such an enormous variety of subjects and though the forms change the voice is consistent. Because] the writing is rooted in the daily lives of actual, or in some cases, mythological characters, you can get away with a measure of mystery. I like you best when you're a little mysterious, or maybe more than a little. Have you got a new book out or on the way? I'll look for it -Philip Levine Excerpt from a Letter Schorb has an excellent, polished and sophisticated technique in whatever manner he approaches a poetic theme and these are many. The pathos of love, nihilism, and spirituality are all covered and often brought out via descriptions of small scenic events like theater clips crafted into a free and flowing verse where the poet is speaking as often as not through another's voice or persona. -Robin Ouzman Hislop, Editor Poetry Life and Times To be a first-class poet requires a fluency of language, mastery of a vocabulary sufficient to express seminal, original thoughts set down with rhythm, with imagery, and with descriptive evocation that communicates flawlessly with the recipient of the poetry of verse. Such is the case with the poetry of E. M. Schorb. -Paul T. Vogel Midwest Book Review

Cartoons by prize-winning poet, E.M. Schorb, several of which appeared in his Dates and Dreams, winner of the Writer's Digest Self-Published Book Award for Poetry, Honorable Mention at the New York Book Festival, and Finalist for a Best Books Award. This collection made possible by a grant from Robert Rauschenberg and Change, Inc.