Ryan Fredric Steinbeck

Art Without Description: In Puncto Reflexionis, is the second book of poetry in a series of three parts. It continues to address themes such as technological saturation, political dissatisfaction, and the search for an identity in a world where it is easy to become lost and feel as if you don't have a purpose. The title is a metaphor for losing identity."The book travels through several emotions, including fear, frustration, anger, vulnerability, light heartedness, as well as accomplishment, appreciation, respect and love while commenting on world events, identity crisis, isolation, and acceptance.Mr. Steinbeck grew up in Twin Lakes, Wisconsin was inspired by music and poetry at an early age, writing his first poem in 1991 This is his 12th collection of poems to be published. For more information go to www.ryanfsteinbeck.com, on Facebook: Author Ryan Fredric Steinbeck, or on Instagram: Steinbeckpoetry.

Ryan Steinbeck began work on Soul Ownership in early February, 2015. The title originated from his belief that we are losing touch with ourselves and each other as technology around us advances. Frustration builds in stores, restaurants, coffee houses, and on the road when, more and more, individuals have their noses buried in their phone. For many, face to face conversation is becoming a thing of the past as we appear to be allowing technology run our lives. This is a collection of poems that explores the losing, discovering, protecting, abusing, and yearning for Soul Ownership. It follows several different characters on different journey's. It is a heartfelt plea to stay grounded in reality and to not allow being taken advantage of by the idea that we need to be a certain way for acceptance. This is possibly one of Steinbeck's most uplifting and positive books to date. His maturity as a writer is on display, as is his growing understanding of himself and the world around him. This collection is well worth the time, and has the potential to grow on you with each read. The book contains several standouts: "Thoughts And Memories Of This Region" was chosen to represent Porter County, Indiana in the compilation "Mapping The Muse: A Bicentennial Look at Indiana Poetry. Also worth noting is the wise, title poem "Soul Ownership" which finds the character fighting to protect his soul from corruption. There are many other great poems, including "Punto De Reunion", "Elegy For Brussels", and the gloomier "Dark Road" which follows a character dealing with the uncertainty of his life with cancer. Possibly the standout of the collection, and maybe Steinbeck's best poem to date, is "Glimpse (Light of Dawn)" which was written after a suicide and addresses the fleeting time we have here to appreciate who we meet and the love we can give and receive. Soul Ownership a strong addition to the writer's biography and well worth the read.

Sets In The West is Ryan Fredric Steinbeck's eighth collection of poems. Written in just over the span of six months, the characters in this book take a journey through mourning as they deal with loss of family members and loss of identity in the process. Other faults are exposed as they look for meaning. Carefully crafted, the book meticulously builds upon each story on it's way to the ending, where acceptance and resolve begin to emerge. The standout has to be "Conversation With A Ghost in a Bar" as the character here speaks to an empty chair while amusing the bartender. Highlights also consist of the title poem, along with "Healing Light", "The Walk Alone", "These Hands", "Conversation With A Ghost in a Bar", "Trespass", "These Wings", and "Where I End".

With major influences such as T.S. Eliot, Robert Frost, and John Keats, Tales of a Stone Mason by Ryan Fredric Steinbeck is a crafted a book of spirited poetry with richly layered stories, both real and metaphorical. The free-style collection took shape when he expanded his ambitious reach into new territory, focusing a handful of poems on his ancestry, including "Saint Chrisostom and the Untimely Exit, 1867," "Frank," "Cherokee," "Ancestry," and "Nobody's Son." This collection finds him getting into many different characters that are much different than before. There's an authentic personality emerging that was not as prominent in previous collections. The poems "One Truth," "Greater Than Love," "Proof," and "Begin To Understand," suggest that Steinbeck feels that universal love is a very important aspect of life. "Sunrise" and "In A Moment" display in subtle aspects of what twenty years of practicing Yoga and meditation can do to a thought process. "Calpe", "Birds Eye", and "Today" are great stories that draw you in to the writer's mind. There's also a poem about The Shawshank Redemption titled "Reclamation," and "Playground" is an ode to "I am the Walrus". "Tales of a Stone Mason" is definitely a big step forward for this author.

One House Left standing is a book of poems broken into two sections. The first section is for the heart, the second is for the mind. Excellent set of poems and best of the four books this author has written.

Ryan Fredric Steinbeck's third book of poetry is titled Hurricane Catherine. It is the second book in a trilogy, picking up where "Upper Level Disturbance" left off. The haunting use of metaphors about storms and elemental events drives this book towards it's end and describes the lonliness and treachery he experienced. Overall it's a brillant collection of poems that almost feels like a timeline journey through his travels to Florida during a difficult time of coping with loss. The journey ends in optimism when love and clarity emerge in the last pages.