About the Book

    Notes from Oblivion will appeal to an adult readership that enjoys hard-hitting, thought-provoking poetry. Themes explored include unsophisticated populism, media saturation, freedom and censorship, isolation, and the angst of love. They are written in classic lyric style with an emphasis on rhythm and look at modern life from unexpected and sometimes humorous perspectives. Each poem is accompanied by a full color image.

    

Image for Not We, But Me and opening stanza

Six friends, five friends, four friends, three
The ultimate reality's not "we" but "me"
I'm sorry but who knows what I think or see?
From grey matter I will never be free
This is Auguste Rodin's The Thinker (1902) superimposed on his other masterpiece, The Gates of Hell.
Source: Wikimedia Commons/Photo: dalbera/CC BY-SA 2.0
Created by Jean-Pierre Dalbera of Paris, France, April 15, 2010

 Thank you for visiting! I am currently working on a revised edition of Notes from Oblivion. I expect this to be ready by the end of November (2024!). I've re-worked some of the poems, removed a few, and added a culinary appendix. Here is the new table of contents:

     The Poems

1. Loitering in Limbo
2. Petrified Aspirations
3. Observation
4. Contemplating Flotsam
5. Another Token for My Chain
6. The Beckoning Dumpster
7. We are the Blockheads
8. The Debutante
9.  Systems
10. I, Monk
11. The Beat of Life Goes On
12. Mao Would Be Proud
13. Giraffes
14. Beyond the Softest Touch
15. Not We, But Me
16. Fragments
17. A Single Copy
18. Probably, Not Necessarily
19. I Still Put Another Log atop The Fire
20. Uncommitted Me, Uncommitted You
21. Timecard
22. May They Forever Frolic
23. The Birds of Courtenay
24. My Girlfriend?
25. You Need a Heart to See
26. Literary Goons

     Reading Night at the Library
 
     Culinary Supplement 
      An Assortment of Canapés
  27. Herbed Cream Cheese on Ritz Cracker
  28. Buzhenina with Cornichons and Marinated Peppers
  29. Shaved Serrano Ham with Tomato and Basil Bruschetta
  30. Beef Carpaccio with Asiago Petals
  31. Duck and Mango Tartlets 
 
​        The Images

About the Author

     I am a retired chef living on Vancouver Island and Notes from Oblivion is my first published work. Toronto is my hometown, where I lived until 1990. I attended the University of Toronto for three years in the program Russian and Eastern European Studies, and obtained a minor degree in Russian Language. I then set out on a 23-year adventure working as a chef in Russia and Ukraine. 

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