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This poetry collection undoubtedly deserves a place on your bookcase beside all of the poets your English teacher told you to read.

Synopsis

The Glenmore Sessions is Joseph Fulkerson's debut collection of poetry. In it you'll find his unique musings on life, love-both found and lost, and the human condition. This collection documents a time of great upheaval, of self discovery and rebirth that we can all relate to.

When I read a poetry collection, my desire is to know the poet by the time I read the final piece. I crave an insight, a journey, no matter how small, something I can recognise because I have seen it before in my reflection; and allow it to move me. 


Fulkerson’s debut poetry collection, The Glenmore Sessions, achieves just this. His words made me laugh, made me smile, made me think and brought tears to my eyes. At times he writes about the perils of drinking too much alcohol, in ‘Frank’; or our collective loss of innocence as the years roll by, in ‘Sonic Youth’; or the bittersweet taste of nostalgia, in ‘Springsteen’. Writer and reader fluctuate in and out of giggles, deep thought and the reveries which sting as Fulkerson reveals to you his inner fears, queries and qualms. Some of the best pieces are incredibly succinct: ‘Kissed the Heavens’ and ‘The Anatomy of a Poet’ are worthy of a standing ovation. 


Fulkerson has mastered his craft and created a collection which is clearly of the 21st century and yet warms you through with the whiskey of history as you make your way to the end. In today’s world where anyone can wield an image with a few words and call themselves a poet, I am happy to say Fulkerson really is a poet. The kind we’ve been reading for years; intelligent, original and human. 

Reviewed by

I am a writer and freelance editor/proofreader based in the UK. I have self-published two poetry collections (Between the Trees and Flowers on the Wall). I enjoy reviewing poetry, short stories, literary fiction and historical fiction. I am the Editor-in-Chief for Free Verse Revolution magazine.

Synopsis

The Glenmore Sessions is Joseph Fulkerson's debut collection of poetry. In it you'll find his unique musings on life, love-both found and lost, and the human condition. This collection documents a time of great upheaval, of self discovery and rebirth that we can all relate to.

An excerpt from the book:




21 Grams




Lately I've been thinking about my own

mortality and just how fragile life can be.


They claim that at the time of death,

when your soul leaves your body,

you lose twenty-one grams of weight.


If we're counting, that's eight pennies

Or fifteen paper clips if you will.

That's nineteen jelly beans.

Better yet, one hundred raindrops

on a chilly autumn morning.


It troubles me to think that everything that

makes us unique carries so little weight.

It seems so insignificant.


When I die, I want the sun to supernova

and the earth to spin off its axis.

I want the oceans to be at rest

so the tide never comes back in.


When I leave this earth, I want people

to wonder how they could ever

go on in my absence.

Twenty-one grams isn't enough.

My soul feels so much heavier than that.



 

The Free Spirit

 

As she danced,

the whole world danced with her,

swirling around in step

with every movement she made,

with every flit of her hair,

every stolen glance.

 

She danced to remember,

she danced to forget.

She danced so she would live again,

so she could believe again.

 

She danced because she had to,

it was in her and if she didn't

it would come bursting out of her

like an atom bomb,

her own personal Hiroshima.

 

As I watched, I was surprised, aroused,

confounded, captivated...

For with each movement of her body

and twirl of her hair

she was born anew.

 


 

The Pretender

 

Oh great pretender,

you have everyone fooled.

Everyone that is, but me.

I see through your facade.

You can't blend in

no matter how hard you try.

You put on your hat

or that uniform,

and you may wear them for a while

but none of them fit,

none of them feel like you.


Oh great pretender,

how foolish you are

to think that I don't know your secret.

Longing to be where you belong,

what a tragic waste of potential

that lays at your feet.


Oh great pretender,

you must take heed

post haste

don't waste another day

knowing

knowing

knowing

that the biggest catastrophe

in your life was the day you

decided to settle for second best

at best, giving up on blazing your

own path, creating your own truth,

resigning yourself to hem the inseam

of another man's vision.

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About the author

Writer of Fiction | Cinephile | Lover of all things horror | East Jesus Nowhere (Anxiety Press, 23') Brood of Vipers (Translucent Eyes Press, 24') www.josephfulkerson.com Linktr.ee/josephfulkerson Fulkerson2693@gmail.com view profile

Published on April 24, 2019

8000 words

Contains mild explicit content ⚠️

Genre:Poetry

Reviewed by