Leland Jamieson

Here's what reviewers have said about Jamieson's collections of poetry prior to SOONER: IN VITRO: New Short Rhyming Poems Post-9/11 (2009): "At his best, Jamieson resembles a modern-day G. M. Hopkins" - Kirkus Discoveries. "Great depth of feeling... mirthful irony... we come to expect a witty turn as the poet discovers where his intellectual and emotional peregrinations have led him" - Rattle. "Splendid gem... Striking language that becomes metaphysical and intricate" - Bonzer. "Vivid landscape... rhyme... packed with detail" - Wild Violet. 21ST CENTURY BREAD: Short Rhyming Poems Post-9/11 (2007): "Musical... ripe with active verbs... a clear voice... snappy enjambed lines given to playful rhyme" - Centrifugal Eye. "Calls to be read out loud... consonants play off each other from the first line" - The Non-Euclidian Caf . "A volume of unusual unity and grace... line by line... an outstanding book" - Contemporary Rhyme. *** Mr. Jamieson lives and writes in Monroe Township, New Jersey.

How to Rhyme Your Way to 'Metaphor Poems' is a passionately reasoned manifesto against dying MFA poetry written in broken prose. It is a "how-to" assertion, and illustration, of the return to formally metered and rhymed forms in post-9/11 language and sentiment. By writing out loud with your lips, fingers, and ears, this book helps you master the 'whats', 'hows', and 'whys', hands-on, step by step. Using a minimum of technical jargon, the strategy of this volume is to invite high school seniors and college freshmen readers to leap across a canyon of misunderstanding by a "musical" writing process the book models. The setting is a fictional college class in Freshman English. This little giant of a book frees a 'poet-to-be' to feel at ease and find new creativity composing contemporary 'formal' poetry. It liberates a 'teacher-to-be' to feel at ease coaching students, including skeptical students. It encourages creativity long-term as well, continuing to deepen your poetry the further you take this strategy. An illustrative 14-poem selection of the author's work rich in metaphors is proof of the pudding. References for advanced study appear at the end.

EDITORS AND REVIEWERS' RAVES: "Unique voice. Powerful storytelling in poetic form" - Antithesis Common. "Fabulous capsules of feeling I particularly admire the 'hand flawlessly fitting in a snug glove' tone of your lines." - ShatterColors Literary Review. "Vivid, musical, ripe with powerful verbs, a clear voice, snappy enjambed lines" - Centrifugal Eye. "Outstanding Book of Unity and Grace." - Contemporary Rhyme. "Calls To Be Read Out Loud. Precisely observed imagery. The poet makes life feel valuable, to be celebrated" - The Noneuclidean Caf . Narratives and lyrics from childhood and youth progress chronologically into themes of adulthood characterized by an increasing concern with consciousness - and with metaphysical speculations. These include the likelihood that the Anunnaki, extra-terrestrials from planet Nibiru, jump-started human origins 300 millennia ago. The characters you'll meet lived with feeling, wisdom, and humor.

Poems by Leland Jamieson. Unsolicited comments on individual poems collected for the first time in this volume: "Unique voice ...weaves powerful storytelling into poetic form" --- Sharon Hadrian, Editor of Antithesis Common Literary Magazine. "Fabulous capsules of feeling! I particularly admire the hand-flawlessly-fitting- in-a-snug-glove-tone of your lines" --- Robert Scott Leyse, Editor of the ShatterColors Literary Review. "They 'electrify'" --- Michael Burch, Editor of The Hypertexts. These are poems you can grasp and which grasp you with fresh eyes on the world and people like you and those you know. Even if you're "not a poetry reader," these poems portray characters you identify with, adventures that bring you to the edge of your chair, close-ups of situations you relate to easily. It's a must-read. Pick it up for yourself. Give it as a gift!