Books by Jack Phillips Lowe

Portrait of the Dog as a Young Artist

Jack Phillips Lowe is Chicago-born and raised. His fiction and poetry have appeared in Barbaric Yawp, the Iconoclast, Lucid Moon, the Lemming, and Open Wide (U.K.), among other small press outlets. He is the author of two poetry chapbooks, So Much For Paradise (MuscleHead Press, 2000) and Long Form (Free Thought Publications, 2003). In late 2004, Onzo Imprints published his collection of short stories and poems, What's Passed Is Past.

posted by Kris # 11:31 PM 0 comments

Available Books by Jack Phillips Lowe

1.) So Much For Paradise. 33 pages of free-verse poems concerning life, art, and the times we live in. Cool cover by artist Tracy Cox. Copies available for $3.00 each (USA) postpaid from: Bone World Publishing, 3700 County Route 24, Russell, NY 13684. Checks payable to JOHN BERBRICH. (You have to contact John for this one, 'cause I don't have any more copies!)

2.) Long Form. 46 pages of long(er) narrative poems of a surreal and humorous bent. Written in response to the ever-shrinking length requirements of magazines. Who says we all have to write haiku? Copies available for $4.00 each (USA) postpaid from: J.P. Lowe, P.O. Box 39, Addison, IL 60101. Checks payable to J.P. Lowe. [LIMITED EDITION]

3.) What's Passed Is Past. 110 pages of free-verse poems and short stories regarding modern society's dual preoccupations with the Past and the Future. Are these characters and situations fantasy or reality? Sad or funny? You be the judge. Copies available for $8.00 each (USA) postpaid from: J.P. Lowe, P.O. Box 39, Addison, IL 60101. Checks payable to J.P. Lowe. [LIMITED EDITION]

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posted by Kris # 11:37 PM 0 comments

Two Poems by JPL

These are two favorites from So Much For Paradise:

Doubt says, "You're all washed up.
If there were any nuggets hiding in that dry riverbed,
any worthy ideas lurking in that wide expanse between your ears,
they would've revealed themselves by now."

Age says, "You'll never do it. Writing in a youngster's game,
and you're Father Time. You're a punch-drunk fighter,
winded by round 3, jabbing at shadows and
blocking with your chin."

Reason says, "Let it go, let it go,
stop clinging to this child's dream.
You're a corporate slug now,
with backs to stab and asses to kiss.
That cut-throat world has a way of killing the Muse.
Give it up; you'll never write another poem."

And how do you answer?
By simply keeping on.
Every word written becomes a rebellion,
and the opposition serves to make you
dangerous and
new once again.

OK---
after much time
and trepidation,
you finally
make the leap.

You mourn the cliff
for its support---
if nothing else,
it offered that.
You dread the canyon floor
for its hardness
and its eagerness
in rushing to meet you.

In the meantime,
you're all right.
Light, cool,
airy even.
Careless---
in a good way.
Is it possible
to find solace in
the space between?

Sure.
The view is incredible
on the way down,
and you might find
that you know
how to fly.

posted by Kris # 11:33 PM 0 comments

Critical Response to the work of Jack Phillips Lowe

"To read Jack Phillips Lowe's work is to find yourself in the presence of a modern-day Hans Christian Andersen. Lowe is a fabulist crafting poetic proverbs with humorous twists. Fasten your seatbelts, you're in for a wild ride!" ---Laura Stamps, Ibbetson Update.

"99.9% of the books I read it takes me an effort to keep going, up the mountain through the snow. . .but with Lowe, once you start reading, you can't stop. It's the other side of the mountain, pure down-sliding." ---Hugh Fox, 2005.

"Lowe's writing is always entertaining and rife with detail, and takes on a much more different approach to the subject of 'life' than ranting or complete seriousness would. . .[it takes] almost caustic refuge in the notion: 'Wouldn't it be better to have fun with what you're doing than not to?'" ---Joseph Verrilli, Ragtime Productions, 2005.

"Lowe tells stories with a plot and a point. His characters are real and his dialogue snappy. He makes you laugh, then cringe in suspense." ---John Berbrich, Barbaric Yawp.

posted by Kris # 11:32 PM 0 comments