Bill Yarrow

I am the author of the following books of poems: Critique of Pure Dreaming (academia.edu 2023), Flying Blind (Yavanika Press 2020), Accelerant (Nixes Mate Books 2019), Against Prompts (Lit Fest Press 2018), We All Saw it Coming (Locofo Chaps 2017), The Vig of Love (Glass Lyre Press 2016), Blasphemer (Lit Fest Press 2015), The Lice of Christ (MadHat Press 2014), Incompetent Translations and Inept Haiku (Cervena Barva Press, 2013), Pointed Sentences (BlazeVOX, 2012), Fourteen (Naked Mannekin, 2011), and Wrench (erbacce press, 2009). I have published widely in print and online journals such as RHINO, Confrontation, Gargoyle, Contrary, DIAGRAM, Thrush, PANK, Poetry International, Iodine Poetry Journal, and FRiGG. I am also professor emeritus of

I am the author of the following books of poems: Critique of Pure Dreaming (academia.edu 2023), Flying Blind (Yavanika Press 2020), Accelerant (Nixes Mate Books 2019), Against Prompts (Lit Fest Press 2018), We All Saw it Coming (Locofo Chaps 2017), The Vig of Love (Glass Lyre Press 2016), Blasphemer (Lit Fest Press 2015), The Lice of Christ (MadHat Press 2014), Incompetent Translations and Inept Haiku (Cervena Barva Press, 2013), Pointed Sentences (BlazeVOX, 2012), Fourteen (Naked Mannekin, 2011), and Wrench (erbacce press, 2009). I have published widely in print and online journals such as RHINO, Confrontation, Gargoyle, Contrary, DIAGRAM, Thrush, PANK, Poetry International, Iodine Poetry Journal, and FRiGG. I am also professor emeritus of English at Joliet Junior College where I taught Creative Writing, Introduction to Film Study, and Introduction to Shakespeare.

Free download of "Critique of Pure Dreaming," "The Apnea Poems," "Fourteen," "100 Poems Under 100 Words," and other works at academia.edu

"Bill Yarrow hits new heights with this poetry book; it has his intellectual prowess coupled with a deep vulnerability...a breathless read that left me wanting more. Most highly recommended."
—Susan Tepper, Amazon and Facebook review of The Vig of Love

"I finished your new book, and it is excellent!!!! You have a wonderful handle on imagery and metaphor. The surrealists would include you as one of theirs. As you know, I don't like many modern poets, but you are at the top of my like list."
—Larry Mesirow Facebook review of The Vig of Love

"I was overwhelmed by the richness of this collection....Always a master of precision, Yarrow writes like silver lace on silver cloth of unpaid lovers’ debts, the past’s weight, and the sorrows of the present. There is incredible beauty in The Vig of Love, gorgeous imagery, and sinuous style. I felt the author had arrived at a place of perfect pitch, the high-wire walk between pleasure and pain as though the act of a mesmerist.."
—Stephanie Dickinson, author of Love Highway, editor of Rain Mountain Press

"Just finished Blasphemer. I love your sense of humor and your willingness to push the envelope by looking askance at sacred subjects. Good poetry helps us see something in a way that we've never envisioned it before. You succeed admirably in that respect. Yours is a book that I unreservedly recommend."
—Richard L. Hanson

Blasphemer is everything a worshiper of contemporary poetry is looking for. Thought provoking, experimental at times, complemented with a fair amount of humor and transformative language, Yarrow is a genius at exploring, and ultimately splintering, the root of our belief systems—religion, society, politics, family, and yes, the blessed writing community."
—Julie Demoff-Larson, Blot Lit Reviews

"Bill Yarrow’s very own brand of blasphemy often ends up sounding like an offbeat celebration of what Stevens called 'things as they are.' Yarrow’s complex view of reality owes a lot to his optimism and LOL sense of humor. You will find much to cherish in Yarrow’s new book, not least its range, its versatility."
—Jaime Reyes, Amazon customer review

"Yarrow's work questions traditional religion, love, and western culture in this shocking and inspiring work. 'There's No Crying in Poetry' was extremely well done and my personal favorite."
—dramaqueen17, Amazon customer review