Nirvana Haymaker

by Frank Reardon

Frank Reardon was born in 1974 in Boston, Massachusetts and spent his first 28 years living there. Since then, he has lived all over the country, in places such as Alabama, Kansas City and Rhode Island. He currently lives in the Badlands of North Dakota, still looking for a way to get out. Frank has been published in various reviews, journals and online zines. His first book, Interstate Chokehold, was published by NeoPoiesis Press in 2009. Frank is in the process of completing a third poetry collection and intends to take up additional prose/fiction writing and perhaps clay pigeon shooting.
Reviews
"Read Frank Reardon at your own risk. He'll open your heart with a corkscrew and leave you wide-eyed and longing for more...these are goddamed excellent poems."
- Dan Fante, author of "Chump Change, Kissed By a Fat Waitress" and "Mooch"
"You're sitting in a dark room, alone, washing down Valium with coffee, wishing you could see the stars through the dirty window; instead, you see a reflection of yourself, the lines on your face heavier, the life in your eyes drained. You hope for something better: a better girl, a better place, a better you. Cigarette smoke cuts the bitterness for a second. You squint, through the haze, trying so hard to see something in yourself. The heater brightens the room when you take a drag. There's nothing left. May as well write about it and hope to hell someone comes along to share your coffee and your life, making those damn lines mean something more than just empty scars."
- R L Raymond, editor, "Pigeon Bike Press"
"Frank Reardon's poetry is high-voltage! It's like when my brother stuck a screwdriver in an outlet to see what it would do. Get ready!"
- Meg Tuite, fiction editor of "The Santa Fe Literary Review"

Genres: Poetry

180 pages, Paperback

First published December 5, 2012

About the author

Frank Reardon was born in 1974 in Boston, Massachusetts and spent his
first 28 years living there. Since then, he has lived all over the country,
in places such as Alabama, Kansas City and Rhode Island. He currently lives
in the Badlands of North Dakota, still looking for a way to get out. Frank
has been published in various reviews, journals and online zines. His first
book, Interstate Chokehold, was published by NeoPoiesis Press in 2009,
His second Nirvana Haymaker was published by NeoPoiesis Press in 2012.
Blood Music was published by Punk Hostage Press in 2013.

Reviews

[Antonio · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has an edge of visceral graininess and a vision into beauty all at once, like a long lens of focus down the corridor of a life lived by growth nurtured through art on the terms of the writer, of the artist. The effects of Jeffers and a hard scrabble Boston youth mix with life on the backroads of America that lead to an imperfect absolution at the crossroads of the heartland. An absolution, nonetheless, that gives these arrangements their knockout punch and a place to lay on down by the roadside in perfect splendor next to the uneven pavement for a look into the clouds of the soul. There is a lot of dimension in these works, looking inward, looking outward, guessing at the pass that exists, plumbing the unseen depths below, watching visions across the sky, squinting out of blackened eyes, healing from all the blows against the soft architecture of love. There is a lot of love in this book. Have a look at it and see for yourself.

[Bud Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Frank Reardon is a poet with a really badass/intriguing style. You could easily say it’s no-nonsense. He’s a real tough writer, who writes with his whole heart and covers the gamut of what I’m generally interested in when I read poetry. Girls, rock n’ roll, nature, death … short to say, cool shit. I picked up his latest release Nirvana Haymaker from NeoPoiesis Press and I’m glad that I did. It was an excellent collection and one that I recommend to you.

[Allen Berry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Frank Reardon's Nirvana Haymaker is gritty, raw, and real. The poems in this collection are brutally unflinching representations of a rough upbringing, soaked in whiskey, filtered through clouds of cigarette smoke, and viewed through a swollen, blackened eye.

That might make this book sound bleak, and some of it is, but in the midst of it, are moments of breathtaking beauty.

Reardon's chorus of voices scream, shout, whisper, and moan. Each uniquely its own, and all demanding to be heard. The reader cannot look away, cannot stop listening, and cannot turn away.

[Meg Tuite · Rating 5 out of 5]

Frank Reardon's poetry is high-voltage! This is a collection to be read over and over! He is outstanding and a constant inspiration! Get a copy! You'll be glad you did!