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Looking for Potholes: Poems
Looking for Potholes, Poems; The Talk Show, A Novel; Free Air, Poems; Papal An Ex-Catholic Calls Out the Catholic Church; You Got To Be Kidding! A Radical Satire of the Bible and Mailer's America.
- GenresPoetry
88 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 4, 2015
1 person is currently reading
3 people want to read
About the author
Joe Wenke
12 books15 followersDR. JOE WENKE, an outspoken and articulate LGBT rights activist, is the owner and managing partner of Xperience, a multi-million dollar marketing communications and production company with offices in New York, Boston and Detroit. He is also the founder and publisher of Trans Über, a publishing company with a focus on LBGT rights and promoting freedom and equality for all people.
He began his career as an editor at the Foundation Center in New York City. He was a speechwriter at Avnet for Tony Hamilton, the founder of the global electronics distribution industry, and wrote speeches for George Conrades, the head of IBM US. As a senior vice president at Caribiner International he served as the company’s lead communications strategist and head of global accounts.
Wenke received an M.A. in English from Pennsylvania State University and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Connecticut. He is a regular columnist in the Huffington Post. His books look into the religious underpinnings of LGBT discrimination in America, including YOU GOT TO BE KIDDING! The Cultural Arsonist’s Satirical Reading of the Bible. His next book, PAPAL BULL: An Ex-Catholic Calls Out the Catholic Church, will be published later this Fall. He is also author of “Mailer’s America” about the lifework of Pulitzer-prize winning American author Norman Mailer.
He began his career as an editor at the Foundation Center in New York City. He was a speechwriter at Avnet for Tony Hamilton, the founder of the global electronics distribution industry, and wrote speeches for George Conrades, the head of IBM US. As a senior vice president at Caribiner International he served as the company’s lead communications strategist and head of global accounts.
Wenke received an M.A. in English from Pennsylvania State University and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Connecticut. He is a regular columnist in the Huffington Post. His books look into the religious underpinnings of LGBT discrimination in America, including YOU GOT TO BE KIDDING! The Cultural Arsonist’s Satirical Reading of the Bible. His next book, PAPAL BULL: An Ex-Catholic Calls Out the Catholic Church, will be published later this Fall. He is also author of “Mailer’s America” about the lifework of Pulitzer-prize winning American author Norman Mailer.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 26, 2015
To be honest when I read that the author was a LGBTQ rights activist, I was really re-thinking wanting to check this book of poems out. This is because while my views differ from these life styles, I don't push my views off on others. So being an activist I know that they are strong voices and so was not sure that I wanted to read a book of poems that would force these briefs on me.
This book turned out to be a nice surprise. The poems were not heavy handed in LGBTQ subjects. In fact, there is a poem for everyone to be found in this book. What I most liked about the poems is that Mr. Wenke came out swinging. He did not hide anything and was truthful. Which I have always thought that poems were a form of expression, so there should be no filter.
Warning: Some of the poems can be blunt so if you get easily offensive you may not like those poems.
This book turned out to be a nice surprise. The poems were not heavy handed in LGBTQ subjects. In fact, there is a poem for everyone to be found in this book. What I most liked about the poems is that Mr. Wenke came out swinging. He did not hide anything and was truthful. Which I have always thought that poems were a form of expression, so there should be no filter.
Warning: Some of the poems can be blunt so if you get easily offensive you may not like those poems.
October 8, 2020
Looking for Potholes: Poems by Joe Wenke is his second collection of published poetry. Wenke, an outspoken and articulate LGBT rights activist, is the owner and managing partner of Xperience with a focus on LBGT rights and promoting freedom and equality for all people. Wenke received his M.A. in English from Pennsylvania State University and a Ph.D. in English from the University of Connecticut.
I first read Wenke last year when I received a copy of Papal Bull: An Ex-Catholic Calls Out the Catholic Church. I like his writing and as a former Catholic I liked the message too. I was thrilled when I received a copy of Looking for Potholes. The first poem, "I don't Have to Be Right," right me right from the start. It just happened the day I picked up this book was the anniversary of a close friend's suicide and the poem certainly hit what I was feeling. "Withdrawl" gives a look into an introvert's world. In "Swerve" I first noticed a move to what I could only think of as Dr. Seuss type rhyming:
I move through the dark,
doing the math,
taking the path
of least resistance,
knowing the odds,
ignoring the gods,
At first this rhyming seemed a bit on the "cutesy" side of poetry. The more I read, however, it did carry a deeper message and the rhymes created interest or pattern like the beat in a song. Some poems reflect on other people and society. It is not always in a positive light. At times, Wenke lets loose at others in a way we wish we could in life. He turns inward too. "Trapped" and "Some Place" look inside individual feelings, fears, and emotions.
I like the beginning of "My Prayer":
Dear Devil,
please make me thinner,
If you do,
I promise to become a better sinner.
I'm pretty bad already,
but I know I can do better.
Looking for Potholes is a short collection of poetry. It was not what I was expecting after reading some of Wenke's other books. I enjoyed and appreciated this collection more than his other works also. Instead of "attacking" religion, which usually brings grief to the reviewer too, he looks at human nature and the human experience. Wenke looks at the part of being human that is not usually written about. It is not all flowers and rainbows in the real world. People have problems. People have faults. The simple lines and simple rhymes help bring these thoughts to the forefront. Wenke uses simple methods to bring up complex issues. What I took as a bit childish early on turned out to be quite a bit deeper than my initial thoughts. Very well done and cleverly done.
I first read Wenke last year when I received a copy of Papal Bull: An Ex-Catholic Calls Out the Catholic Church. I like his writing and as a former Catholic I liked the message too. I was thrilled when I received a copy of Looking for Potholes. The first poem, "I don't Have to Be Right," right me right from the start. It just happened the day I picked up this book was the anniversary of a close friend's suicide and the poem certainly hit what I was feeling. "Withdrawl" gives a look into an introvert's world. In "Swerve" I first noticed a move to what I could only think of as Dr. Seuss type rhyming:
I move through the dark,
doing the math,
taking the path
of least resistance,
knowing the odds,
ignoring the gods,
At first this rhyming seemed a bit on the "cutesy" side of poetry. The more I read, however, it did carry a deeper message and the rhymes created interest or pattern like the beat in a song. Some poems reflect on other people and society. It is not always in a positive light. At times, Wenke lets loose at others in a way we wish we could in life. He turns inward too. "Trapped" and "Some Place" look inside individual feelings, fears, and emotions.
I like the beginning of "My Prayer":
Dear Devil,
please make me thinner,
If you do,
I promise to become a better sinner.
I'm pretty bad already,
but I know I can do better.
Looking for Potholes is a short collection of poetry. It was not what I was expecting after reading some of Wenke's other books. I enjoyed and appreciated this collection more than his other works also. Instead of "attacking" religion, which usually brings grief to the reviewer too, he looks at human nature and the human experience. Wenke looks at the part of being human that is not usually written about. It is not all flowers and rainbows in the real world. People have problems. People have faults. The simple lines and simple rhymes help bring these thoughts to the forefront. Wenke uses simple methods to bring up complex issues. What I took as a bit childish early on turned out to be quite a bit deeper than my initial thoughts. Very well done and cleverly done.
April 23, 2015
I love poetry! I even write it. I find it the best therapy, and love to read others' works. I was happy to check out Looking for Potholes, and quite curious too. I was impressed and surprised. The prose flowed nicely, and often it was like reading lyrics to a song. I really connected with, Then and Now and Declaration of Independence, and I laughed while reading, Simple Question, but I loved, No. The thing with poetry, is everyone interprets it differently. Everyone takes what they want from it, and what you may love, others may not. I still think poetry is a beautiful art, and everyone should indulge in it, even if only to read.
April 1, 2015
Unpretentious, deep and brutally honest verses that are a pleasure to read. I devoured them one after another.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews