Notes on Hard Times

by Paul Austin

This collection of poems by Paul Austin are empathetic and positive-leaning po, many of them performance pieces. The titles alone indicate this writer's interests and to battle for social justice, to express outrage against hypocrisies and home-grown terror and to celebrate grace, love, and music as antidotes to the horrors and crimes of "those who govern." This collection of lyric poetry, along with prose-poems, is music with harsh, smart edges and tender movements.

62 pages, Paperback

Published March 8, 2019

About the author

Paul Austin was named a 2007 tuition scholar at the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference. A former firefighter, he has more than twenty-five years of experience working in emergency rooms. He lives in Durham, North Carolina.

This Paul Austin is not the same Paul Austin who wrote, "Return of the Lost One," or who co-wrote "I Am a Woman." If anyone knows how to remove these titles from my profile, please let me know.

Reviews

[Cody Baggerly · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Notes on Hard Times" is my first Paul Austin book to read but by no means my first exposure to Austin's work. Despite having heard him read his works on several occasions, I couldn't help but find each poem of this chapbook distinctly unique, each with its own voice and narrator.

Through, "Notes on Hard Times," I traveled through many eyes and witnessed many perspectives on hard times. Whether internal conflict, or external, Austin shows us the heart of his narrators and a window into our own humanity.

[Ken Hada · Rating 5 out of 5]

Political acumen on the part of the author gives this book its foundation, its credibility and its ongoing relevance.