"Like A Bird Knows To Sing" Book Announcement

Publication Announcement and Introduction from Judson Stacy Vereen's second collection of poetry.

Dear Friends,

almost three years ago I moved to Brasil and met- for the first time, my wife, Yasmin. I have been living in the countryside ever since, in the hills of Minas Gerais. I am pleased to announce a new book of poems dedicated mostly to this experience. In addition to the many poems, there are also short prose pieces in this collection. I would certainly be grateful if you would consider ordering a copy for yourself, or perhaps a friend.

Below is the books introduction.

Warmly,

JSV

Book is available for order HERE.

Introduction by the Author

My first book of collected poems, 62 Poems from Judson Vereen, was more of an experiment than anything- in that I had never put together any type of writing and then had the gall to insert it in between the covers of a so-called book. Where many writers (especially young poets) would slightly cringe at their first attempt at a collection of poems of juvenilia- I never flinched. Reading over the potential 100 poems that I would dwindle down to 62, I found nothing in it that felt embarrassing, but felt rather more like an artifact or, let's say, a stone, that is. A stepping stone from which will be built larger, more in depth collections of poetry, essays, sketches, stories etc.

I then attempted a second book, Through San Francisco, DARKLY, which included poems, stories, and the majority of my song lyrics, that at that time I had written and sung for the guitar and piano. This would have been about 2014 and I had also embarked on another dark journey, my first novel, American Pleasure, documenting my time spent substance ridden and linked to a disastrous nymphomaniac. A decade later, Through San Francisco, DARKLY is still not finished. 62 has been translated to Portuguese by my wife, which is a source of pride, I must admit.

Anyway, Like a Bird Knows to Sing is one of those compendiums where there is no theme, except, perhaps, time. I believe it was soon after my arrival in Brasil, where I was to meet in person for the very first time the woman who I knew I would marry (we held an extensive correspondence during COVID19, and I, destitute and fed up with America, simply packed up and left). Soon enough, after we found and made ourselves a home, I lugged an old Olivetti typewriter (given to me by Eros, my wife’s father) to the outside area of our home and began pecking away at what would become this collection. Like all of my work, I wish for it to stand alone, rendering a long introduction completely unnecessary. Still, there is the need to stir something up inside myself and to give readers some context- few as my readers are, far in between as they might come.

It may be noteworthy that these poems were written deep in the country and in the outdoors. If anything, they represent a type of rumination, and the celebration of life with a kind of spirited jubilance that was previously only foreign to me. It is certainly due to my roaming and turbulent spirit that my previous work is full of a kind of vulgar gusto, a violent type of coexistence with the urban environments that I have sullied and been sullied by- and is also what led me here to Brasil- my willingness, or perhaps even eagerness, to push myself outside what is known to me and the country where I was born- a country where I was slowly descending into turmoil and despair.

But it is equally true that much credit goes to my wife, whose correspondence, no joke, probably saved my life, and at the very least alerted me to the dire nature of my decrepit surroundings and to the depth of my very own emptiness.

It is for that reason that I dedicate this book to her and the state which we now live. A state as expansive and bewildering as my very own heart, which will forever be hers. So, this book is for her, and she is on its cover.

Judson Stacy Vereen
São Lourenço, MG, Brasil
January, 2023