History is an Afterthought

Steve Goldberg is a poet of bakeries and breakups rainy days and buried memories. Like all good poets he pays attention. Hes obsessed with the ordinary and the overlooked. Hes the poet next door who goes to the corner bar. Hes a poet who pauses during the day because he knows that Im in the three oclock of my life / And its three oclock in the afternoon.Mike James author of Crows in the JukeboxA map of a bodhisattva-engineers trek across a frontier of inner-neighborhoods measured with loneliness imperfection unexpected beauty and cups of rich coffee.Nick Traenkner host of the Literary Cafe poetry seriesI can hear my story in Steve Goldbergs writings. Yes thats what good poetry does: Reminds you of who you are - all the while inviting you stay awhile. Ill be staying a long while with Goldbergs poems. These poems come from a life lived in tradition experiment and question - reminding the reader of how close we are to touching one another ... reminding of how intertwined our dreams wishes challenges loves and lives truly are. And he does it beautifully.Bill Gainer author of The Mysterious Book of Old Man PoemsSteve Goldberg is a poets metapoet not just aware of his indulgence of poetry but embodying the charge of the jester free to unleash the truth for all the readers to see the nakedness beneath everything the ineffable stuff of life that flows through human contact is the glue that pulls this collection together. He lays out the relationship between the poem and Schrodingers Lottery Ticket and is not afraid to shave with Occams Razor. His book is a love letter from Cleveland to the sublime moment that prowls about everyday life that Goldbergs eye and pen do not miss.Paul Corman-Roberts founder of Beast Crawl Lit Fest and author of Bone Moon PalaceInto a world increasingly inundated with words of polish and spin vetted and cleared for the duty of obstructing truth and beauty come these poems - giving us the unglossed unvarnished truth of the human heart. And for that the reader can be thankful.Milenko (Miles) Budimir author of Departures and Rustbelt RomanceSteve Goldberg doesnt care if you see him in his robe. He wont change for you and he pays the price. Hes an observer from his city to the room behind his reflection in the mirror. He is a poet who examines context. He knows how he got here. He knows how we got here.Elynn Alexander publisher at Collapse Press and author of The Shouldspeak Disease