New York City – In his timely new book of poems, It Wasn’t Supposed to Be Like This, Greg Masters cuts through the lies perpetrated as the American Dream pitched to us like soap detergent over the past 50 years.

The title poem is an attempt at a sort of “Howl 2”.  Written in a wayward trochaic octameter (eight beats a line) it is a grand kvetch to pierce veneer, call out government miscreants and establish truths attesting to perspectives chronically pushed to the margins and excluded from corporate boardrooms and TV fantasies.

Responses from early readers:

“Each of these poems is so transparent that, as with experience, you don’t see the poetry in it until it’s over. Their motive is simple, their trick is profound: to remind you that you’re here.” – Mike DeCapite, author of Through the Windshield

 

“Such an incredible epic poem, flirting with irony but never succumbing to cynicism.” – Chris Kraus, other of I Love Dick and Summer of Hate

“What a terrific poem!” – Simon Schuchat, author of Light and Shadow

The bulk of the book is taken up by “My East Village,” another epic poem (in trochaic octameter) that chronicles the downtown neighborhood Masters has lived in for the past 45 years, celebrating its cultural riches while bemoaning its blandification.

You don’t have to take my word for it. Here’s Peter Valente in Boog City (May 22, 2021):

Masters’ wonderful book, It Wasn’t Supposed to Be Like This, is a testament to freedom. It is a book of hope for future generations; it should be read by poets under 30 so they can get the real story, the facts, about those poets who paved the way for them in the early years.

The full review is here.

Terry Gibbs, writing on his astounding Vertigo site, says:

Greg Masters…a self-proclaimed baby-boomer, looks back in verse on what his (and my) generation accomplished and failed to accomplish.”

The full review is here. (May 2021, number 38)

The 132-page paperback, It Wasn’t Supposed to Be Like This (978-0-9998947-2-9), is available for $14.99 from BookBaby, Amazon, Barnes and Noble and other online retailers. The ebook edition (978-0-9998947-3-6) is $3.99 and is available from most online ebook retailers.