Three New Collections from John F. Buckley and Martin Ott
by Barbara Westwood Diehl
Publication news from BR contributor John F. Buckley:
When novice poet John F. Buckley decided to Google his college buddy Martin Ott, he was stunned to discover that his friend was not only a novelist and screenwriter, but also a Pushcart-nominated poet. After Buckley recovered, he sent Ott two lines of original poetry and asked what came next. Ott added two more lines and sent the cluster back to Buckley with the same request. So began a game of poetic volleyball, each poet adding a couple of more lines each time, which resulted in their first poem, “Chiron in Los Angeles.” And then they started the process again, with “Bee Lust in Manhattan.”
Fifty collaboratively-written poems later, they had a manuscript, Poets’ Guide to America, which eventually found a home with Brooklyn Arts Press. Despite being released quite recently, on October 28, it has already collected a handful of positive reviews and reached #27 on the Poetry Foundation’s list of best-selling contemporary books. Buckley and Ott are now working on a second collection, The Yankee Broadcast Network, a poetic exploration of the world of television in the United States. One of these poems, “What I Watched on My Summer Vacation,” appears in the Fall 2012 issue of The Baltimore Review ([url=https://baltimorereview.org/images/index.php/fall_2012/contributor/martin-ott-and-john-f.-buckley]https://baltimorereview.org/images/index.php/fall_2012/contributor/martin-ott-and-john-f.-buckley[/url]).
Besides working together, John F. Buckley and Martin Ott have also enjoyed success with their individual collections. Buckley’s book Sky Sandwiches, released by Anaphora Literary Press in August, offers a wry, paradoxical perspective that evokes the transcendent and the quotidian, fusing a sky associated with higher yearnings with the sandwiches of simpler sustenance. In early November, Sky Sandwiches' publisher nominated it for a 2012 Pushcart Prize. Meanwhile, after winning the 5th Annual De Novo Prize for a First Book of Poetry, Ott’s collection Captive appeared on C & R Press on October 7. Captive draws upon his experiences as an Army interrogator, a father, and a resident of Los Angeles, compelling readers to confront and enjoy the contents of his tightly wound, unbroken stanzas.
So if you’re in the mood for effective, imaginative poetry that contains both humor and pathos, please consider picking up one, two, or three books by John F. Buckley and Martin Ott, available through their respective publishers or on Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Sky-Sandwiches-John-F-Buckley/dp/1937536327
http://www.amazon.com/Captive-Martin-Ott/dp/1936196107
http://www.amazon.com/Poets-Guide-America-John-Buckley/dp/1936767163
The BR editors wish John F. Buckley and Martin Ott all the best with their latest publications!