Customer Reviews

Glamour & Damnation

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am loathe to write, as my poor attempts at description are amateurish compared to the other reviews that I have read about this book, however, I feel compelled to say something about a text that is human, moving, loving and yet dark, grim and humorously disturbing at the same time.

"In the Tongue of the Talking Bed" is one of the most real moments of human loss of love and bittersweet rememberance that everyone who has ever had a deep love will identify with. For a matter of fact, flip to any one of the poems and the only way it won't move you is if you're not from this planet (or a sociopath and even then, I think there's a chance that a sociopath would be moved in some small way).

Buy it, and buy one for a friend, it will be a tome to talk about and your friend will honestly thank you for it. (I speak from experience on this one-).

Regent St. Claire explores the gray area between evil and innocence, as the dark flip side of human nature. Regent's first book "Altered States of Grace" had read like its very own haunted theatre. Beautiful, also with such melodic melancholy that its all so very intense, so much that it gets so hard to digest at times that it compels me to read on. I can't wait to get my hands on his new book, "Glamour & Damnation". And, by the way, check out his project "Candyappleblack" at its very own website, for a bigger taste of the supernatural side of his imagination.

Somehow, unknowingly, the world today has been let loose on a constant campaign to lose more and more of the grip on things that really matter, things that make a difference... feelings that are meant to lie just beneath the surface... the very essence of the liquid tears that run from the flame and harden into rivers of substance.

I am glad to say that now, Regent St. Claire may be the one to make the world stop rolling off its own edge... and to make it listen... both in times of Glamour and in spells of Damnation.

His raw angst and passion colour his words with a depth and clarity that transpose his thoughts unerringly right through the keyholes of those special places in your heart and your mind that many of us strive to keep hidden, dusty and cold, and that will unlock you from within. His poetry is unencumbered by rules, regulations or sterotypes, and is as is... refreshingly fresh and excitingly exciting as one of the most genuine collection of poems that I have had the pleasure of coming across.

In a world of rising waves overhead and raging currents underneath... Glamour & Damnation travels in the space between... deep, rich, thick and weightless. Finally, a book that returns the age-old romance of reading. Three sweet cheers and a black apple to Mr. St. Claire.

I have kept a copy of Regent St. Claire's "Glamour & Damnation," with me wherever I go for the past several weeks, ever since I received it in the mail. Whenever I happen to have a moment or two, I read as many pages as time will allow. Truthfully, I've probably read and reread the whole book, cover to cover, six or seven times, so far. The beautiful imagery in this book gets better and more vivid with each reading.

With each rereading I can feel myself being "washed down a storm drain" in THE LIE OF THE SEA; I feel like an angel remade in WITHER & BLOOM; my knees go weak after reading PROFOUNDLY MOVING.

These poems pull you in, like a gift to be unwrapped, and then when you remove the paper, you are left with a stunning piece of the narrator's heart. On every page, Mr. St. Claire takes us beyond the superficial, leading the reader past the meat of the poem and into the marrow of what he really wants to say.

If the first piece doesn't pull you apart and pull you in, your heart is hardened beyond repair. The first time, the tenth time, and every time I read BENT, BROKEN and BACKWARDS, my heart races at "168 beats per minute."

Ever since my first reading of the very first poem, in G&D, I've become a fan of St. Claire's poetry. I cried, I laughed, I scoffed right along with the poet as if he sat next to me, sharing his intensely personal poems with their cunning insight and page turning titles. I read G&D in my car while I'm waiting for the light to turn green. I read them with my coffee in the morning and during the day when I should be working on my own writing. I read them in the shade at the park and in bed before I slip off to sleep. If you are a person who likes well-crafted, accessibly readable poetry that will bring you into the world of a poet with a sharp eye, and fierce heart , buy this book. And if you think you don't like poetry, read it anyway. G&D just might change your mind about poetry.

Finally! A literary step forward in the art of self expression.
Untainted, undaunted and yes, believe it or not, unfiltered.

Most people write to be published, gearing their genere right to the hearts of the prime time crowd. Mr. St Clare abandons those who hide behind a job title, the latest skin care product or diet fad. He tears his heart out and uses it to document the most intimate of his rantings.

I applaud the courage of this author and I am confident that once you absorb and digest these verbal portraits of obscure perception, you will join me in demand for more food for thought...

good raw poetry that pulses inside you as you read St. Claire's ponderings. in one poem he brings life to the cold grey steel of a gun; in others his words make you physically feel the sensations he writes about. it's poetry as it should be but with a twisted little edge. magic. i didn't give it 5 stars only because sometimes it gets a little too dark.

i haven't read the book, but i plan on it. i read the poetry off the website, and it was extremely amazing. i think everyone should read it. i'm totally buying the book.

First and formost I would just like to say that "Glamour and Damnation" is an excellent book. It's a must read for all poetry lovers, and anyone just interested in finding out more about life itself. It contains all kinds of incite into life. From the good to the bad that we all endure in some form or another. You'll find yourself both amused by some passages from the book, while others will leave you stunned. Wondering how such a thing could happen, or how can someone think this way. Many I'm sure will find this book bothersome, but for me it's enlightening and comforting. It makes the things I have endured, in my so called life, seem more exceptable knowing I'm not the only one to endure such harshness in life. All should read this book. Even if you are not a poetry reader. Everyone who reads this book will walk away with something.