Customer Reviews

Someone Is Sleeping In My Head

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Poet Richard A. Parks, Jr. pens poetry which swings the closet door of his personal experiences wide open. Exposed are some of the storms he survived, loves he lost and lessons he learned along his path to manhood.

Someone Is Sleeping In My Head is definitely for those who believe that our brothers don't know how to communicate effectively. Richard A. Parks, Jr. disproves this theory as he invites readers into his head, his heart and his soul with his brilliantly expressed poetry.

I saw an ad for this book at a web site called Mental Satin that my wife told me about and this book was featured there. I saw the title and the artwork on the cover and i figured this was just a bit too deep for my taste. But i was pleasantly surprised. This is a funny book. Parks has his moments of deepness and the reality of his experiences stand on thier own but this young brotha made me laugh at things i never felt were humorous. His essays, "Blockbuster versus Bankbuster" and "Where Are All The Single Black Women?" had me in tears. I enjoy books that break things down to levels where we all can understand. Mr. Parks did that for me and i thank him for that. Well done sir....well done.

Time-that is what's captured in Richard A. Parks' work. He takes you through several periods of his own life, and each page you turn reveals a different layer. Park's book allows you to see the warm, funny, angry, compassionate sides of a man. It even allows you to see vulnerability, which increases the impact of this man's words. His outspoken essays are thought provoking, and so are each of his poetic tributes on life, love, loss, and strength. You get to grow with him as you experience his life through his words, and it is a compilation of work that everyone can truly vibe with, no matter your age. This writer's talents are unlimited, and people will be able to read his work throughout time. He has definitely left his mark in the best way---through his words.

This book was very well thought out and was creative. Although harsh at times, it kind of brings a certain reality into perspective. I beleive that many of us live two or more lives, a professional life of today in 2001, and another life at home that has been passed to you from generation to generation. Mr. Parks put both lives together in fine print for all to see, like it or not. That's the beuty and the brutality of it. He kind of made me feel like there were hidden messages between the words that either you saw or you didn't but either way the overall outcome was what you wanted it to be. The effect this book had on me was more than just the pleasure of reading a different reality on life, but it served me as a motivator to get me to express myself somehow. It was very motivating and entertaining. It shows a true freedom of expression to it. I like how he left everything up to the reader to interpret, giving anyone and everyone a different understanding of what Mr. Parks was trying to say. This is definately one of those books that you could read over and over and truly get something different out of it everytime you read it. Motivation or simply entertainment, even a lesson or two, this book is capable of touching a wide arena of readers.

As a avid reader for over 35 years, I have found only 3 books that I can "identify with,Manchild in the Promiseland, Soul on Ice, Native Son...That was until now...I read and re-read those books as a reminder of who I am and what I can be...well now I have a fourth book to add, Someone Is Sleeping In My Head is a true and gutty expression of a young man that is truly mature beyond his years. I started with a glance and was totally drawn into his life...I know he must be the reincarnation of the one of the great authors who started the Black writers revolution. I am still shocked by the story of the triangle and think every fathers should learn and tell it to their sons and daughters. I have set aside funds for what ever this deep young brother write, I want my copy first.

I read this entire book in ONE evening! "Someone Is Sleeping In My Bed" is a must read for those who enjoy well-written, honest, reflective poetry and prose. Mr. Parks shares his life lessons, ideas, and opinions very eloquently. This book appealed to the full gamut of my emotions... I laughed, I cried, but most importantly, I LEARNED and enjoyed!

I was profoundly moved by the ease in which Mr. Parks expressed his multitude of feelings, emotions and thoughts. How eloquently he vocalized the unseen depths of his soul. His prolific ability to manipulate and utilize words, as if he were Webster himself, is astounding. I awoke with a new perspective of the young African American male in America. Mr. Parks is the future of African American literature.

Yet I beg to differ with Mr. Parks on one topic, no one is sleeping in his head. With thoughts like his, who has time to sleep.

I am 50 years old and I am an avid lover of poetry. I heard about this young man through a mutual friend. I didn't realy think a 23 year old young man could write anything that would interest me. But I was very wrong. It was hard for me to believe this young man was only 23 years old and was writing things that I could understand but that was the case. This young writer transcends age and writes in ways that can only be god-given. He may have had someone sleeping in his head but after reading his book, someone has awaken within my own. Great job.

This book can be best described as a "look into the depths and crevices of the soul of a black man". Mr. Parks, although still young in this game called life, has captured through his experiences, the essence of his mind's eye. With each word....with each phrase....with each line.....I get a front row seat to his soul.

I look forward to the next masterpiece.

This reading kept pulling me in! Touche-- you have scored big with surrealism that awakes!!!