This Is Not the Book That Will Save Your Life

By Kevin J. O'Conner

This Is Not the Book That Will Save Your Life is the ninth collection of poetry by Kevin J. O'Conner.

The book is divided into five sections:

Blitzed explores the world of the blitz poem, a 50-line form that uses repetition and prohibits punctuation, resulting in stream-of-consciousness, almost slam-like pieces that often move in unpredictable directions.

Ekphrasis Á Gogo delves into ekphrastic poems—poems written about, or in response to, art. Ekphrastic poems may be framed by the works of art that inspire them, but reflect the imagination of the poet.

Musings collects those small moments and introspective episodes that occur in everyday life.

Dystopia Now reflects those times when everything seems to be falling apart, and how we react when they do. (Disclaimer: these poems may or may not reflect current events.)

Slices of Pi (and other short stuff) focuses on shorter poems, with an emphasis on the Pi-Archimedes form, which consists of six lines with word counts based on the first six digits of Pi. Many of these poems have a haiku-like quality—often contemplative, occasionally whimsical.

Throughout the book's 120-plus poems, O'Conner continues his exploration of unadorned language and honest expression, with the occasional pop-culture reference thrown in for good measure. This book may not save your life, but you will most certainly relate to something within its pages.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kevin J. O'Conner
• Release date: Apr 21, 2017
• ISBN: 9781370081424

Kevin J. O'Conner

Kevin J. O’Conner (56) is not your typical poet. After 30 years of writing only sporadically, Kevin J. O’Conner returned to poetry in 2013—first as a creative exercise, then for the therapeutic benefits. Since 2015, he writes every day, exploring the craft of poetry through monthly writing challenges—‘my ongoing effort to write something that doesn’t sound like something I would write’, he says. Kevin’s poems explore isolation, memory, life’s small moments, and the experience of starting over at ‘a certain age’—always with an emphasis on straightforward expression. As of Spring 2019, Kevin has published eleven collections of poems, the latest of which is WISHES SOMETIMES HAVE CONSEQUENCES, plus four volumes of ‘love notes’ to the days of the week. His poems have also appeared in Raven Chronicles, Spindrift, The CDC Poetry Project, Lament for the Dead, and the anthology VOICES THAT MATTER, and as part of the Clay? VI (2016) exhibit at Kirkland Arts Center. When not writing poetry, Kevin can be found copy-editing documents from far-flung places, attending open-mic readings, designing books, and contemplating what to cook now that he is tired of soup. He lives in Bellingham with his mom's neurotic cat, Cleo III. (updated 28 October 2019)

Book preview

Thanks to everyone who makes it possible for me to do this—including, but not limited to:

My folks

African-American Writers’ Alliance

Victoria Dzenis

Everett Poetry Night

Everyone who follows my blog

Georgia S. McDade

It’s About Time

Kathy J

Lola E. Peters

PoetsWest

Redmond Association of Spokenword

Rayn Roberts

Tsuga Fine Art & Framing

Thanks for providing inspiration along the way:

Kelli Russell Agodon & Martha Silano

Ksenia Anske

Emma Bleker

Haley Hendrick

Talicha Johnson

Mirjana M. Inalman

E. J. Koh

S. R. Mason

Vasilina Orlova

And anyone I may have missed this time around!

This is not the book that will save your life

I’ve seen you here before

I know you

You spend hours here

wandering among the racks

taking book after book off the shelves

then putting them back

You are not looking for entertainment

You are not in search of fantasy

You don’t need information

You don’t care what’s happened in the past

You’re not interested in puzzles

You have no time for mysteries or thrillers

You don’t even want answers

No, you’re looking for something else

This is not that

This is not the book that will magically make everything all right

This is not the book that will make a difference before you’ve even opened it

This is not the book that will satisfy every longing you’ve ever had (even the ones you didn’t know about)

You can put this book back on the shelf now…

(top)

Body of truth

I am a name

I am a name attached to a body

Body that emerged from another body

Body that started small and grew up tall

Tall to stand upon two feet

Tall to stand up and reach

Reach out for another

Reach out for the ring

Ring in which I get knocked down

Ring for the finger

Finger that extends from my hand

Finger with which to hang on tight

Tight is the grip that holds on to this ledge

Tight as the brandy that goes to my head

Head drowning in the clouds

Head turning at the slightest sound

Sound kept waking me up last night

Sound of nothing but sounds in the night

Night moves

Night stands still

Still where silence can speak

Still keeping quiet

Quiet until there’s something to say

Quiet just because

Because there’s nothing I can say

Because I can’t sleep

Sleep feels like a luxury

Sleep is the place where all the drama plays

Plays out improbable scenarios

Plays for no reason at all

All of it disappears come morning

All of it comes with excuses

Excuses to show up unexpected

Excuses to leave without saying goodbye

Goodbye is overrated

Goodbye is never goodbye

Goodbye already

Goodbye and so long

Long ago I opened my eyes for the first time

Long ago they gave me this name

Name attached to this body

Name a fiction to be made fact

Fact is I don’t know what to make of the name

Fact is facts can be slippery things

Things you believe until you have proof

Things that fall apart when met with truth

Truth hides in plain sight

Truth doesn’t always know

Know

Sight

Morning without destination

Snow last night

Snow this morning

Morning comes ’round

Morning is cold

Cold enough to turn up the heat

Cold enough for extra coffee

Coffee to lift me out of my fog

Coffee to wake me into the day

Day leads me on

Day brings me here

Here for another chance

Here to the source

Source disguises itself

Source arrives late

Late is conveniently on time

Late is a reason for giving

Giving up to rest

Giving out rewards

Rewards don’t come often

Rewards seldom satisfy

Satisfy the whims of