Stygian

by Sean Michael

Poverty, drugs, child abuse... The streets' incarceration... Questions of life and contemplations of death, Stygian is the darker side of poetry collected from teen years into young adulthood and composed in homeless camps, churches and a jail cell. The emotion is raw, the poetry is real

104 pages, Paperback

Published April 25, 2016

About the author

Sean Michael is an artist serving a life sentence in the California Prison System. He has written many poems and short stories and is working on several longer manuscripts. He has fought depression all his life and writes to stay sane. He is a student of the "Coastline Community College Distance Learning Program" and attends weekly self-help groups to aid in his recovery from depression and other mental problems, as well as drug addiction.

Reviews

[Sadie Forsythe]

Middling poetry, if I'm honest, with a few that stand out as significantly better than the rest and a few that started out promising and then fell apart toward the end.

However, as a collection of writing that provides a glimpse into the life of a certain subset of America, it is worth reading, even if the prose doesn't always shine. I think it would be difficult to read this and then claim every child has a fair shot at life. And I say that as someone who spent almost ten years working in child abuse and neglect investigations.

[Hope · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pros: Doesnt hold back on topics, writing was fairly good

Cons: Doesn't feel like poetry, comes off more like it should be short stories rather than poetry, didn't flow (to me).

Disclaimer: I always feel bad when I give lower ratings for real life stuff but I'm being honest? Sorry? Also, I won this book in a goodreads giveaway.

[Lyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This really was kind of a dark book, but it's one of the better poem collections that I've read. The author is serving a life sentence in prison (I don't know what for), and I think that's what makes it seem so real.
One of the poems is titled "The Man in the Box", and I think that would have been a great title for the book. Unlike most of the other books of poems I've read, this one does not share its title with one of the included poems, but I think naming it after "The Man in the Box" would have been great, since it would hint at the author's situation (I'm assuming most readers wouldn't look at the biography page before reading the book, like I did). I think knowing that made me like the poems better. I think it's great that Michael was able to write enough poems for a book, and get it published while in prison.
The book also has a few little quotes (dunno if they're from the author or someone else) in between some of the poems. Those are appropriate for the book, and very thought-provoking.
It was a great read overall for Halloween.
Note: I received this book for free through Goodreads Giveaways.

[Margie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good read on the dark side. Author is honest and forthcoming about a disturbing childhood and about prison, and yet still seems to retain an close connection with family.

[Kathleen]

I love poetry and this gave me another look at a different side of poetry. My mom gave me the book for a Christmas present and I found it very eye opening. We are studying poetry in school this term Thank you for letting us share your life.