Cocktails with a Dead Man

by Joe Albanese

A collection of 74 poems, including 51 that have previously been published in various literary magazines across the U.S. and in nine other countries.

Genres: Poetry

106 pages, Paperback

Published January 15, 2019

About the author

Joe Albanese is a writer from South Jersey. His fiction, nonfiction, and poetry can be found in publications across the U.S. and in ten other countries. Joe is the author of Smash and Grab, Caina, Candy Apple Red, For the Blood is the Life, and a poetry collection, Cocktails with a Dead Man.

Reviews

[MonaQ]

I am not a fan of poetry, so most of them I rate rarely get more than 4 stars.
This book had a majority of the poem either I couldn't plain understand or those I couldn't relate to. The 3 stars are for those poems I did relate to and understand. Also because poetry is art and not everyone understands art. :)

**I received my copy via the author

[Joe Albanese]

This is my first poetry collection. All of these poems were written between 2016-2018. I hope you all like it!

[L.B. Sedlacek]

Joe Albanese’s poems in this collection are soothing yet they will shake away your comfort zone. He writes with a courageous voice in this poetical journey. His poems explore the ways we live our lives from the everyday to the unknown experience. His poem “Pssst…Are You Awake?” expertly captures fear, sleep, insomnia, and those loathsome creatures that come in the night. I love this line “Who creates these Rorschach cracks in / my ceiling?”
Albanese’s voice flows at times filled with self-doubt, surrealism and the questioning of one’s life.
Having a beer, applying for a job, love, ticking clocks, and anniversaries are some of the subjects making their way into these poems. These aren’t poems to be read while sipping tea by the fire – these are poems to savor in their deliciousness of raw modern luscious verse. They are poems of truth in your own original journey.
Moments are personal, raw and blunt. They will haunt you when you’re unable to sleep but at the same time, they’ll give you a way out. For example, his poem “What’s Your Favorite Color?” gives the line “I had no favorite color, but knew I had to / complete the assignment.” And his poem “A Thankless Job” delves into what it’s like to always be a first presenter, especially when you don’t want to be!

From “Calcium Deposit:” only with shards of glass under / fingernails can the wherewithal ooze / until watered down for a proof-copied / conversation a lifetime later.” It’s lines like these that will lead you into a whirlwind of soul.

This poetry book is much like his poem “Postcards From a Stranger in Far-Off Places” talking of writing cards from the past, present and future in that Albanese’s words will reach you in all of those places. “Conversations with a Dead Man” dances with all of us trying to feel connected to a world we don’t necessarily understand.

[Stuart Aken]

This is a mix of the intensely personal, regarding love and its outcomes; the general as it relates to writers a group; and life in many of its guises.
Poetry, and the reader’s response to it, is always personal. So, my review here can reflect only my experience of reading the collection and my ability, or otherwise, to engage with the different poems in it.
I confess that some of the work either flew over my head or by-passed me due to cultural references that exposed some of my ignorance. However, the bulk of the verses met me halfway and found connections and echoes I recognised.
There is deep emotion here. Irony. Some dark humour. And a deal of grief.
Readers will nod in agreement in many places; in others, they may frown with puzzlement, need to re-read a few times to understand, or simply admit that that particular poem is not for them. That’s an inevitable outcome of putting together poems for a general readership, of course.
This is a brave book and one that wedges humour in between the serious and distressing, keeping the reader moving through in empathy.
I received a complementary copy for review.

[Amy Shannon]

A wonderful prose collection

Albanese certainly knows how to write a poem, and this collection shows that talent and thought behind each one. I've read each one carefully and aloud, as I find that brings the poetry to life, and you can hear your own voice speak the talented words of this poet. One of my favorites was "Echo Knives" and I've read it several times. "Act III is all that remains of hollow halls. How it got to those haunts—redacted, breathing in only its echoes. Kindred lacks the identical; identity conforms through misinterpretation ..." Simply wonderful collection. I look forward to reading more prose by this poet.

[Jenna | Bookmark Your Thoughts]

“For simply being, the world should thank you.”

Joe Albanese’s collection of poetry in Cocktails with a Deadman beautifully captures the rawness and realness of the multiple moments most of us experience in our lives. From the inability to find work in our high unemployment rate to the desire for something more in life, Albanese addresses a number of topics that most of humanity has experienced at one point. Elegantly written with a variety of poetic formats, Albanese’s collection of beauty is a must read for both the lovers of poetry and those who steer far from it.

Full review on my blog, Bookmark Your Thoughts.

[Ramona Mead]

Reviewing poetry can be challenging for me because it's so personal to the poet. I only connected with a few of these poems, but that doesn't mean they aren't well written. The entire collection was obviously crafted with great care and skill. The overall tone of the collection is dark and emotional, which I liked. I can appreciate that these are all genuine works.

[Emma]

Satisfying poetry collection, focusing on communication, love, and depression.

my full review with quotations is here:
https://wordsandpeace.com/2019/02/12/...