The Bedlam Philharmonic & Other Poems

by Steven Withrow

These 30 narrative poems and one short story plunge into life’s dark, deep waters. Some have supernatural elements, some are rooted in the real. All are meant to delight, unnerve, and frighten. Steven Withrow’s poems appear in Spectral Realms, Asimov’s Science Fiction, Dreams & Nightmares, and Epitaphs: The Journal of the New England Horror Writers. His short poem “The Sun Ships,” from a collection of the same title, was nominated for a 2016 Rhysling Award from the Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association. He lives in Falmouth, Massachusetts.

49 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2020

Reviews

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second book of poetry from Steven Withrow that I have read, and I enjoyed this one even more than The Sun Ships & Other Poems. In these pages, Withrow manages the difficult trick of combining humor with the surrealistic and the weird, all delivered with an accessible voice that makes even his more bizarre concepts easy for the reader to engage with.

Also of note is the inclusion of "Notes on Forms" briefly describing the technical character of each work, and some outstanding cover art from the talented Dan Sauer. And the biggest surprise of all is the inclusion of a prose poem (or perhaps a short story?) called "The Beaching" which is one of my favorite pieces in the book. Overall, a highly recommended collection of contemporary verse from one the best writers working in the weird poetry vein.

[Suzanne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a wonderful collection. Steven Withrow is a excellent poet. I first came across in Hippocampus Press Spectral Realms weird poetry journals and just enjoyed all the poems I read from his hand. So I'm glad I picked up this beautiful little collection.

There wasn't anything I didn't like and often I found myself putting the book down to reflect on what I read. It was a delightful read.

I was glad for his notes on the forms used for the collection. That was a nice bonus.

Some of my absolute favorites in this collection where:

-Interring Carter Jones.
-The Gray Kid.
-Terzanelle for the Devil's Tour Bus.
-A Blue Giraffe
-The Hunting Party.
-The Beaching.

[Joshua Gage · Rating 3 out of 5]

Steven Withrow’s book The Bedlam Philharmonic and Other Poems is not a horrible collection, but it’s not brilliant, either. Withrow clearly can craft a sonically lush poem, but they’re just not scary or horrific enough to be truly haunting. While some readers will enjoy the poems for their lyrical success, most fans of horror poetry will be left wanting.

Full review here: https://www.cemeterydance.com/extras/...

[Steven Withrow]

“This is a strikingly impressive book. The poems are by turns haunting, grim, poignant, and thought-provoking; but they also display Steven Withrow’s effortless mastery of verse forms and of that telling word or phrase that instantly conveys terror to the reader. And Withrow has also succeeded in that most difficult of forms, the prose poem. A notable achievement.” — S. T. Joshi, editor of Spectral Realms

“In case lovers of poetry haven’t encountered Steven Withrow’s first collection, The Sun Ships & Other Poems, this new offering of his verse, The Bedlam Philharmonic, should demonstrate beyond doubt that a new and vibrant voice has emerged, masterfully working across the broad and varied wordscape of speculative poetry. Withrow is a not only a master of formal verse across many traditional and novel shapes, but he is also a creator of psychologically compelling narrative vignettes and of vividly drawn characters and situations. He works expertly across a gamut of formalist shapes, including varieties of the sonnet, the villanelle, and classic stanza patterns, but also creates interesting new patterns and makes use of rarer forms such as the dizain and terzanelle. What is more, he fits his striking images and distinctively angled and nuanced themes with seemingly effortless verbal agility into these designs. I highly recommend his work for your examination and appreciation.” — Frank Coffman, author of Black Flames & Gleaming Shadows