James Barrett Rodehaver

Strangely Wonderful James Barrett Rodehaver

This first collection of 112 passionate, raw, thought-provoking poems is just a small selection from the library that the brilliant, brutally honest and prolific poet James Barrett Rodehaver has written in his lifetime. His words illustrate absolute fearlessness in self-discovery, his journey to find faith, and his relentless championing of hope for a better country and world. His poems span a wide chronology of growth and self-evolution, of despair and victory, of his hatred for injustice and his love of artists and poets. As a member of the LGBT community, he makes sure his readers know where he stands on equality and love. As a disabled man with a rare progressive bone disease, he uniquely understands the pain we all go through on our journey, and that poetry is how all of us can turn pain into triumph. He chronicles his sufferings, his hopeful outlook, and his questions to God about why he is the way he is, with poetry that renders the soul bare. He is a survivor of not only a disability and near-death, but of family crisis and the foster care system. Yet despite all of this, his world view, though bitter at times, still remains that of a dreamer. He presents to us many faces, and yet, all of them are one: the revolutionary, the fighter, the witty and hilarious dirty-minded poet, and the sensual lover. His poetry shows us his true soul, and this impressive collection of his lets us in on a man of kindness, integrity and conscience. It is as much yours as it is his, and he has put his full heart and soul into every page. Read it, share it, cherish it, and know that you, as well, are strangely wonderful!