Poets' Guide to America - Softcover

A former altar boy, John F. Buckley was born and raised in Michigan. He met Martin Ott at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor before migrating to California. Their friendship evolved into a writing collaboration, and together their work has appeared in over 150 periodicals and anthologies and has garnered three Pushcart nominations.

Martin Ott is a former U.S. Army interrogator who lives in Los Angeles where he writes poetry and fiction, often about his misunderstood city. He was born in Alaska, raised in Michigan, and loves to travel. He is coauthor, with John F. Buckley, of POETS' GUIDE TO AMERICA, a verse travelogue published in 2012 by Brooklyn Arts Press.

John F. Buckley and Martin Ott are extremely talented poets, schooled in their craft, who are already well on their way to THE A LIST OF THEIR GENERATION, and are thought by many myself included to be there already. They can produce a pantoum as readily as a pun. They make no bones about the seriousness of their prolific productions, even as they persist in entertaining us. This comprehensive collection will be on the shelves and in the hands of those readers who endeavor to chart the course of poetic art in our time. Give yourself the pleasure of their texts and of being among the first to recognize their importance. -Gerald Locklin, author of The Firebird Poems and Go West, Young Toad

As much a kin to the works of John Ashbery and Edward Field as it is to the radio skits of George Burns and Gracie Allen. Poets Guide to America uses satire and irony to follow a folded roadmap across the fractured wholeness of our poetry landscape. Their euphonious cacophony of wordplay, ingenious turn-of-phrase concoctions, and steady stream of pop/cross-cultural references create an erudite mix of levelheaded nonsense and harebrained smarts. -Paul Fericano, author of Sinatra, Sinatra and editor of Stoogism Anthology

In their outrageous and hilarious book, John F. Buckley and Martin Ott strike sparks against each other to create a great conflagration of vignettes and voyages, characters and crises, traversing or dissecting America in all its nutty hubris, with miracles at the Dairy Queen, Navy SEALS diving for Godzilla s eggs, an igloo constructed of Schlitz Malt Liquor cartons, a patchwork country inhabited by vegetable princes and chupacabra kings. Want to see what wacky balloons are leaving Kansas, what worshipers are zoning out on cannabis, what drug lord is wearing lead underpants to foil Superman? Just change the channel, travel to the next state, turn the page. This is a terrific book. Buy it. -Tony Barnstone, author of Tongue of War: From Pearl Harbor to Nagasaki

--Book Jacket

Poets' Guide to America is, in the truest sense, a road trip, wherein Buckley and Ott take turns behind the wheel, co-writing poems line by line, stanza by stanza. The result is an innovative exploration into Americana that travels over as many dusty back roads as it does major highways. Do yourself a favor and let them take you for a ride. -Eric Morago, author of What We Ache For

In a scene oversaturated with trite, predictable fluff, it is refreshing to see challenging work of this caliber. -Jaimes Palacio, author of Stuck in the Middle and Bad Chicken

Buckley and Ott embark on an imaginative and seamless reengagement with a broad map of history and culture. -Jeffrey C. Alfier, author of The Wolf Yearling

At the heart of it all is an epic-ness, as though they are creating a new mythology or poetic tradition based on the way Americans have seen themselves, the way it is, and the way these two exceptionally talented poets hope it will be. That Buckley and Ott co-wrote each poem adds an extra dimension of insight. Each poem heads off in interesting directions that I assume the poets themselves did not expect. -John Brantingham, author of East of Los Angeles

A freewheeling trek that encompasses the outrageous, the Gothic, the mystical and even, occasionally, the poignant. In these pages, you'll encounter outlaws, politicians, and carnies; you'll spot a Greek goddess hanging out at the gentleman's club, watch Indian corn popping at the 7-Eleven, and learn the real reason the Cubs haven't won the World Series since 1908. True, poets may not have discovered America. But by the time you finish this volume, you'll feel like you've seen it through an explorer's wide eyes. -Michael Miller, author of College Town

It is generally advisable not to hop in the back of a van with two strangers claiming to want to take you o --Book Interior

Poets' Guide to America is, in the truest sense, a road trip, wherein Buckley and Ott take turns behind the wheel, co-writing poems line by line, stanza by stanza. The result is an innovative exploration into Americana that travels over as many dusty back roads as it does major highways. Do yourself a favor and let them take you for a ride. -Eric Morago, author of What We Ache For

In a scene oversaturated with trite, predictable fluff, it is refreshing to see challenging work of this caliber. -Jaimes Palacio, author of Stuck in the Middle and Bad Chicken

Buckley and Ott embark on an imaginative and seamless reengagement with a broad map of history and culture. -Jeffrey C. Alfier, author of The Wolf Yearling

At the heart of it all is an epic-ness, as though they are creating a new mythology or poetic tradition based on the way Americans have seen themselves, the way it is, and the way these two exceptionally talented poets hope it will be. That Buckley and Ott co-wrote each poem adds an extra dimension of insight. Each poem heads off in interesting directions that I assume the poets themselves did not expect. -John Brantingham, author of East of Los Angeles

A freewheeling trek that encompasses the outrageous, the Gothic, the mystical and even, occasionally, the poignant. In these pages, you'll encounter outlaws, politicians, and carnies; you'll spot a Greek goddess hanging out at the gentleman's club, watch Indian corn popping at the 7-Eleven, and learn the real reason the Cubs haven't won the World Series since 1908. True, poets may not have discovered America. But by the time you finish this volume, you'll feel like you've seen it through an explorer's wide eyes. -Michael Miller, author of College Town

It is generally advisable not to hop in the back of a van with two strangers claiming to want to take you on a road trip. However, if those two strangers happen to be Buckley and Ott, jump in headfirst. They will show you an America that vibrates with color, at once sharply challenging and yet warmly familiar. Their erudite sarcasm can't hide the obvious affection they have for the land of 7-11s and Navy SEALs. Come for the street-smart education, stay for the black comedy, and bring a little gas money while you're at it. -Phil Aldridge, police officer and poet

John F. Buckley and Martin Ott allow the reader to ride shotgun on a poetic trip throughout America. It is an America where the songs of aw shucks small-town values register as loudly as the burgeoning metropolis. Their journey is ripe with the spirit of goodwill, and the stench of excess. It is where blue-collar ideals and values intersect with regional customs. It is formal, causal, and memorable. Grab a postcard. This trip is truly, ... something to write home about. -Daniel Romo, author of Romancing Gravity --Book Interior