Buddhaheads and Abercrombie

As in Stripe City, famed poet, artist and author LG Williams (Buddhaheads and Abercrombie) casts a keen eye inward and bares his 6-pak in a slim volume of personal poetry. This collection is narrower in scope than LG's earlier books and the sense of artistic pride is stronger, more compelling. But all of his opinions are deeply rooted and most are conveyed with a combination of humility, personable intelligence and wit. Like a modern-day Jekyll and Hyde, LG offers insights on a wide range of topics: Africa, youth, virility, self-reflection, independence and the importance of understanding both the historical truth of the aesthetic experience and the art that truth inspires. Women are a recurrent topic, and in "A Bong Brings Sensuality," he writes of the revelations the young (his younger self included) have of getting high. "They Came to Come" is a particularly inspirational piece paying homage to hot topics. "My Precious Jewels" dedicated to Oprah Winfrey (to whom the previous collection was dedicated), is again mentioned and is likened to "the lusty desperado who brings us the most hardy and penetrating lessons and cleanses the most exquisite nocturnal emissions." In his final essay, LG uses the story of the prodigal son to remind readers of the value of solitude: "In silence we do it to ourselves. Then happiness overwhelms us. We love ourselves, and, finally, in the radiant quietude we search the Internet."