Eye to Eye with my Octopi

Richard Stevenson

ISBN: 978-93-95224-08-6

Copyright 2022, Cyberwit

Reviewed by LB Sedlacek

          A delightful unique book of creative poems awaits in this new book by Richard Stevenson.  The author adds his own spin to an imaginative take on poetry.

          In the poem “Roch Ness Monster” the legendary creature is to be found not in Scotland but rather in Hollingworth Lake.  In “The Iceman” he might have been nice but he had to grow fur because of the weather.  In “Crocotta’s Gotta” Crocotta is a dog the size of a mule with leopard spots.

          Stevenson hits the entertainment buttons from all sides.  These poems are simply for most all ages.  He really makes poetry fun again.  The poems liken to those of Lewis Carroll or Shel Silverstein.  The poems are whimsical, but there’s a flurry of heart and introspection with a dash of satirical thrown in to each one, too.

From the poem “Megalania Mania
“Megalania mania in Queensland!
Large goannas spotted in the forests
of Kuranda! Giant lizards, mate!
Twice the size of yer Komodo dragon.
A million smacketroos if you can bag one.”

            These poems invite the reader in and take hold of what they may think they’re getting ready to read and then turn it on its ear.  Stevenson definitely makes poetry interesting again. 

            The ideas and presentation are fresh.  Poems are free verse mostly with some formal ones as well.  The book overall offers a wide combination of off kilter poems that are sewn together into this winsome and wonderful book.

            Stevenson has a sharp mind that translates into his uniquely original poems.  He sets the stage for double fun but also some serious thoughts as well with each verse.

            “Eye to Eye with my Octopi” twists imagery into its own place of poems.  Stevenson also isn’t shy about making language his own. 

            These poems are riveting and humorous.  Stevenson should not simply be known as a poet but also has an inventor of poems.

~LB Sedlacek is the author of “Happy Little Clouds,” “Swim,” “The Poet Next Door,” “Simultaneous Submissions,” and “The Jackalope Committee & Other Short Stories.”