In 2021, one of my favorite poets, Bob Mcneil, published the poetry collection, Verses of Realness

Synopsis:

Verses of Realness is a fierce, unfettered and naked look at the desolate landscape that has become the American cultural makeup. Through a battered new reality that pits man against man in a deadly game of survival of the unfit, Bob McNeil does not spare us the grit and pebbles in shoes. Not tethered to any particular political or propagandist ideology, Bob is free to gut sacred cows and set the table nicely for a romantic tryst at the same flip of a coin. He meanders from still thought to raging enthusiasm with a deft deal of the cards.
One can see his Verses of Realness pulsate from under the crust of the world around us, and out of it comes pure delight. This book is quite frankly a disturbing, yet beautiful take on the America that we have lost, and the America to be regained again.
By going deep inside our own selves, Bob McNeil guides the way to a new and improved view of what our world should be—something real and honest.

My Review

From the original illustrations to the sharp pieces, Verses of Realness is a grab!

My favorite poems were The Eviction of Ms. Nature

“Enraged by their deforestation

and fossil fuels that are ousting her heart From the home she started,

Ms. Nature turns up her Environmental Oven

To a heat exceeding a crematorium,

So it will burn the repellent lot of them”

And The Blood on Blue: You have the right to remain silent until the cruel cops harass you to speak. McNeil holds no punches and let’s his poetic tongue loose. Justice, black life, environmental concerns and how we treat each other (Sword of words is another favorite of mine) Verses of Realness has it all.   I do wish there were a few more illustrations! 

It’s always refreshing when the poet also illustrates their own work. 

You can purchase your copy of Verses of Realness contact Underground Books—-> https://tinylink.net/muF6C.