Something To Cry About

Something To Cry About. Poetry by Robert T. Krantz. 19 poems in 30 pages. 

There is such eternal longing in these poems of Robert Krantz. A series of gorgeously rendered, honest laments about the world and our place in it. Pleas for acceptance, for forgiveness, for just one moment of seeing without the blinders on, with a clearer vision. The world is composed of both darkness and light, and we are no different. Bloodied knuckles and skinless mice balanced against luminous wheat fields and a night sky that’s almost worth praying to. Almost. This is Krantz’ gift. His revelation. He challenges us to see, perhaps even celebrate, the almostness of our nature. He wounds us; he shows us ways to heal from those wounds.

-John Sibley Williams, author of As One Fire Consumes Another

Something to Cry About may be a play on the infamous vague threats of childhood, but this collection is a testament to the saddening realities of daily living. From the could-of, should-of sent love and confession letters to the weight of systematic violence, these poems are the melancholy soundtrack you've been hoping to read. 

-Gretchen Gales, Quail Bell Magazine

You will find Robert’s words in “small places // where stray dogs // in strange markings // turf tangle // under starless skies.” The poems within Something to Cry About cruise through themes of decay and epistolary confession. Robert shows few differences between the living and dead, as his poems occupy both “falling peaches” and “bachelors in the laundromat.” His rhythm hits hard like a summer storm, only to open up the sky and let the sun through. Robert takes the dirty, the neglected and the forgotten and gives the structure to make them shine. To get at the pearls within Something to Cry About, Robert hands you a sharp knife.

-Wes Solether, Bitterzoet Magazine