John Yamrus is widely recognized as master of minimalism and the neo-noir in modern poetry. In a career spanning more than 50 years as a working writer, he has had nearly 4,000 poems published in books, magazines and anthologies around the world. His writing is often taught in college and university courses. Three of his more than 40 books have been published in translation. 2025 has seen the release of two new books: the quasi-memoir CAPTAIN BEEFHEART NEVER LICKED MY DECALS OFF, BABY and a book of poems, DON’T SHOOT THE MESSENGER: JUST GIVE HIM A GOOD PLACE TO HIDE.
the reading was a flop.
we
were
up against
a football game
and the last nice day of the summer.
hardly
anyone showed
and
the wine
and the cheese
went to waste and
the chairs were empty
but the
few of us
that were there
sat around in the gallery
and the
paintings on the walls
spoke to us
and
taught us
way more than
any of my poems ever could.
he wanted to write
like
Hemingway,
but it came out
sounding like bad Bukowski.
on
top of that,
he had nothing
real or new to say,
but that didn’t stop him
from saying it again and again
and again.
it was Tuesday, April 13th, and
Marcia
was laying
on the couch,
listening to Dylan,
but,
not really listening,
because she was also reading a book,
and
the sun
was out and
the light coming into
the room made her smile,
especially
when Dylan sang
(maybe directly right at her)
how does it FEEL?
and
she really
didn’t know what to say,
but
she knew
what he meant, anyway.
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