Poems about Lawrence

In this collection of loosely connected poetry, a cozy Midwestern college town serves as a backdrop for Edward Austin Robertson to explore the differences between perception and reality; and examine what it means to be a human being.

Highly influenced by Raymond Carver, Gary Snyder, and Langston Hughes, Robertson sets out to illustrate how one’s internal world often matches one’s external world.

Poems About Lawrence is an homage to places that exist now in name only, and reflects on the sacrifices made in the name of progress.

These poems capture the author’s brief love affair with the Free State of Kansas with a series of snapshots about wanderlust, mythical figures, and the inevitability of change. The reader is asked to partake in a journey that is borne of curiosity and borders on the cavalier; as the narrator searches for the ghosts of Dr. James Naismith, Wilt Chamberlain, and William S. Burroughs. This volume of poetry, spanning four years, is Robertson’s fifth collection to be published.