Soulless Heavens: Remedies, Maledictions and Directions

In his second collection of lyrical poetry, Jason O'Toole takes his readers on a ride-along through the precincts of Hell. From the Lower East Side of the 1980s to South Side of San Antonio of the 1990s, and later into the underworld of Atlanta, O'Toole tells the stories of the gang members, sex workers, drug dealers and users he met along the way. Equal parts urban grimoire and profane hymnal, Soulless Heavens is ultimately a guidebook to finding redemption in a fallen world.
Quotes:
Soulless Heavens is a perfect book to take along and read again and again over a course of days. There’s a compelling level of modern mastery to its composition, a sense of literate-as well as arcane-magic to the words and pace. Reading through it is an experience akin to glimpsing the poet’s soul shining out through numinous words. –Juleigh Howard-Hobson, Poet and author of Our Otherworld
Do you dare peek at the Dragon of Humanity’s underbelly? You’ll be hypnotized by the glint of gem-like scales, so prepare to admit the beauty of each one as a reflecting mirror. Mr. O'Toole is the Hubert Selby Jr of verse, wrapping the reader in dark, American narratives. A must read for the strong of heart. –Amie Beckwith of Horse Cult, and A: F: O: B: G
With ancient tools of articulation brought to a modern world of ever-isolating stupefaction, there exists a direct line to Jason O'Toole from William Carlos Williams through Robert Lowell and David Ignatow, minus, perhaps, the bathos of Bukowski. He picks up the poet’s torch from right before literature lost its way in that ungodly ass of self-absorption and petty identity group cheerleading. Crawl back out of that ass, you people! – David E. Williams, Singer-Songwriter