A Pocketful of Poems

Craig Pugh's poetry ranges from the silly to the sublime, the cosmic to the comedic, and the tragic to the absurd. His work and images never get too far away from readers because he deals with things we all see every day. This makes him accessible and comfortable to read since he doesn't deal in abstractions. So we see poems about coffee, cats and love "in all its messy glory," as the author likes to say. Incredibly, twenty-five of his poems are about poems and poets. He does adhere to rhyme and structure, but works new ground by incorporating contemporary images and situations into his poems. Mirth and intensity are two of his defining characteristics; "Sex Slave" and "A River of Stars" demonstrate this. These are poems about living. The author knows how to laugh, and he knows how to cry. He ranges so far and wide that readers of all ages will find something to chuckle at, wonder about, or just plain shake their heads at.