Strange Encounter at the Shakespeare Motel by Herb Guggenheim

Reading some of Herb Guggenheim‘s poems will make one feel young again.His poems are like that first kiss. Do you remember the early days of desire?

Guggenheim writes about relationships using language that has a crackerjack surprise; it’s about insight as much as sex. “The Death Poem” in STRANGE ENCOUNTER AT THE SHAKESPEARE MOTEL is a literary orgasm waiting for the adult reader. The poem is ambitious as that first touch but conveys a darkness that is unsettling as a vacant room in a crowded building.

–E. Ethelbert Miller, author of Whispers Secrets & Promises, How We Sleep on the Nights We Don’t Make Love, and Fifth Inning

Guggenheim is a great comic philosopher. In his work, nympholepsy becomes a cosmic principle, effortlessly absorbing serious things–like alienation and the Romantic Agony–and making them smile. The girl you never made love to, or only once, at fifteen and remember at 55; the leaves that in autumn become your house, so that you must flee to a shelter; obstreperous Death himself – everything in nature seeks an impossible union and understanding. The humor here is all the more addictive because it is so relentlessly understated. A unique and important poet.

–Frederick Pollack, author of The Adventure, Happiness, and A Poverty of Words

Rating:  ***** [5 of 5 Stars!]