The Horrible

Poetry chapbook, Naked Snake Press, 2005 Lawson’s second poetry chapbook mixes the humorous with the grotesque in a bizarre collection of new and previously published poetry. This volume showcases his more story-like poems, many of which are favorites at his readings. Appearances by Pee Wee Herman, the hook hand of urban legend, and the Egyptian god Anubis will have you laughing despite yourself. Out of print!

What they’re saying about The Horrible: HorrorWeb – 4 stars He calls it the horrible: poetry that ‘violates our sense of well being, makes us ill and angry’… The horrible is an experience which strips away the illusions of immortality, exposing us for the fragile creatures we are.” [from a university paper written about Lawson's poetry] Publisher: Naked Snake Press, 6 Rain Tree Lane, Pawleys Island, SC 29585 Pub date: April 1, 2005 Looking for rhyme? You won’t find it here. Looking for reason? Nope, none of that either. Looking for visually vicious verbiage and [cue Twilight Zone music] demented orgasms of sight and sound? Yep, that we’ve got! Collected poetry from previous publications, The Horrible gives you tiny tastes of the horrific dementia and wonderfully imagined regurgitations of Lawson’s own nightmare bucket. He leaves you with images that will remain long after you’ve finished reading – something akin to shadows in the aftermath of an A Bomb. From grandmothers to urban legends, from the neighbor’s dog to crappy jobs in Hell, there’s almost no part of this world, or the next, untouched in the characters and situations involved here. Establishing any type of lasting atmosphere in poetry is tricky. At his best, Lawson is ironic and sarcastic; at his worst, he’s perplexing and thought provoking. Pace is pretty much a given in poetry so let’s just ignore that criteria, and style – oh the style. Like reading flash fiction with flair, Lawson has no problem sucking you into his gastric wanderings and ‘gummy residue left by transient thought’. Some of the titles: Love Poem #13 [I love you like a razor blade – hehehe] Pedophile #187 [yeah, where are the other 186?] Gramma Snuff [ohhhhh] The Violation Committee [*gulp*] Liana [yeah, she should probably look into witness relocation] Nerf Sex Doll [no that’s not a typo!] Deus Ex Mecha-Lekka-Hi, Mecha-Hiney-Ho [LOL – and it gets better after the title!] Twisted, humorous, gruesome, fun – yeah I liked it!  Rating – definitely a 4. If you enjoy twisted surreal poetry, you’ll enjoy this.  If you know what ‘hairy road sauce’ is, well… then you should probably own this now!!