The title itself may be enough to make you take cover: Pat Richardson Unhobbled. It's the long-awaited book by the 2003 recipient of the AWA's Will Rogers Award for Best Male Poet.
What's left to be said about Pat Richardson, the man with the dangerously hilarious imagination who creates mostly twisted, comic poetry? His friends offered comments for this book, "There's less here than meets the eye"; "I would like to say this is one of the finest books I've ever read, but I'm not that big a liar..."; "There is no beginning to Mr. Richardson's talent..."; "Pat's sole purpose in life is to serve as a warning to others." Only Richardson, the master of understated outrageousness, would collect insulting blurbs for his book.
He's truly a legend in his own time, right up there with "Anonymous" in having so many of his poems recited by others, often without credit. This book should set the record straight with the polished originals of his best-known poems, including "The Donner Party," "Pony Eggs," "My Brother,"and "Missing Person."
More people probably know the first lines of "The Donner Party" than know their grandmother's maiden name: "They sent invitations to the remnants of the Donner Party crew, gonna have a big reunion and old time Bar-B-Que."
In addition to the original art and vintage personal and rodeo photos, the book has over 50 poems and stories. Despite the tough and cynical exterior he likes to promote, his legion of friends know him as a loyal and generous man. The brave telling of his personal stories gives rare insight into his comic genius. The hilarious poems and tales are without equal.
Pat Richardson Unhobbled is more than a book. Like an encounter with him, or being in his audience, it's an experience. Don't miss it. He's one of a kind.
Edited - Review by Margo Metegrano, CowboyPoetry.com editor
My Brother
Suicide
When Old Buck Died
Second Thoughts
Sands of Time
Pony Eggs
Revenge
Two Old Hands
Forty Years of Marriage
Henry Stowell
North Dakota Sweatshop & Saddle Co.
Yuletide Greetin's
Mom and the Billy Goat
Act of Kindness
Missing Person
Michael McGinty's Saloon
Love Thy Neighbor
Loser School
Leonard's Confession
Ed in Elko
Ed's Funeral
Ed's Pickup
Ed's Glasses
Big Outfit
E. P. A.
Bill's Dog
Embrioderin' the Truth
1936
Frenchy and the Bay Horse
The Donner Party
Hoppy and the Coyote
Geezer
Five Card Draw
Daywork
Cowboy and the Waitress
Bad Habits
Chris Beck
The Coyote Track
Burt and the Cow
Bob Fletcher
Bill Fleecyhocks
The Night Before New Years
The Alamo
Shep's Poetry
Roundup in the Spring
Rod's Wig
Tico and the Cow
Bigfoot
Benny and the Pigs
Benny and the Pandas
The Evaluation
The Change
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