Alcosexual

Before he introduced 'goth' and 'grunge' elements into the haiku world and helped popularise Persian poetry in the English language with his journals Contemporary Ghazals and Eastern Structures, R. W. Watkins was writing a jazzy, erotic free verse derived primarily from Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Jim Morrison and Dylan Thomas. Alcosexual is the second of two volumes consisting of those (mostly) unpublished poems written between the mid 1980s and mid 1990s. Volume Two focusses on the shorter and often grittier verses that reflect Watkins's Gen-X perspective and his increased reliance on Charles Bukowski for inspiration amid the era's angst. It comes complete with a lengthy commentary and scans of early manuscripts and pages from Watkins's notebooks. Direct Lines to Hell, the first of the two volumes, is also available from Amazon.