Poems by Greg Masters
NEW YORK, June 2016 – Crony Books is pleased to announce the publication of What All the Songs Add Up To, a book of poems by Greg Masters.
Forty years of poems from the East Village of Manhattan, a community of artistic and social vibrancy amid the nation’s detritus. From the mid-1970s to 2016, the poems range from expressions of youthful concerns – fueled by rock and roll, freedom and excess afforded by bohemian existence and rebellion against mainstream values – to perhaps more mature reflections and observances – and wariness of mainstream values.
When he arrived in Manhattan’s East Village in the mid-1970s, Greg Masters pounded rock and roll drums in basement clubs, dives, “alternative” spaces, CBGB and Irving Plaza and began attending readings and workshops at the Poetry Project at St. Mark’s Church and the Nuyorican Poets Cafe. Along with Michael Scholnick and Gary Lenhart, he edited the poetry magazine Mag City from 1977-1985. In 1977-78, along with a crew of poet comrades, he organized and produced a cable TV show, Public Access Poetry, now available online thanks to the Poetry Project. From 1980-83, he edited the Poetry Project Newsletter. His poems have appeared in a number of glorious obscure publications. This is his fifth book from Crony Books. Two more are scheduled for fall 2016 – stories and journals.
“Greg’s writing is so descriptive and candid and perfect.”
– Chris Kraus, author of Summer of Hate and I Love Dick
The 108-page paperback, What All the Songs Add Up To (978-0-9859267-7-9), is for sale online for $15 at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Angus & Robertson and other bookstores and distributors, domestic and global.
An ebook version (978-0-9974285-0-6) is available globally for around $6.99 (U.S.) from most online sources, including Amazon Kindle, iBooks, Nook by Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Copia, Gardners Books, National Book Store, Baker & Taylor and more.
Review copies, images and more information are available from greg@cronybooks.net.
Hear Greg Masters reading from this book here.