Inside the Fire You Don't See: Limited First Edition

"inside the fire you don't see" is the first self-published title of American poet, author, and artist Peter Graves Roberts. these few, selected poems represent a broad sampling of the author's works of the last twenty-five years, during which time he refused to read other authors and instead created free-form bursts that he has dubbed "extreme of consciousness," a term borrowed from James Joyce's "stream of consciousness" works, although It was the brother of writer Henry James, psychologist William James, who first wrote about the stream of consciousness in his The Principles of Psychology, published in volumes between 1878-1890. Fittingly, Roberts' poetry showcases the lack of and need for empathy and compassion NOW, and rebukes the putrid stink of the "double standard." His word-sound pushes and spits archetypal reference to the inherent "ills of modern society" which have been exacerbated and exploited by the effects of technology on today's socio-psychological fabric. Roberts rubs his earliest adolescent influences from the Romantic poets against the flow of late 70's and early 80s hip-hop and hardcore punk lyricism in his "word paintings." The end product doesn't always rhyme, or make any traditional sense, but like hallucinogenic smoke rings, these poems waft and wind through the reader's mind like a slowly unfolding dramatic cliffhanger, or jump off the page like an old black and white war photograph, often finishing the reader off with what has been best described by his early critics as "the gut punch, right at the end." his prominent influences range from Shelley to Bukowski, Springsteen to MacKaye, and Pettibon to Monet. Anyone who evokes emotion through raw, unapologetic expression holds not only a place at Roberts' supper table, but in his poetic heart. This tiny little book of poetry is just a start.

About the Author :
Peter Graves Roberts is a poet, author, dad, husband and activist living and working in an all-American, seasonal beach paradise. He has worked as a contributor for several online magazines covering subjects from the music business to political shenanigans, and always writes for the underdog, the short-end-of-the-stick-holder, and the Empire's working poor, the systematically abused and overlooked nameless faces among us. After an existential crisis in 1992, Pete quit reading all other authors in an effort to develop his own "public voice." The result of his 20 year experiment is what he calls "extreme of consciousness," the works in this short collection embody that characteristic style of mixing modern meter with classic archetypal imagery, highlighting the thin line between enlightenment and insanity. Themes that generally cause his writing spasms include war, poverty, love, double-standards and the plight of the world's working poor people. He receives an abundance of inspiration working a day job as a desk clerk in a little tourist town in North Carolina with an oft mispronounced name; Corolla...and that's kuh-RAH-luh for those of you who don't know about it, yet.