WB Burkholder's review of Mice Verses Man

WB Burkholder from Troubadour21 magazine did a great review of my book recently. Thanks a lot Bill, I appreciate your words!

-------------------------------------------

As a contributing editor for Troubadour21, I have had the unique privilege of being able to read and comment on new works of poetry, art, music, and photography. I am constantly amazed at the well spring of talent that exists and continues to emerge on its pages.
One such talent that has come to light in recent months is that of R Jay Slais, author of Mice Verses Man. This collection of poetry is R Jay’s first undertaking and it comes to us in a finely crafted volume published by Big Table Publishing.
Within its forty pages we enter the world of a single father raising two teenage children, the mourning of lost moments, and lost loves. The reader finds themselves behind the eyes of this author and with him, they witness and re-experience the moments and cacophonic renderings of a single life lived, remembered, and conveyed through the voice of a seasoned, talented poet.
In some ways, the title of this volume is somewhat disarming; it does not prepare the reader for what they are about to experience within its pages. However the reader will not be disappointed.
From title cover to the back page the reader is given the gift of insight as well as reflection of one very talented poet. All too often, we tend to look past the greatest gifts that stand in front of us, those that become the most evident. Within the words of R Jay Slais and among the pages of Mice Verses Man these gifts abound in great numbers.
The voice of this poet sings the lamentations of typical man, the everyday man however, it comes to us in the form of a unique echo; one that resonates within us and only comes from the Poet, R Jay Slais. Yes there is the rendering of a man’s heartbreak, the conveyance of his tears upon the pages but also, the gift of hope and strength. This author has weathered these storms, and it is to the reader’s benefit, for what has come from his experiences has been conveyed to us in a superbly written collection of sights, sounds, all gifted to us through the passionate heartbeat of this poet.
Troubadour21 highly recommends Mice Verse Man and gives R Jay Slais and his first collection of poetry a T21 rating of five stars.
To obtain a copy of Mice Verses Man you can contact, www.bigtablepublishing.com or contact the author directly at Rjay61@comcast.net.
Mice Verses Man: ISBN 978-0-9842473-2-5 R Jay Slais