Spotlight on Author Dane Cobain

Today I'm spotlighting the literary works of Dane Cobain, a talented UK author who is a poet, musician and writer. Here are two of his books. He also wrote a poem especially for Library of Clean Reads. He asked me to give him five random words and he would write me a poem using them. Well, I tossed these five words his way: sunshine, scarf, lion, impulsive, peach. Scroll down to see the poem he created! Tell me what you think.

But first, here's some info on his books:

Eyes Like Lighthouses When the Boats Come Home

Eyes Like Lighthouses is Dane Cobain’s first book of poetry, distilled from the sweat of a thousand memorised performances in this reality and others. It’s not for the faint-hearted.

“I’ve never seen anyone do a stream of consciousness piece as talented as that. Very impressed.” – Mark Allard-Will, author of Saskatch-A-Man and co-founder of Cuckoo’s Nest Press

“Dane’s poetry is a multi-layered spiral of the macabre, quirky humour and disjointed imagery. Not only does he make you think, he captures the small forgotten moments of everyday life.” – Nikki Dudley, co-editor of Streetcake Magazine

“…[Dane] combines concrete detail with socioeconomic concerns.” – Lorna Wood, associate editor of Gemini Magazine

Buy the Book: Amazon

Former.ly: The Rise and Fall of a Social Network

When Dan Roberts starts his new job at Former.ly, he has no idea what he's getting into. The site deals in death - its users share their innermost thoughts, which are stored privately until they die. Then, their posts are shared with the world, often with unexpected consequences.

But something strange is going on, and the site's two erratic founders share a dark secret. A secret that people are willing to kill for.

Buy the book: Amazon

So here's the poem Dane created with these five words I sent him: sunshine, scarf, lion, impulsive, peach.

Roll Up, Roll Up

I might run away

and join the circus.

I don’t have much talent

and I can’t bend my body

or fly through the air

without hurting myself,

and I can’t tame a lion

or ride a unicycle;

I don’t even like kids,

because they’re sticky

and not yet finished,

they won’t discuss Nietzsche

with anyone.

I can’t smash watermelons

in the sunshine,

but people stare

when I cross the road

and nearly get runover,

hey that’s gotta be worth some currency

from someone or other.

My friends think I’m impulsive,

a compulsive flunkie

with too many fingers

in too many pies;

I can see the fire in their eyes

when they lie to me,

they try to blind me

with ice cream

and too many trees

to see the forest.

They say life is a peach

with a stone in it,

and I broke my teeth

when I was seventeen;

now I’m choosing life

over anything,

so I scarred my scarf

and put my gloves

on a burning bush,

like a snowman

melting

in the sunshine.

I might run away

and join the circus;

they could use

a clown like me.

About the Author:

Dane Cobain (High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, UK) is an independent poet, musician and storyteller with a passion for language and learning. When he’s not in front of a screen writing stories and poetry, he can be found working on his book review blog or developing his website, www.danecobain.com. His debut novella, No Rest for the Wicked, was released in the summer of 2015.

Thursday, August 4, 2016