Ron Androla

Ron Androla's new book is out. Click on the bookcover to see it more clearly and look for ordering information HERE. The following is a review by the publisher:

To say that a book length collection of the work of Ron Androla is long overdue would be to merely state the obvious. However, if one knows the author and his purpose it is a bit more comprehendible. The advent of the world wide web as well as the ever advanced and ever improving technology has vastly changed the poetry underground from what it was years ago when poets such as Charles Bukowski, D. A. Levy, Steve Richmond, Jim Chandler, and yes, Ron Androla had work published in hundreds of small mimeographed and hand stapled journals, virtually all of which, are now nonexistent.

Buk and Levy are dead. Chandler’s semi-retired. Richmond is MIA, but Androla’s still plugging away after almost 30 years at the forefront of what can now be referred to as a “movement.” With his unique style and a voice, which is most definitely his own, Ron continues to go forward as writing is as important to him as the very air he breathes. By and large it’s what this man lives for. That is the reason we haven’t seen a collection such as this until now. The author is a true poet. He’s not a self-promoter, a shoulder-rubber, or someone who works constantly to manipulate his way into print. This is exemplified by his notes at the beginning of POET HEAD when he apologizes for not being able to remember everywhere many of these poems have appeared.

In my mind as a publisher, this was a book that “needed” to come forth. It was almost like a responsibility. The access to all types of poetry on the internet has made being or becoming an original difficult. The work of those who have attained such stature should be preserved at all costs. This is how I felt about this book and how I continue to feel. I am grateful for the opportunity to have facilitated its publication and proud to be associated with it.

Charles Whitley
Editor/Publisher
Rank Stranger Press


Another introduction to Ron's writings comes by way of a link to a recent write-up and interview by Jack Anders in this MiPoarticle. The article speaks to the core of what post-beat poetry and Ron are all about.