Poems Written Before Stepping on the Third Rail, by Ivan Škrtić

Poetry, chapbook, 28 pages, from Bottlecap Features. Poems Written Before Stepping on the Third Rail, it’s semi-self explanatory. Observations, ruminations, complaints shouted at hardwood floors, blues, unrhymed rhythms, verses from the ashcan; all sealed in envelopes, stamped, addressed, and sent to dead letter offices. There’s something for the old soul, the person with a chip on both shoulders, reluctant hipsters, self-effacing hustlers, would-be beatniks, and you. Snapshots of urban life from the Rust Belt to the Northeast Megalopolis relayed sardonically or wistfully, depending on the day. These poems are for all those who feel out-of-time, be it physically, mentally, or spiritually. Formal analyses of one’s environments spoken slightly lyrically and with an economic use of language. Ivan Škrtić is a poet and graphic designer hailing from the inner suburbs of Metro Detroit now residing in Brooklyn, New York. His writing is influenced by a mixture of modernism, postmodernism, and his own working-class upbringing. So far, his work has appeared in Verses From the Underground (of Philadelphia, PA) and on typewritten pages one might find on the sidewalk or subway platform.