The 13th Floor

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Among America's most prolific, penetrating, and prescient poets, Steve Gerson deftly delivers yet again with his latest volume, The 13th Floor: Step into Anxiety with Jeremiah-like lamentations. Brilliantly, even luminously drawn, this collection contains Gerson's typically elegant verses but also masterful flash stories and abbreviated musings. Subject matters are of the micro and macro level, intimate and not, pertaining to personal or global occurrences, which exude permanence or evanescence. In trademark fashion, Gerson artfully explores cutting-edge events ranging from the pandemic to endless tumult in the Near East and Putin's war in Ukraine to Americana at its most moving, poignant, wistful, terrifying, and, yes, hopeful. Thus, the reader encounters the rapidly transmuting virus but also another deadly epidemic: that of random shootings with far-too-young victims. Included too are meaningful stories of loss pertaining to relationships, economic distress, and the human condition itself, imperiled by climatic catastrophe. Dr. Robert C. Cottrell's most recent book, The Activist 1960s: Striving for Political and Social Empowerment in America, will soon be released. "In these troubling times, it helps to feel less alone, more connected, and seen by others. Steve Gerson's chapbook does that - his depictions of anxiety, depression, loss, and fear help give the fleeting emotions that drift through your thoughts a space to breathe. In a series of vignettes, his attention to time's inexorable march forward allows you to step out of your own world and step into a very real depiction of the unreal. Take this pause as a way to reflect on your own experience. Let his torment lessen your own. Steve's beautiful, sometimes haunting, sometimes humorous depictions of other lives each transport you to another space, another time, and another existence. His artistic and evocative expressions of feeling and emotion leave you thoughtful and more fulfilled." Stacy Harken, JD, Information Architect/Technical Writer, Garmin Industries "The 13th Floor by Steve Gerson is a book of poems, flash stories, and musings that tackles the modern paradox of loneliness in modern life, with all its opulence. Depression is rampant with undercurrents of latent anxiety. This work cuts though all the noise that comes with existing in a fast-paced society. And in this exploration, Gerson takes the reader on a hilarious ride that is pure schadenfreude. The genius of this work is that it is not an attack. Gerson does not preach. Rather, it is a feel-good rollick through everyday musings that will leave the reader smiling and pausing to connect intensely with Gerson's imagery. This book is a meditation on what we need to laugh at in these anxious times. 13th Floor is the magic bullet to smile and deserves a permanent seat on the coffee table with the iPhone and the laptop." Rob Titus, JD, Titus Law Firm "'So I turn on my smartphone to mute distraction.' 'Want to eat some stress?' Could there be a more accurate statement and subsequent question (approximately 20 pages apart) summarizing today's society and our hyperfocus on the constant flood of information? Although sad but true, Gerson calls to attention the innumerable factors in life that can and do lead to anxiety. Even for those of us who are privileged, the world in which we live is challenging. The demands of life are simply ongoing and often unpredictable. In reading Gerson's Chapbook, we learn that at least we're not alone." Dr. Stefani Buchwitz, Director, Self Graduate Programs, University of Kansas