Existential Cowboy - by Brian R Strauss (Paperback)

About the Book

Brian Strauss returns with his first collection of poetry in nine years. Existential Cowboy is a collection of poems that center on universal themes of death, age, grief, and the harrowing journey of grappling with one's own mortality.

Book Synopsis

Brian Strauss returns with his first collection of poetry in nine years. Existential Cowboy is a collection of poems that center on universal themes of death, age, grief, and the harrowing journey of grappling with one's own mortality.

Nearly a decade away has done little to dull Strauss' distinct sense of wordplay, compelling sensory perception, and ability to convey intimate scenes dripping with a tragic state of yearning. Strauss takes the phantom pain of loss and the grim introspection that follows and crafts a poetic narrative that only time, memory, and experience could craft.

Review Quotes

Words About Existential Cowboy

"Existential Cowboy is a poetry collection where no object, movement, or sound goes unnoticed. In this observational narrative, each poem zooms in and lingers on the complexities of love, landscape, and all that light touches. Strauss moves through his surroundings with a vulnerability that admits, "I think there's a lesson here, but I haven't figured it out," only to arrive at the harder wisdom that "all that was once beautiful has worn away to memories of something more beautiful." Here's what happens when we pay attention using the heart as our eyes." - Karla Cordero, author of How To Pull Apart The Earth

"Existential Cowboy unpretentiously romanticizes everything from the low-tone, bedroom conversation to the awkward mini-mart interaction while day-drinking. Read this book or else." - Briana Muñoz, Author of Everything is Returned to the Soil

"Brian Strauss' Existential Cowboy feels like a sea change of monumental proportions, a portrait of an artist coming into his prime. The whirlwind of emotions that defined earlier works like Strung Like Puppets and Call of the Void has been replaced with a laser beam: focused, intentional, and poignant.

There's a maturity here that feels earned in the hardest way possible, and melancholy drips from every page. But that's not to say Existential Cowboy is a downer. Rather, it's a hug. It's commiseration. These poems remind us that we reinvent ourselves many times throughout our lives, and every new iteration is simultaneously painful and beautiful." - Ryan Bradford, Founder of AwkSD