A big thank you to Jerry at Out In Print for the fantastic review of my book "The Candied Road Ahead: Poems & Stories". You can read the review below and purchase the book by clicking here or through many other fine on-line retailers. Please check out Out In Print by clicking here.
"Growing up gay and Catholic is not easy, as witnessed by countless books by men and women who have done just that. Drawing inspiration from “Grimm’s Fairy Tales,” Brooke Shields, John and Yoko, Diane Arbus, adolescence, care of elderly parents, and shopping malls, Langdon creates worlds that are heartbreakingly accurate–as pointed as they are occasionally humorous. His experiences are, perhaps, no different than ours, but he has a particularly warped point of view. Sometimes the warp is for comic effect–most often in the stories/monologues at the end of the collection–but that warp pokes its scaly head up for some deliciously awkward and telling moments in his poetry. I’m thinking of the poignancy in “My Father’s Naked Body” and “Life Support,” or the oddly erotic “Dentist,” or his ruminations on the differences between gay men, “Gay Like Me” or “Alone Still.” Langdon’s images are crisp and his intent straightforward, as in this snippet from “The Past is Hunting Me”: The past is hunting me./Blooms in my old room/like a snail./It leaves cum smears/on the mattress./Feasts on fallen/lint from my navel./Redecorates and makes use/of every stained corner.It follows me to work/like a ratted dog. This volume is the first I’d heard of Langdon, and as far as I can determine, it’s his only collection, but he’s a poet to be reckoned with and you should definitely seek this one out."
