Introduction

This is the second book of poetry I've published first on the web, then on lulu. The first, Who Shall Sing, When Man is Gone, was one of the first books of web poetry to be published back in the mid-90's when the web was young.

The poetry in this book is is freely available on the web at:

    http://www.phy.duke.edu/~rgb/Poetry/hot_tea.php

and it may well be that you are reading these words there.

If so, be aware that it is also available as a printed, bound book that can be purchased online at my personal lulu storefront:

    http://stores.lulu.com/store.php?fAcctID=877977

If you like this poetry, remember that buying the book (even an extremely inexpensive online version of it, also from lulu) helps to support the poet.

I'm offering the poetry in online form for two reasons:

First, it in principle lets just about anybody in the known cyber-universe browse the poetry as often as they wish, absolutely free, or print it out to be able to read it when they aren't near a browser, or read it out loud. At the same time it preserves my right to make a profit from my own work (if anybody does) and prevents me from ever being in the silly position of having to purchase a book republication of my own work from which I've derived no gain. This may sound silly and impossible, but without careful licensing it is neither.

Second, I am one of a growing number of artists (software, prose, poetry, musical, visual) who rebel against the stranglehold of the publication and entertainment industry on individual artists. At a time we should be experiencing a cultural renaissance of truly universal proportions as the web extends a "voice" to every human on the planet little by little, we see that industry, with its immense profitability threatened, turn more and more to distortions of the laws intended to protect the artists to simply extend their reign of extortion.

There are some lovely websites that detail just how easy it is for a musical group (for example) to cut a deal for a CD, sell it successfully (hundreds of thousands of copies with millions of dollars in gross revenues) and actually lose money by the time the recording industry is through with them. It is perhaps not as bad in the paper publication industry, but we live in a world where the author, artists, or musician who makes as much as 10% of the net revenue generated from the resale of their own work is exceptionally fortunate.

Lulu is the coming world of micropublishing. When you buy a book from Lulu, I actually make 80% of the marginal profit leftover from the sale. In a year, two years, or ten years, Lulu published books (and books published “on the spot” by a myriad of competitors) will be commonplace, and will generate a new Renaissance of music, poetry, prose, and visual arts.



Subsections