NightBallet Press is enormously pleased to present a new collection of poems by Pushcart Prize-winning poet and native Ohioan Mike Finley...
Newspaper Taxis Appear on the Shore!
Newspaper Taxis Appear on the Shore!
The last time Mike Finley visited Cleveland in August 2013, NightBallet Press published a twenty-page mini chapbook, For the Young Poets of Cleveland, which contained eleven poems. Newspaper Taxis Appear on the Shore is twice that size, at forty pages of thirty-seven poems! And oh, what wondrous poems they are!
The Revolving Door at Higbees, 1968
Seeing the old man step tentatively
into the glass cylinder,
the girl slowed down,
the two tiptoed around one another,
palms high.
He smiled at his partner,
and she, who had never before
danced the minuet,
stepping out with the old,
stepping in with the new,
did likewise
Seeing the old man step tentatively
into the glass cylinder,
the girl slowed down,
the two tiptoed around one another,
palms high.
He smiled at his partner,
and she, who had never before
danced the minuet,
stepping out with the old,
stepping in with the new,
did likewise
Irradiated Love
How I enjoy seeing you
in your paper shoes and hat
and lilac scrubs.
Do with me what you will, Aurelia—
enlighten me the way you do,
I want to shimmer and scramble your screen.
I love the merry expression I see in your eyes,
the jokes the two of us make
as you put me in the position,
then disappear behind the lead-lined door.
How I enjoy seeing you
in your paper shoes and hat
and lilac scrubs.
Do with me what you will, Aurelia—
enlighten me the way you do,
I want to shimmer and scramble your screen.
I love the merry expression I see in your eyes,
the jokes the two of us make
as you put me in the position,
then disappear behind the lead-lined door.
Mike Finley is a professional communicator with 30 years of experience in print, broadcast, in-person and online, as a best-selling writer, poet, and videographer. Finley is one of only two Lorain County poets, and one of only three Cleveland-area poets, who's won the prestigious Pushcart Prize in poetry! He's also written for the Rolling Stone, and in the Rock and Roll city of Cleveland, that's no small thing to note! In 2013, his book Growing Up in Amherst was published online, describing through poetry and prose his childhood in the small town of Amherst, Ohio. He now lives in St. Paul, Minnesota.
A recent article about his upcoming visit to Ohio was recently published in the Chronicle-Telegram:
A recent article about his upcoming visit to Ohio was recently published in the Chronicle-Telegram:
Oh, did I neglect to mention...YOU CAN HEAR MIKE FINLEY READ FROM HIS BRAND NEW BOOK OF POEMS THIS MONDAY EVENING, AUGUST 6, 2015 AT MAHALL'S IN LAKEWOOD, OHIO!
Yes, that's right! Mike Finley will be one of the features, along with poetry cohort Danny Klecko, and Erie, PA poets extraordinaire Marisa Moks-Unger and Tracie Morell at Mondays at Mahall's, 13200 Madison, Lakewood, Ohio! You may recall that NBP published Moks-Unger's book, Mud and Stars, about seven weeks ago, in June (the same time Crisis Chronicles Press published a book for Morell). This will be a smashing event, a blow-the-roof-off reading, and you won't want to miss this Powerhouse Four!
Danny Klecko and Mike Finley 
Marisa Moks-Unger and Tracie Morell Finley's book (along with Moks-Unger's book) will be available for purchase at the reading. At only $10 each, both are a steal, and you can save on shipping charges! Unable to attend? You may also order a copy through PayPal or on Amazon!
So, see you tomorrow at Mahall's at 7:30pm, and prepare to have your flip-flops flipped! Woohoo!