Bird Lizard Horse
by August Smith

"Stop me if you know this one.
I heard a joke at a party once and laughed. Later,
I repeated the same joke at a different party. No one laughed."
-from The Bottom Line
August Smith helms Cool Skull Press, and is a co-founder and regular writer at Mostly Midwest.  August's also author of Mario Kart 64 Poems (Cool Skull Press) and Upperpeninsula. 
Bird Lizard Horse is a poetry collection with intelligence and depth, leading us to a mournful series from which the collection draws its name.  
Tweets thru @augustjsmith
​12/04/15 UPDATE
"Two Stars, and a Sliver of a Third" & "Horse" have been nominated for 2015's Pushcart Prize!

Dig August's Virtual Rendering Of Poems FROM THEIR N!P CHAP(!):

Praise for Bird Lizard Horse

"Your poems are the shit"
-Waka Flocka Flame, rapper
“August Smith’s garden isn’t empty as he proclaims in the first poem of the collection. It’s overgrown with sardonic humor, ripe with Voltairean satire, and saturated with contempt at the way things are.

Bird Lizard Horse wasn’t what I thought it would be, but I loved every word. Do not pick up Bird Lizard Horse hoping to find whimsy and pristine nature. Instead, grab a copy because Smith paints a perfectly postmodern picture, aghast with all of the dirty laundry of American consumer culture.”
-Elizabeth Mobley, Blotterature
"...the mixture of the funny, sometimes self-deprecating tone, pop culture references and all too real comprehensions generate one of my favorite chapbooks of 2015 so far.... life is a psychology course, honestly, and BIRD LIZARD HORSE is the textbook."
-Beyza Ozer, Probably Crying Review
“Babyhood happened to everyone. People try to forget that long ago they were mere babies. Adults are always upset by babies. They forget what it means to be a baby: the confusion, the illogical situations, the things that adults simply deem “part of life”. Babies see right through that nonsense which is why they cry. Everywhere there are plenty of things that should drive people crazy: product placement, crass consumer sensibility, etc. Yes everyone can eat fresh but the question remains: should they? If Subway is eating fresh, if Quiznos is toasty, then what is the point of doing anything. What differentiates a slogan from a lie is repetition.”
-Beach Sloth
“August Smith is a child telling the truth. Sometimes the truth is he has to listen to the voices of various creatures he’s killed speak to him reproachfully, and he shares that with us, because wouldn’t we all? Parties abound in this collection and reading it feels like being invited. You can tell Smith wants you there.”
-Matthew Rohrer, Hummock in the Malookas (National Poetry Series)
Bird Lizard Horse by August Smith
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