Dane Swan

ISBN 9781771262682
$17.00 CDN/USA 118 pages

“There is no messiah here.”
The most popular religion on earth was founded by a Jewish man who travelled the Roman Empire. He allegedly challenged religious leaders while preaching the importance of love. He was persecuted in his time, but eventually his preachings flourished. Centuries later (in the sixties), another Jewish man challenged political and religious leaders on the stage as a comic. He preached lessons of love through laughter. He also was persecuted for his beliefs. Both men had humiliating deaths. After the comic died, many of those who had persecuted him praised him. His fans renamed him Saint Lenny.
We have no way of knowing if Lenny Bruce and Jesus Christ were similar people, but both fiercely believed in the power of love.
The life and death of the late great comic Lenny Bruce is the backdrop for Dane Swan’s long-poem meditation on drugs, sex, religion, and love.

Toronto-based, Bermuda-born writer and editor Dane Swan is the author of four previous books: two poetry collections, a book of short stories, and a novella. His second poetry collection, A Mingus Lullaby, was a finalist for the 2017 Trillium Book Award for Poetry. He is also the editor of the critically praised anthology Changing the Face of Canadian Literature.