RAGE and CALM

Rage and Calmis Mark D Ransom’s poetic documentary of life in mid-1990’s New York City. It was a very different place then. More subversive and yet full of possibility. From poems with the rhythm of a thrumming metropolis, where a boy describes how it is to work alongside hardened men to frenetic poems of loss, and discovery. There are tales of unrequited love and of hours spent in honky-tonk strip clubs. These are countered by poems about simple joys with fond remembrances of mentors, and inspirational artists. Rage and Calm is an episodic collection that captures the maelstrom of chaotic youth and a struggle toward inner peace. A journey from rage to calm.

Mark D. Ransom grew up in Staten Island. As a former construction worker, and current Civil Servant he composes sketches of often conflicting emotions inspired by a lifetime of experience in the garrulous city of New York. In these sketches, Mr. Ransom provides insights about rites of manhood, and the bewilderment of having familiar surroundings become surreal and haunted while exploring an emotional spectrum from numbness to rage. At the same time, he is as present to the silence between breaths as he is to the struggle and thrum of the world. Educated by the City University of New York, Mr. Ransom holds a B.A. from the College of Staten Island. Also available from Xlibris in print: "After September," poetry about the aftermath of 9/11.