The Man in the Moon and Other Poems

Politano has this to say about his poetry. This collection of poems is strictly my own work, without aid or assistance from anyone. I am grateful of course, in a general way, to the professors in the schools, colleges, and universities I have attended, as both student and lecturer, who helped provide me with a breadth and depth of knowledge without which this little book would not have been possible. I am grateful also to the many authors, both good and bad (or merely forgettable), whose work has helped to give me a sense of balance in my poetry. But I am most grateful for the fact that I have lived long enough and participated sufficiently in the business of life to make some sense of certain matters concerning the human condition, about which in my earlier years I was absolutely mystified, and at times even terrified. Diane Wakowski, author of more than sixteen volumes of poetry and Michigan State University Professor and Writer-in-Residence said this: Pascal R. Politano's poetry offers gracefully presented traditional language, [is] well-ordered, rhythmic and concise. . . . It avoids prosy explanations, poeticized cliches, and the mundane sentimental phrases that can often mar a poem's possible elegance.

Following twenty years as a soldier, Pascal Ronald Politano taught English and political science at the university level in both Germany and Italy for eight years. He has lived in the Far East and in Hawaii and has traveled widely in Europe, Northern Africa, the Near East, and in South and Central America. He began writing full-time in 1992, in Baltimore, where he had been tutoring foreign graduate students. In 1993 he won the élan short story prize in London's The European ; in 1995 his book of short stories, Antipodes 10 , was published by the American Literary Press (Baltimore); in 1996 his poem, "Un Ballo in Maschera" (which is included in this collection) won the Writer's Digest first prize for non-rhymed poetry. His novel The Dartist, and Antipodes 20, another short story collection, as well as his latest novel, Travels With My Ass, are available on the internet at the Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Borders web sites. Since 1996 he has lived in Upstate New York, in the foothills of the Adirondacks. When writing prose fiction he uses the pen name John Pascal. Another collection of short stories and a book of his essays, under the name "Atticus Grammaticus," will be published soon.