The Poet, The Soldier and The Freemason

Combining free verse with traditional rhyme schemes and experimental formats, Charles Cooper's work is a writer at the height of his poetic skill. Cooper takes the reader along with him on a perilous psychological journey through love, madness, and pain. Often varying his writing style from one poem to another, and even stanza-to-stanza, Cooper makes excellent use of rhythm in a number of offerings, particularly his beatnik-inspired effort, "The Black Bleeding Heart Beats Alone," and provides readers with searing portrayals of the human condition in eloquently rendered poems like "Failure" and "The Wastrel." In the end, This is a stellar effort for Cooper, a literary work true to its author's vision and triumphant in its poetic craftsmanship. - Jay Waitkus, Praise for Desperate Times