[Jeff Holt]

I just received my copy of DYAD's reissue of Quincy R. Lehr's "William Montgomery's Guide to New York City" today. As you may know, this poem was originally published in a tiny, 4" x 5" pamphlet that Seven Towers Press gave out as a freebie along with Quincy's first book, "Across the Grid of Streets." Unfortunately, the original looked a bit as one might expect a freebie to look: the smallish print made it difficult to read, and there was at least one blatant error in the text, possibly more.

Therefore, I was very pleased to see the top shelf job that DYAD press has done with this poem. My first impression, upon opening this new edition, is that this insightful narrative has been rescued from quarters so cramped that few would have likely entered them, or have read through to the end if they had. My second impression is really the most obvious feature of this edition. Each of the nine sections of the poem are juxtaposed with black and white sketches by Edward Raison, and these gritty sketches of urban life complement, and resonate with, the poem.

I highly recommend this new chapbook by Quincy R. Lehr. I will leave you with the second stanza of IV. The East Village, one of my favorites:

Within us,
There remains an urge to "push our luck,"
To play at Ginsberg or Warhol, though we're not
Tormented artists anymore. We're stuck
With simulacra, battles already fought
And mostly lost to money and the trend
To bulldoze stinking squats and hire more cops
With cries of "urban renewal." In the end,
We're left with brighter lights and finer shops.

Jeff Holt

[Jeff Holt]

that Quincy has already started a thread about this chapbook. Once again, the obvious eludes me.

Anyway, I grabbed this link from Quincy's thread, in case anyone reads mine first and wants to look at DYAD's page for it:

https://dyadpress.ca/william-montgomerys-guide-to-nyc/