Previewing my new book: Scapegoat’s Cross

I’m pleased to announce the completion of the manuscript for my second book. Scapegoat’s Cross: Poems about Finding and Reclaiming the Lost Man Within is both a companion and a follow-up to my first book, Iron Man Family Outing. I’m very proud of this new work and eager to get it out into the world where it may be of use to others.

I’ve posted some preview material on my web site at rickbelden.com/new_book, including an excerpt from the introduction and some of the poems that appear in the book.

I’m also making preview copies of the complete manuscript available to those who’d like an early look. Please see rickbelden.com/new_book for information about getting a preview copy.

The Previewing my new book: Scapegoat’s Cross by Rick Belden, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.

August 25th, 2009 in book | tags: abuse, addiction, adult survivor, aging, body memory, burnout, childhood, consciousness, Dreams, family roles, father wound, god, grief, healing, insight, Iron Man Family Outing, lost man, love, male sexuality, masculine psychology, men's issues, men's poetry, midlife, money, mortality, mother wound, neglect, new book, Poetry, psychospiritual, ptsd, recovery, relationships, scapegoat, scapegoat's cross, soul, spirituality, trauma, unconscious, women, work, wounded man

6 Comments Add your own

1. Graeme Daniels&hellip | September 2nd, 2009 at 12:02 pm

It’s been a pleasure to read “Scapegoat’s Cross” having read “Iron Man Family Outing” Two years ago. Rick’s work has enriched my own work with men’s groups in California. In this latest offering, poems such as ‘Broken Birthday 51′ evoke the pain of aging and brokenness, recalling Bly’s thoughts on the meaning of Ashes. Meanwhile, ‘The Past’ and ‘Don’t Talk About It’ bring to mind ongoing, dark themes of Rick’s poetry: it feels long overdue for these thoughts to be unleashed, reminding us that the power of secrets lies not so much in what is known or unknown, but rather in what is talked about. I cherish the vivid line indicating a family’s call to order: eat your stones!
My favorite is ‘Personal Ad’, and for some time I couldn’t figure out why. Initially, I was amused by what is–at least in this collection–a relatively light-hearted parody of an inchoate artifact of dating rituals. Later, as I considered its implicit appeal to go “below the surface”; its references to aloneness, confusion, I began to absorb a wider scope to its rebellion. There’s a broader, anti-pop sensibility here. Imagine advertizing ourselves in our fullest humanity.
2. Jack Kammer&hellip | September 12th, 2009 at 6:59 pm

Dear Rick,

I’ve read scapegoat’s cross. Here’s what it makes me want to say…

grief and loss and never was.
longing.
disappointment, bewilderment.
anger, not quite hot enough for rage.
sadness.
resignation.
fierceness.
thinking, thinking, thinking.
what could have been.
what you wanted.
what you still somehow hope for.
beauty.
acceptance.
connection.
it all makes for powerful poetry.

it makes me really appreciate you.

Thank you.

All best,
Jack
3. Twitch (aka John Dolley)&hellip | July 8th, 2010 at 9:34 pm

Well, what can I say Rick you nutty guy, some are really good, and evoke images; I guess those are the ones that strike me most as the good ones. “Ghosts” sums up your style and intent to get to the bottom of things if there’s no guarantee there’ll be any good apples left by the time you get there.

“One Day” of course is haiku short ‘n sweet, and felt a tear begin to well-up.

Let’s see, trying to remember the memorable ones that impressed me the most, like the gum turning around in the open mouth lines, that was funny; and the one about finding time to write quandary.

Sh*t, I hate blogs for this reason, hard to refer to stuff, there were others and some I thought were too long and lost my attention 2/3rds the way through. The Blindfold boxer in the woods was a good image and sorta’ paraphrases the old trippy adage in a way… the sound of one hand clapping or a tree falling in the forest thing.

I’ve been beating myself up for years, I just think we develop these personality types early on in processing and self-analysis that never seem to change in their methodology for some odd inexplicable reason to me…independence is a good thing too ya’ know!
4. Rick&hellip | July 8th, 2010 at 10:18 pm

Hey John, thanks for dropping by, checking things out, and taking the time to comment. Good to know you’re still out there!
5. Tom N.&hellip | July 16th, 2010 at 2:02 pm

Amazing poems. Thank you for letting me know I’m not the only one. Please, keep up the great work. You are making a difference in this world, Rick. A very much NEEDED difference.
6. Rick&hellip | July 17th, 2010 at 12:09 pm

Tom: Thank you for taking the time to read and comment. I appreciate what you said, and it means a lot to me. Hearing from folks like you who’ve felt some benefit from my work encourages me to keep at it, which is, as I’m sure you can understand, not always easy to do. Hopefully the stars will align for me soon so I can get the new book out within the next few months and take this material to more people who will find it helpful.

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