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Each chapter in «Pieces of April» chronicles the themes and concerns for the calendar year in which they were written.  Starting in 2023 and working backwards to 2016, the poems are rife with references to the cultural concerns of the day, while also incorporating the joys and sadness of daily life, universal themes accessible to everyone.

Reviews

The love of the spoken and written word is evident in Pieces of April, a collection of poems in part autobiographical and in part speculative, with an abiding concern for what Willam Faulkner calls “the old verities and truths of the heart.” “For when I light my nervous cigarette / The shifty smoke wafts about my head,” the speaker says in “Premonitions,” which begins the collection.

The poems resist the resignation “To finding comfort only in withdrawal,” a line that concludes Pieces of April. Among its best poems are: “Hershey Gold,” “Crystal Clear,”“The Chimney in the Attic,” “Old Friends,”“House in the Clouds,” and “Why Should I Climb the Lookout?,” a response to Pound’s “The River Merchant’s Wife.” “Lookout” is one in a series of response poems to poems by Eliot, Frost, Roethke, and other notable twentieth century poets. Repko’s individual voice comes through, a voice attuned to the sight, sense, and sound in poems where his first-person I becomes first-person we. 
– Peter Mladinic, author of Maiden Rock.

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In this, his first book, poet Phil Repko takes no great chances…assumes no huge risks…what we have here is a volume of simple, traditional verse. But, when you think about it, that’s maybe the greatest risk of all. Countless books of (mostly) forgettable poetry have been written in this style, but Repko has taken on the challenge and succeeded very very well. These poems are warm, comfortable and often memorable. As first books go, this writer is off to a really strong start. In my opinion, he’s someone to watch…and certainly someone to read. I’d buy it again, for sure!
– John Yamrus, serial author.  Don’t Shoot the Messenger: just give him a place to hide.  

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