For Better or Verse

Book excerpt: Rhymes Without Reason: For Better or Verse is a collection of poetry compiled from a lifelong habit of scribbling down rhymes without a reasonexcept to preserve an emotion, or retain a memory, or expose the funny side of life, love, and all that stuff. Dennis Glaser has also authored a memoirA Geezers Guide to the Universeand a journal of his travels in EuropeSeeing Europe as a Traveler; not a Touristboth published by Xlibris. And he has two more books in processa collection of original short stories and his memories of his years in Nashvilles music scene. But it is his poetry that has always been his emotional escape valve. He first began giving into his inner urge to write poetry when he encountered the songs of Kris Kristofferson. He was in the audience at the Ryman Theatre the night Kris won the Country Music Associations songwriter of the year award. And the next night, he was part of a small audience who saw Kris and his Band of Thieves perform in a tent show on the plaza of Nashvilles Municipal Auditorium. I never met the man, Glaser recalls. But I did meet many of the friends hed left behind when he left Nashville for Hollywood and a movie career. And, he added, I had the beer license for the Music City Row beer bar, Kountry Korner, which was the scene for Kristoffersons song, Talley Ho Tavern, and where Kris once tended bar. My next poetic influence was the late Shel Silverstein, who was hanging out at the Glaser Sound Studios (owned by my cousins, Tompall, Chuck and Jim Glaser). Shel was not only a poet, a cartoonist, playwright, screen writer and author of three best-selling childrens bookshe also was of course a prolific songwriter. For example: A Boy Named Sue (Johnny Cash), Put Another Log on the Fire (Tompall), nearly all of the Dr. Hook catalog (The Cover of Rolling Stone, Sylvias Mother), several albums sung by Bobby Bare (Rosalies Good Eats Caf, The Winner). Shel recorded several comedy songs which were popular on the Dr. Demento radio show. Theres much morein fact, his biography on Wikipedia covers 10 pages. Suffice to say that merely being around the guy inspired anyone with any talent at all to begin putting his words on paper, or his music on tape. This quote captures something of Shels view of the creative process: I want to be articulate, to communicate but in my own way. People who say they create only for themselves and dont care if they are published . . . I hate to hear talk like that. If its good, its too good not to share . . . His website is well worth a visit: http://shelsilverstein.com/indexSite.html: So thats the story behind this book. I hope youll read itand if you are a poet, I hope you continue to create your verse. Certainly, there are worse things you could do with your time!