Outskirts Press, INC.

Blue Smoke is an offbeat narrative on weathering the whims of the daily unknown. Employing essay and verse, it’s ripe with chronicles of scarcity, resentment, and consequence; loss of faith and pride reclaimed; innocence stolen and the pursuit of trust denied. It is an exercise in decoding life’s ironies and deeply rooted superstitions—too long and too tightly held—that exposes our laughable attempts to outrun the curveballs thrown at us by our greatest adversary, ourselves.

The book unfolds deliberately, page by page, unveiling a living patchwork that blends artistic acquaintance with surgical intent.This multi-genre collection is not just about falling down or nursing our wounds, but also about how we come to accept the unseen forces, lurking within and without, that so often compel us to defy our immediate interests for wild schemes of heroism and bold-faced retreat, alike.

Blue Smoke urges us to ditch the tedium of indecision in favor of life’s hidden mystery—regardless of inconvenient outcomes or unintended truth—while its penetrating confessions rage against the drone of disappointment with a smile and the certitude a new day will dawn.

*Autographed copies and other custom options available by contacting the author directly at craigacombs[at]me[dot]com.

*To view Combs' Blue Smoke Premiere Reading, visit vimeo.com/149802575.

Excerpted from "Walking the Poet’s Talk"

A poet in his natural stride is unfiltered deviation, his inspirited bones bustling beneath the perfect shroud of cerulean silk and threads of gold spun from star-dusted space water, then kissed by the desert breeze. His operatic protest underscores the broken hymen of his rebirth, or a letter long held, by lewd persuasion unsealed. He elevates the sovereign beyond choice and public acknowledgement. He personifies the altered state, the period his bête noire. He saddles the razor’s edge with cap in hand.
He’s walking the poet’s talk.

...

Dazzling with perplexity and artful in his debate, the poet is a stalker of buried passion, ruthless indifference, and the unmerciful lust for loss. He can boast no fans or wide-eyed groupies but still transmits dauntless all day long. Driven by an unflinching purpose, he shouts from crowded subway platforms and midday city sidewalks, “Sit still a minute and hear my restless heart rave!” With his shield of protection and sword of release, he’s armed to the teeth for this world and the next.
Poet.