Riding Shotgun with the Mothman

Riding Shotgun with the Mothman

Riding Shotgun with the Mothman is a debut book of poems by Kentucky poet mannygrimaldi. This book is, as a reviewer termed it, the voice of a "savage beast singing sweetly", a recovering addict looking back at those in the wake of his rampage. The poems are both sweet and salty. Riding Shotgun with the Mothman is about the devastating aftermath of choices made. The verse, often surrealistic and peppered with tenderness and ironic humor, is rich and vivid. Grimaldi doesn't offer instant redemption. There's plenty of light shining through the dark in these poems, enough to suggest forgiveness and acceptance. Some of his most affecting poems refer to children, beauty and the loss of love, particularly where the speaker is haunted by emotional abandonment of his children. "Mothman," as some know, is a cryptid known to Appalachia, and now to the Illinois/Chicago area. A bookending symbol for fear, choices, and disease.