Rhymes for the Times, by Matt Overs

Poetry, chapbook, 28 pages, from Bottlecap Features.

Rhymes for the Times features a set of narrative street poems that coalesce around the current political atmosphere and major current events taking place all over the world. From the chaos in Minneapolis, to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. From the fires in LA, to the destruction in Gaza.

The first poem, “Drug War Distilled”, takes a searing look at the decades-long arc of the U.S. Drug war. The introduction of crack cocaine onto the streets of Los Angeles. Ollie North and the Contras, all the way to Pablo, Chapo and the opioid epidemic.

“Imperial Aspirations” chronicles the chaos of the first year of the second Trump administration. Whiplashing from one crisis to the next. Some of it may be distressing, yes, but the overall tone is one of hope and the enduring power of the human spirit to persevere.

Matt Overs is a novelist and street poet from Atlantic City. His perspectives are informed by his working-class upbringing in a city known for its Dickensian levels of stratification. His work has been published by Afterthought Literary and his debut novel, Downbeach, was published by Moonshine Cove.