“A window into the brave vulnerability of a modern-day prophet.”
“Leo Shelton’s RHYTHMS is a window into the brave vulnerability of a modern-day prophet. In this promising debut, Shelton provides a glimpse into, not just a world that he’s so passionately lived, but a world we know, pass by, move through, to begin again in. In Rhythms, we taste life’s sweat, inhale sounds of DC in high-summer, and hear the aroma of somebody’s black mama’s kitchen in Nashville. Shelton calls it like it be, without hiding behind the fictionalized experience that trivializes the legacies of soldiers like Essex, Melvin Dixon, and Assoto. I am proud to be discovering what it means to inscribe our experiences so truthfully and poetically, alongside him.”
Tim’m T. West
Author, Red Dirt Revival, BARE, and Flirting
reddirt.biz
“Rhythms truly is a gourmet meal for the poetry connoisseur.”
“Shelton’s Rhythms is a remarkable, impressive work, with “dat” distinct urban feel. Its words, phrases and sentence structure all have movement—they throb, they pulsate, they sway, they dance. Tasty, tantalizing, and eclectic, this collection of poetry, at times, gives one the sense of déjà vu. (Awww…. this writer can hear Dionne Warwick crooning her pop hit, “Déjà vu,” in the recesses of his mind.)”
“By no means is Rhythms simply “reading candy.” Au contraire. It is substantive and thought provoking. This writer has to say that although the majority of the volume is readily accessible, some of its selections take just a little bit of time to figure out and “get used to,” which make you go “Hmmmm.” And then, “Yo. Now I got it.”
“But, it’s all good because Rhythms engages the mind. This collection is both cerebral and earthy. Shelton is a unique voice.”
- Wyatt O’Brian Evans
Rhythms: The Poetry Connoisseur’s Gourmet Meal
By Wyatt O’Brian Evans
Mr. Evans is an actor/comedian, voice talent/instructor, writer and author. His bylines have appeared in publications including the Washington Post, Washington Blade, Prince Georges County, Maryland Journal, and American Politics and Metropolitan Washington magazine. He conceived, developed and wrote an African-American, gay, erotic serial for Gay Black Male magazine, and his new full-length novel (gay/ethnic/erotica) is entitled "Nothing Can Tear Us Apart."