I Offered Myself As The Sea by Eric Paul

The new collection of poems by Eric Paul, author of the much sought after Pussy Pow-Wow and the lyricist and vocalist for the revered bands Arab On Radar and The Chinese Stars.

His release for Heartworm is a collection of poems that he's been working on for years, a perfect bound paperback with art by Allison Cole. Paul's poems offer always honest and sometimes surreal keyhole glimpses into the trials of his love, life, past, present and future.

"It is a commonly uttered cliché that great works of art ­ literature especially, and poetry in particular ­ are said to stir the emotions, causing observers to both laugh and cry. But rare is the collection of verse that takes readers on an emotional rollercoaster from ecstatic joy to heartfelt tears… and then leaves them puking over the railing. Reading Eric Paul's I Offered Myself as the Sea is just such an experience. Okay, perhaps it is an exaggeration to predict that hordes of literati are going to violently spew vomit upon reading this book, but Paul nevertheless is uniquely adept at evoking often cringe-worthy moments of discomfort. I consider that a compliment, as well as quite a feat. It is a skill that Paul has honed for years as frontman of the excellent art-punk bands Arab on Radar and The Chinese Stars. He cleverly captures the moments of pain, frustration, embarrassment, insecurity, and simple inanity that plague most of our lives. Granted, he typically employs absurd scenarios and gross-out humor to make his points ­ this is, after all, the man who used to perform under the pseudonym Mr. Pottymouth ­ but underneath the harsh language, trashy imagery, and descriptions of young boys peeing in lemonade is a sincerity and goodness that warms the heart. Indeed, Paul is unafraid to boldly address society's most taboo subjects, most of all dirty thoughts and kinky sex (check out the title poem), but he is also just a guy looking for love and friendship in a fucked up world. In many ways, Eric Paul is to modern punk rock what John Waters is to indie film in his gleefully irreverent depiction of the American grotesque. Read IOMATS: you'll laugh, you'll cry, and afterwards you'll never be able to look at a bicycle the same way again."
Andrew Bottomley
Publisher and editor, Skyscraper Magazine

"With this more than worthy follow-up to his pseudonymous debut as Mr. Pottymouth, Eric Paul proves again that he's the East Coast equivalent of Brautigan and Bukowski for a new generation. Pointedly whimsical, sexy and absurd, dopamine reuptake inhibitor damaged and soaked in booze, I Offered Myself As The Sea is a welcome dose of lyrical medicine in a lackluster literary landscape currently plagued by mediocre MFAsters and blasé bloggists. Recommended for those with broken hearts, bloody noses, enlarged livers, strong stomachs, and bold, buzzing brains."
Zack Wentz, author of the Garbageman and the Prostitute

"Much like his music, Eric Paul's poems are sharp and strange and unafraid. When it comes to the honest thing, the unsentimental, the line that cuts the legs out from under the obvious, Paul is the real deal, a guy who, to paraphrase the man himself, can get some."
Sam Lipsyte, author of Venus Drive, The Subject Steve, and Home Land

"Providence's own punk rock Bukowski. A sex damaged exploration that is inflamatory,brutally funny and self revealing. Leave a copy at your nearest kindergarden or church and watch the fun begin..."
Bob Otis, of Drop Dead