"Holder is a poet of the street and coffeehouses, an observer of the everyday. He sees the world not for what it is, but on his ownterms. He is living in the poem rather than the poetry."
~ Sam Cornish, Boston's first Poet Laureate
The Essential Doug Holder by Doug Holder
"Doug Holder’s poetry is an examination of people and things, but more importantly their patinas. In many of the poems there is a gentle awareness conveyed to the reader—an acknowledgement that everything will eventually deteriorate. Holder’s poetry is subtle, deeply empathetic, and captures moments of vulnerability with unmatched elegance and fragility..." Read the full review here
~ Ravi Teja Yelamanchili
“The landscape has changed but the memories haven’t. Take a walk with these poems that bring back the old Harvard Square, Boston, and the Bronx…step back into time with the characters Doug Holder describes all contemplating their dead ends and new beginnings.”
~ Gloria Mindock, The Whiteness of Bone
“Threadbare and fedora-dashing, Doug Holder maneuvers through cityscapes of judgmental blondes, beheaded voyeurs, and dead men needing affection, Along the way, Holder studies the solemn detritus that people inevitably shed, like losing lottery tickets.”
~ Dennis Daly, Sentinel
“No one delivers the sharp, sweet bite of nostalgia like Doug Holder. You’ll find yourself transported back to the days when everything was fascinating and each person you met had a story— the ancient, surly waitress barking out orders, to the blondes who always had the power to intimidate.”
~ Robin Stratton, Some Have Gone and Some Remain
“This book is a jewel; multifaceted, scintillating, and completely unique. There is not a wasted word within the covers.”
~ Christopher Reilley, One Night Stanza
“With reflective humor, he unfolds moments of insight amid vernal uncertainty. The vignettes are enticing, fondly resonating time and place.”
~ Richard Fox, embracing the burlesque of collateral damage
“The writing is pointed, unpretentious and honest, providing snapshots of rough-edged jobs and unvarnished people, places in Boston that have vanished, historical snippets on the street, in restaurants and subways.”
~ Nina R. Alonso, Constellations Magazine
“A unique memoir, in poetry, of a real Boston artist looking back at a distinct point in time at a city I love. The man, the city, the book are all completely unique, wonderful and original.”
~ Timothy Gager, Spreading Like Wildflowers
“Doug Holder’s poems incise surgically, expertly, to the failing heart of human experience and gets it beating again, and then sets it dancing.”
~ Alan Kaufman, The Drunken Angel
“Doug Holder writes poetry with a passion and insight that deserves prestige and influence all its own.”
~ S. Craig Renfroe, Jr., Main Street Rag Magazine
“A master poet who sees the world clearly and shares that vision generously with readers.”
~ Laurel Johnson, Midwest Book Review
“A great poet and a Boston legend.”
~ Joe Gouveir, host of Poet’s Corner, Provincetown Radio
“From toilets to pay phones, to the fluid connection to all things human is utterly Doug Holder and there isn’t anyone out there remotely doing what (he does) so beautifully…so dryly and always with human regard.”
~ Linda Larson, former editor-in-chief of Spare Change News
“Kudos for this grand effort that makes us wish that we were the author of these poems.”
~ Harris Gardner, Lest They Become
“Go get this book. Take it home. Savor it.”
~CD Collins, Self Portrait with Severed Head