The Explosion Takes Both Legs: Noir Poems from the War in Iraq

In a punchy collection of poetry packed with humor and grit, The Explosion Takes Both Legs: Noir Poems from the War in Iraq, former U.S. Army infantry-officer-turned-crime-writer J.B. Stevens delivers both action and insight into how Americans go to war in the 21st century.

Despite the can’t-miss, explosive nature of some of his war stories, his poems are also often filled with stoic, deadpan grace. For example, he begins “A Ghost in an Arabian Desert” with ...

“After we returned,
We had a ceremony and the commander said many nice things,
I got a Bronze Star.

My mother and father and brothers met me at the base,
Because my fiancée had cheated and left,
And my brother brought me ice-cream. [...]”

Punchy, pithy, and poker-faced! Full of grit and heart and dogged determination!

Contains bonus short-fiction from J.B. Stevens!

HERE’S WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING:

“As meditations on war, these poems are revelation. Soulful, hell bent, fearless, riddled with pathos and hard won psychological truth. While Stevens draws upon his combat experience in Iraq for source material, what illuminates these poems are his abiding humanity and his preoccupation with the mysteries of the human heart. True war stories, but make it poetry.”
—Gabe Hudson, author of Dear Mr. President

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“J.B. Stevens’ writing is a unique fusion of war poetry, pulp fiction, and pop culture references. Sometimes, he's a red-star cluster warning of danger. Other times, he's an artillery-delivered illumination round. Regardless, his work is stunningly insightful and explosively entertaining. Read on for some mental fireworks, delivered on-time and on-target!”
—Randy Brown, author of Welcome to FOB Haiku and So Frag & So Bold

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“Stevens’ poetry is like watching old school fight clips on YouTube all night long. Like binge watching Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives with your crush under the stars. It's going home after a long day of work and blasting Nirvana through your stereo. It's making the perfect s’mores after finally getting the campfire going. Which is to say, J.B. Stevens’ The Explosion Takes Both Legs is a haymaker straight to the heart, and it’s beautiful.”
—Shawn Berman, author of Mr. Funnyman and editor of The Daily Drunk

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“War as close-calls, confusion and waste. These poems keep coming at you, relentlessly, like one punch after another. Collectively, they will leave you reeling.”
—Bill McCloud, author of The Smell of the Light: Vietnam, 1968-1969

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“‘They are gone, and I hope it didn’t hurt.’ Through his honest and direct depictions of death, survivor’s guilt, and the alluring simplicity of war, J.B. Stevens documents how to be a veteran is to forever miss a part of yourself still out on the unfinished patrol. You don’t laugh in the face of death because you want to die, you laugh because it’s the best way to go. Haunting and visceral images that stick with you long after reading.”
—Zakariah Johnson, author of Mink: Skinning Time in Wisconsin and Egg on Her Face: Stories of Crime, Horror, and the Space in Between