Gaylord Brewer is a professor at Middle Tennessee State University, where he founded and edits the journal Poems & Plays. His six previous collections of poetry include Barbaric Mercies (Red Hen, 2003), Exit Pursued by a Bear (Cherry Grove, 2004) and Let Me Explain (Iris Press, 2006). Additional books include the literary criticism David Mamet and Film (McFarland, 1993) and Charles Bukowski (Twayne/Macmillan, 1997) and the novella Octavius the 1st (Red Hen, 2008). His plays have been staged in Alaska, Illinois, New York, Ohio, and Tennessee. He is a native of Kentucky and earned a Ph.D. from Ohio State University.

Other poems by Gaylord Brewer in Verse Daily:
March 9, 2007:   "Another Good Friday, Good Death" "It was easy: staring stonily into the ice-splintered sea..."
September 10, 2004:  "Last Love Song for Yogi Berra" "It gets late early out there..."

Books by Gaylord Brewer: The Martini Diet, Let Me Explain, Exit Pursued By A Bear, Charles Bukowski, Barbaric Mercies, Four Nails, Devilfish, United States Authors Series - Charles Bukowski

Other poems on the web by Gaylord Brewer:
"Apologia to Mars and Moon"
"Apologia to a Papaya for the Ode I Promised"

About The Martini Diet:

"There’s a feeling of peace to these poems, a calmness of deliberation in their rhythms,sa curiosity that doesn’t tear or probe so much as wash across Brewer’s subjects. The masterful tempo of his work convinces me that what he says is what must be said, thought and emotion unfolding in natural order. I enjoy his imagery, am drawn to the self revealed, but it’s the breath of this book that I believe."
—Bob Hicok

"One of our best poets, Gaylord Brewer, is at the top of his game in The Martini Diet. In one poem, the speaker calls himself “note taker of the exotic.” In truth, from the exotic to the everyday, the book explores a wide range of subjects with both wit and wisdom, that lovely, rare combination. I’ll down as many martinis as this accomplished brew-master can serve up, and bang the table for more. And the next morning, the next, the next, I’ll remember the wonderful words and images in all their vivid detail. Here’s to the pleasure that awaits the reader—drink up!"
—James Doyle