John Patrick Acevedo
In 2010 to 2012, John Patrick Acevedo was a member of Poets Ink, the rebanded new Wineglass Court Poets critique group that met every month in Howard County Community College and later at the Ivy Bookshop store in Pikesville, Maryland.
In January 2001, he was a featured poet at the Mariposa Center for Creative Expression led by Mrs. Maritza (formerly) Rivera.
Over the months there, he read his new poems alongside such famous writers as Mark Daniel Epstein (author of the critically-acclaimed Bob Dylan biography) and penned “give and take” as the lowest common denominator between God and human nature.
Since then, he has published eleven books completely on his own as the sole-proprietor and sole-author of Synergy Press books and media and has sold his poetry on synergy-press.org.
A 1990 graduate of the College of Communication at Boston University, in 1994 Acevedo began a career with the retail giant Best Buy as their top seller and consistently ranked in the top 5 in attached profit levers such as magazines, warranties, memberships, and major credit cards, especially in the Operations Department (District as well as on the store level) for the latter part of his 20 years. Double recipient of the company’s most prestigious award, The Brad Anderson Legacy Stock Award, he retired in 2014 prior to receiving the most coveted insurance The Hartford as well as countless MVP and service excellence awards.
John Patrick has also published a classic spoken word cd called The Mad City Coffee Reading and produced the film short Holy Bible Sociology! A Journey Into the Soul of John Patrick Acevedo. Several video poems of his poems and a mini-documentary produced by Theologist Prince Kwasi Mensah can also be viewed on YouTube.com.
If you wish to develop a working relationship with Synergy Press, call my business number at +1 301-803-8539 or email me at acevedo@bu.edu.
Thank you for your support.
John Patrick Acevedo, Poet.
May 18, 2024, 10:15 a.m.
Guaynabo, Puerto Rico
TRANSLATING ZENS TO ZEITGEISTS
Bottomless Toothpaste Flats in Bruges (A Poet’s Memoir)
by John Patrick Acevedo
Xlibris
book review by Jonah Meyer
“Nobody does Harley Quinn like
government. Nothing backs-up Harley
Quinn like a poet.
So I handed Quinn the poem I began the year Thorazine took my legs”
When reading Acevedo’s poetry, it becomes obvious that he is a dedicated fan of the late singer/songwriter Marvin Gaye. In this newest memoir and poetry collection, Acevedo sojourns in Bruges, Belgium, visiting the historically preserved “Lunasia,” where the famous recording artist spent time in rehab, journaling about his experiences and philosophies. The literary result by Acevedo is nothing less than a small poetic masterpiece. How the poet meshes his writings and self-styled poetics with that of Gaye is stunning. In his piece “Checkout Girl,” Acevedo writes, “The light’s gone out for me. / Even the drink don’t work anymore. Saw my poetry flash before my eyes. / Saw the young journalists line up outside / holding markers and flowers.” Other popular musicians populate Acevedo’s poems, as well, including Cat Stevens, James Taylor, REM, Paul McCartney, U2, and Tom Petty.
Acevedo’s collection is a musically poetic landscape which one minute has King Kong taking down the Empire State and in the next turns Buster Keeton into a verb in a “silent theatre [who] deserves a whack in the face.” He writes of Gautama Buddha, Jesus, love and lust (“in the Bible sense of the word”), ambitious procrastination, and dirty laundry. Bordering on stream-of-consciousness narrative, Acevedo’s poetry nonetheless leaves hints of fruit and other rare beauties here and there among the sweet mess of it all. For readers who enjoy his entirely unique voice and style, this newest addition to his body of work is highly recommended. One can almost imagine this most creative and atypical writer achieving a cult-like following if word gets out properly.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review
Podcast:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yusAqwFvgmVXSvUqShuxubQmN9npXida/view?usp=drivesdk