Rough Edges, Rougher Years: Poems (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9798340141699)

Rough Edges, Rougher Years (German edition 2022: "...und die Zuckerwatte war nie dabei") is the first of three books-Thoughts from the Shelf of an Outsider and Sex is a Gift from Angels, Love is a Gift from the Devil, will be released soon.

These are poems about human stupidity, hypocrisy, selfishness, lost love, despair, sex, and alcohol; about the transformation of a well-mannered young man from a good family into a reflective, rough-edged character who tries to find himself in his new reality.

J. Cabanski writes directly and honestly, using a style that is very personal to him. Sometimes, it is a spoken language. Other times, it is words or entire sentences influenced by Polish, German, or Danish. That makes the language lively and distinctive.

The themes and forms of his poems are somewhat reminiscent of Charles Bukowski. That might be the consequence of the life he has been living. However, as a person (his character, his education, and his family background), he might be closer to Hemingway.

"If your background is quite different from your life, a kind of split personality might be the consequence", he said once. "But who the hell cares?"