Review of Horror Poetry Chapbooks by John Baltisberger



My Review of Shards of Shattered Sentiments 

First of all I applaud anyone who can write 25 poems in 25 different forms and stick to an overall theme. 

Second- horror poetry. Yes. When I was offered a chance to review horror poetry that was what sealed the deal. I was intrigued. I love poetry. I love horror. I had to give it a try.

And I'm not disappointed. I will be reading and re-reading these as I dissect meaning and allow the words to open my mind to see what lies betwixt and between the lines, hidden in the words.

I think my favorite so far in Shards is Swirling Whispers. A vibrant and haunting description of the descent into madness.

The Mother Waits is another favorite. So chilling, this one resonated with me but I can't describe why. 

All of the poems in Shards of Shattered Sentiments are dark, twisted, and full of imagery that will make you think, make you see and perhaps leave you more than a little unnerved.

My Review of In Service of Slaughter

Oh. My. God.

If you love slasher flicks, serial killers, serial killer profiling...you are going to LOVE these dark and twisted poems. WOW.

These take dark and demented to a whole new level.

Dive into the mind of a crazed killer, feel their joy and excitement as they kill. That's what these poems do.  

At first you'll be shocked, then uneasy, then you'll start to dig deeper.

This book will leave you twisted.

My favorite poem in this collection is Devouring God. The crazed mind of a killer who thinks them self a god.

Toymaker is another favorite. The imagery of innocence lost. Childhood destroyed.

If you love horror and poetry, what are you waiting for? Get these books today.


Shards of Shattered Sentiments 
An exploration of poetic form through the lens of horror 

by John Baltisberger 

Poetry in one form or another has been around almost as long as language. We have used it to communicate our joys and heartbreaks, our victories and our losses. But fear has also been a constant companion, and our ghost stories and monsters stretch their claws back into history as far as the eyes can see. It’s with this is mind that we begin our journey through various poetic forms, from traditional Japanese Haiku to more modernist takes such as The Bop. Exploring the rules that create these literary creations all while bending their use to telling scary stories. 

Heavily inspired by the American pulp horror writers of the 1930’s, this chapbook explores themes of madness and forgotten monsters. Haunted houses that demand sacrifice and sunken cities waiting to be rediscovered. 25 poems, each using different forms dive into the chilling and often deranged world of horror.



 The first of a three-part chapbook series. 

Each book features 25 different forms and cover a different horror theme. 

Book one deals heavily with insanity and Lovecraftian motifs. 

The next book will feature Slashers and Serial Killers, and the third will feature Kaiju and monsters!

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