New York Nadir

About the Book

It was 2005. I was living in the New York City area. My marriage was crumbling. I was seeing a psychiatrist, therapist and marriage counselor, and gotten off my bipolar medication for far too long. The city felt more and more like a goldfish bowl. I was losing my mind. Before long I would leave my wife and travel to Los Angeles where I would end-up homeless, sleeping in shelters, committed ot a mental hospital, and have heroine dealers try to sell the drug to me on the street. These poems, then, are a reflection of that moment, often pitch black, other times radiant and true, but always honest and genuine. They attempt to express what I was feeling during a time I almost did not survive, and sometimes wished I would not have. This collection, then was written in ten days in the Journal Square section of Jersey City, NJ. It was recently found almost ten years later under a pile of newspapers after it had been long forgotten.

About the Author

Radomir Vojtech Luza gets his love of art and politics from his parents, Radomir Sr. and Libuse Podhraska. Luza’s father fought in the Czech Resistance led by his grandfather Vojtech Luza, who was murdered by the Nazi’s in 1944. Radomir’s mother was the youngest actress ever accepted into the Czech National Dramatic conservatory at 15 before Adolf Hitler closed the doors in 1943. They then escaped Communism in their beloved Czechoslovakia in 1948 eventually coming to the United States in 1953. This is Radomir’s 25th book, and 16th collection of poetry. He has had work published in nearly 40 literary journals, anthologies and web sites such as “Pegasus,” “Spare Change,” Nerve Cowboy,” “Bicycle Review,” “Cultural Weekly” and RogueScholars.com. Luza is the Poet Laureate of North Hollywood, CA and a Pushcart Prize nominee. He has also taught poetry to youngsters as part of the Youth Poetry Workshop sponsored by the North Hollywood West Neighborhood Council, of which is President. Radomir has Featured his poetry nearly 80 times across the country. Luza has also organized over a dozen readings across the country in places such as New York City, New Jersey, Ft. Walton Beach, FL, and Los Angeles. He is currently the host of the monthly UNBUCKLED: NoHo POETRY reading at T.U. Studios in North Hollywood, CA and co-host of the weekly WRITER WEDNESDAY reading at Bob’s Espresso Bar in NoHo with Jessica Wilson.