New Poetry chapbook by St. Louis veteran explores war from Ypres to Vietnam

BkMk Press at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) announces the Sept. 30 release of “A Concise Biography of Original Sin” – a chapbook of poems by St. Louis author John Samuel Tieman. These poems explore war and its aftereffects, some inspired by Tieman’s experiences serving in the U. S. Army in Vietnam and then resuming civilian life. Others explore war from a historical vantage, such as Tieman’s powerful World War I elegy “Passchendaele,” which has been recorded by the Imperial War Museum in London.

Poet Tim Seibles writes that Tieman’s work occupies “a dimension in which poems allow us to know more than we understand.” Poet Jack Myers calls the book “a monument to spiritual growth, as transformative as any bible I’ve ever read.” And poet/activist Daniel Berrigan writes, “Honor and gratitude to John Tieman, our guide through Inferno, from Ypres to Vietnam and beyond.”

Poems from “A Concise Biography of Original Sin” have appeared in such journals as The Iowa Review, Cimarron Review, Hawaii Review and The American Psychoanalyst. This volume is the latest in BkMk’s Roy Fox Memorial Chapbook Series, named in memory of the Johnson County (Kansas) Library director who helped found BkMk Press in 1971.

Born in St. Louis, John Samuel Tieman has lived in Mexico City and the West Indies. He holds a Ph. D. from Saint Louis University. He teaches history and English in the St. Louis Public Schools. In addition to poetry, John Samuel Tieman has published essays in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Des Moines Register, Kansas City Star, National Catholic Reporter, Stars and Stripes and elsewhere.

Founded in 1971, BkMk Press became part of UMKC in 1983. Financial assistance for BkMk Press is provided by the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency; UMKC; and private donations.

For more information about this book, please contact BkMk Press at (816) 235-2558 or bkmk@umkc.edu. “A Concise Biography of Original Sin” (ISBN 978-1-886157-73-6) is 36 pages in trade paper, and the retail price is $11.95.

The University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC), one of four University of Missouri campuses, is a public university serving more than 14,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students. UMKC engages with the community and economy based on a four-part mission: life and health sciences; visual and performing arts; urban issues and education; and a vibrant learning and campus life experience.


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