The Poetry of Jeff Matheus

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WHAT ARE PEOPLE SAYING ABOUT THE POETRY OF JEFF MATHEUS?
"Jeff Matheus is a true master craftsman of images, words, and rhymes! His poetry deals with contemporary and important themes, and he does it all with style and class!"
RICARDO PARRA, writer & poet
"Jeff Matheus style of writing goes from the dramatic, to the humorous, and often back again! Matheus is rightfully recognized as a master of rhyme!"
MIKE TRUAX, The Merrillville Herald
"Matheus poems are deeply interesting pieces of work. Anyone open to the world of dramatic poetry will enjoy these works. It's like music without the music!"
MARTIN HUDSON, Wonderous Stories Magazine
"The book is great! ("A Fragile Sanctuary") I really love some of the unusual rhyme-schemes. This is some powerful and well-written poetry, I'm very impressed!"
KEVIN JARVIS, musician, songwriter
"I think Matheus is one of the only poets writing today who's work stands out from the crowd. He hearkens back to the day when poets still talked about ethics, God, and the quest for meaning. He knows how to create real human emotion using nothing but carefully rhymed words. Modern poetry students should take note!"
SHELIA PRESKIN, Poet's Page Newsletter
"After reading the first few lines of Jeff Matheus poems, I became instantly interested! There is nothing simple about his rhyming - it's like a rhyming art that must be read with total feeling, just like the poem itself."
WANDA SUMMERHILL, poet
"A really great poetic mind. Please keep thinking 'theatrical' Jeff!"
BERNITTA RYAN SAVAGE, poet, author of "Letting Go"
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BIOGRAPHY AND INFO:
Jeff Matheus (pronounced "Matthews") was born in 1966 in Gary, Indiana. He took a keen interest in poetry during his teenage years, after discovering the works of classic rhyme poets such as A.E. Housman, Edgar Allan Poe, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Alfred Lord Tennyson, C.S. Lewis, Henry Vaughan, and William Blake. Soon after being bitten by the poetry bug, Jeff began dabbling in his own humble poetic works. However, it would be close to fifteen years before Jeff released his first "official" collection on poems, 1998's "A Pageant of Reflections". Later that same year Jeff's poem "A Progression" was featured in the international magazine "Wonderous Stories", exposing his work to its largest audience yet. After an intense sixteen months of writing, editing and further honing his poetic craft, Jeff issued a second poetry collection, 1999's "A Fragile Sanctuary". The book went on to garner some acclaim and glowing notices from readers, reviews, and fellow-poets alike. In April of 2001 Jeff and fellow Hoosier-poet Scott Brewer were asked to be the special guests at Taylor University's annual "April Poetry Tea", where the two poets performed their work for both students and faculty members. Jeff has also kept busy with various "spoken word" performances of his work at Indiana venues such as Barnes & Noble Booksellers, Jitter Beans Coffehouse, Three Sisters Cafe, Borders Books & Music, Starbucks Coffee, The House: Music + Cafe, The Lake County Central Library, Beaners Gourmet Coffee, Saints Peter & Paul Cathedral, Larue Carter State Hospital, Broad Ripple Park, The Nora Branch Library, The Abbey Coffehouse, The Anderson Public Library, and The Monon Coffee Company. In May of 1999, Jeff co-founded The Poetry Alliance of Indy, along with fellow Indiana poet Ricardo Parra. The Poetry Alliance now sponsers and promotes poetry events throughout the state of Indiana (for more information see The Poetry Alliance link at the bottom of this page). In August of 2002, Jeff founded The Indy Artists Peace Project. As of this writing Jeff Matheus is currently working on his next book of poems, to be titled "A Moment for Dreaming". He resides in Indianapolis, where he has been living with his wife Beverly since 1994. He attends First Mennonite Church of Indianapolis, and is active with various peace & justice organizations and issues. _________________________________________________
BOOKS BY JEFF MATHEUS:
Jeff Matheus currently has two poetry chapbooks available for purchase from Paintbox Publications, and a third book is now planned for release in early 2002.
PB001: "A Pageant of Reflections - The Poems of
Jeff Matheus" (Released May 1998) $4.00
PB002: "A Fragile Sanctuary - The Poems of
Jeff Matheus" (Released September 1999) $5.00
PB003: "A Moment For Dreaming - The Poems of
Jeff Matheus" (coming in 2002) Price to be determined.
To place an order, simply send a U.S. check or money order (made payable to Jeff Matheus) to the following address. All prices include shipping.
Paintbox Publications
P.O. Box 78263
Indianapolis, IN
46278
For more information regarding book orders and/or Paintbox Publictions, please feel free to e-mail: jeffmatheus@hotmail.com
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PUBLIC APPEARANCES:
Please check the Poetry Alliance of Indy link below for a full schedule of all of Jeff Matheus' public poetry readings/book signings, etc.
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PEACE/NONVIOLENCE/C.O. RESOURCES:
Poet Jeff Matheus is proud to be a conscientious objector to war (C.O.), and a dedicated advocate of nonviolent living and the current International peace/anti-war movement. Visit "Jeff's Peace, Anti-War, & Nonviolence Links" at the bottom of this page for Jeff's personal guide to some of the best peace, anti-war, conscientious objection, and pacifist resources currently found on the internet.
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SOME SELECTED POEMS BY JEFF MATHEUS:
(This section is still under construction. More poems will be posted soon, please come back later!)
"A SEPARATION"
(Part 2 of the long-form poem "Schisms")
by JEFF MATHEUS
(Copyright 1999 by Paintbox Publications)
In a listless meditation,
In a strange unbalanced dream,
Our world turns in never-changing motion.
In a frigid consummation,
In a voiceless, wordless scream,
We scatter now, like stones that trip the ocean.
In a stoic mask of reason,
In a far forsaken sphere,
We raise our flags of selfish indignation.
In a vapid viel of treason,
In a dangerous frontier,
We slumber in a hopeless isolation.
We are separated, man from child,
Divided from within.
We are decimated, self-defiled,
The vestiges of sin.
We are separated, God from heart,
Detached from all we see.
We are segregated, set apart,
Adrift, but never free.
In a landguid aberration,
In a dark, abandoned place,
We plot our steps with arrogant defiance.
In a thoughtless affectation,
In a gray and withered face,
We calculate our treacherous alliance.
In a self-induced delusion,
In a systematic trance,
We march towards our cloud-obscured perspective.
In a blasphemous illusion,
In a random game of chance,
We stack our cards, a meaningless objective.
We are separated, will from mind,
Estranged from all we fell,
We are isolated, ill-inclined,
Resigned to never heal.
We are separated, man from skin,
Segmented from our birth,
We are desecrated, marred within,
The broken sons of Earth.
We are separated, heart from core,
The harbingers of grief,
We are disrelated, born of war,
Athirst, without relief.
We are separated, God from soul,
A cloak or flesh and bone.
We are devestated, never whole,
Together, yet alone.

"A SUBTLE CRUCIFIXION"
(Part 2 of the long-form poem "A Travesty Discarded")
by JEFF MATHEUS
(Copyright 1998 by Paintbox Publications)
A subtle crucifixion,
An undermining chill.
The fractured tree of Calvary
Stood shivering on the hill.
A playground of affliction,
A subtle crucifixion.
A subtle crucifixion
Of hearts afraid to beat.
The soldiers nail, with spite impaled
A sould in self-defeat.
As words confused their diction.
A subtle crucifixion.
A subtle crucifixion,
The stones were cast, precise.
With thorny-crown the lamb bowed down
In humbled sacrifice.
A scathing benediction.
A subtle crucifixion.
A subtle crucifixion,
The sovereign masses railed.
With jeering eyes the crowds despised
The fearful and the frail.
An all-consuming friction.
A subtle crucifixion.
A subtle crucifixion,
The spearhead raped the skin.
The fading dream of self-esteem
Died helplessly within.
A self-fulfilling fiction.
A subtle crucifixion.
"THROUGH STARING EYES"
by Jeff Matheus
(Copyright 1999 by Paintbox Publications)
Through staring eyes she boldy pries
With condescending air.
With daring guise she aptly spies
The lowly of the lair.
Through glaring haze she does appraise
With castigating style.
Your errant ways a rank malaise
Unto her faultless isle.
She views the world, your common world,
With self-absorbed dispise.
She rues the world, your foolish world,
With glaring, staring eyes.
She reads your life, your ailing life,
With pompous self-surmise.
She bleeds your life, your loathsome life,
With glaring, staring eyes.
She gouges you with glaring, staring eyes.
Through sparing glance she makes her stance
With disaffected groan.
In wearing trance, with curt askance,
She muses from her throne.
Through jeering scowl she does befoul
With disenchanted flare.
Her leering growl, a disavowal,
A patronizing prayer.
She views your soul, your faulty soul,
With vaunting, taunting sighs.
She rues your soul, your wretched soul,
With glaring, staring eyes.
She reads your thoughts, your sickly thoughts,
With verve, no one denies.
She bleeds your thoughts, your wicked thoughts,
With glaring, staring eyes.
She judges you through glaring, staring eyes.
You meet her gaze, her judging gaze,
A gawking, stalking lie.
You greet her gaze, her grudging gaze,
With glaring, staring eyes.
You see her life, her barren life,
A scurrilous disguise.
The world is peering back at her
With glaring, staring eyes.
You see her heart through glaring staring eyes.
"NIETSZCHE IS DEAD"
by JEFF MATHEUS
(Copyright 1999 by Paintbox Publications)
Part One: A Hymn at Eventide
These eyes that burn with salt and tears
Have seen this world, a world of fear,
But now they rise with vision clear,
As pretense falls away.
These hands that grip with blood and sweat
Have held the spoils of life's regret,
But now they fold in silhouette,
As night drifts into day.
...As storms about me toss and swirl.
As thunder shouts, and tempests whirl.
You wrap my past inside a womb,
A catacomb, a sacred tomb,
And raise my heart on wings of light
That steer my course in fearless flight.
I feel your peace as winds subside
And ghosts withdraw at eventide.
These eyes that sting through vacant days
Have seen this world through fog and haze,
But now they rise, unbound, unfazed,
As chaos melts to clay.
These hands that clench with strength and might
Have clung to fear through empty nights,
But now they reach for truth, contrite,
As glory wins the day.
...As storms around me thrash and burn.
As lightning screams, and rainclouds churn.
You hold my life in hands of grace
And lift me high in warm embrace.
You comfort me in my distress
And clothe my wounds in healing dress,
As sorrows passsed are swept aside
And hope is born at eventide.
...As storms about me writhe and rage,
As heavens roar, and clouds encage,
You mold my heart in hallowed fire
And hold me up, beyond the mire.
You hoist my dreams to higher ground
And bear my grief as death surrounds,
And in your love I shall abide
As dawn awakes at eventide.
Part 2: Living Water
Come and drink from lakes that swell
With healing and compassion,
A boundless surging ration,
A never-ending well.
Come and taste from swirling streams
That flood towards the daylight,
As darkness wanes in hindsight,
As tides engulf your dreams.
Do mortals know where healing flows
For broken sons and daughters?
Then take, and taste,
And make not haste,
And drink of living water!
Do hopeless fears absolve our fears
As shadows lurch and totter?
Then lift your hands
From arid sands,
And feel the living water!
Come and sip from seas that pour
Into a new tommorrow,
Where injury and sorrow,
Shall touch you nevermore.
Come and sit by seas that surge
With never-failing power,
As minutes melt to hours,
As faith and triumph merge.
Do frightened eyes see oceans rise
To wash away the slaughter?
Then drink your fill
And feel no ill,
And taste of living water!
Do mortal souls see rivers roll
To purge the oceans daughter?
Then quell your thirst,
As doubts disperse,
Immersed in living water!
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The Poetry of JEFF MATHEUS

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