THE BOOK OF LAZARUS, poetry by Steven Mueske
Publication Date: August 15, 2025
Paperback, 88 pages
ISBN: 978-1-966677-14-7
Steven Mueske offers a refreshing perspective on existence and all its intimacies and absurdities in The Book of Lazarus. Through rich images and intricate form, Mueske invites us to witness the radiant fracture of being, to examine ourselves and our longevity. This work reckons with our limitlessness and what it means to be human in an age of collapse, longing, and persistent spiritual hunger. This author’s voice is familiar, resting with the reader momentarily in the in-betweens, each line carefully illuminating the profound fragility of our connected consciousness, “The in-between place is the radius’s / way of saying, I am the meadow. / From there, every direction you look / seems exactly the same.” This is a luminous, unflinching exploration of grace and humanity, packed full of wit, myth and metafiction. The collection offers a gift to its readers, a lesson on presence through life’s estranged shifts and magnificent returns.
Praise for Steven Mueske & The Book of Lazarus
In his poem “Invocation” Steve Mueske writes, “something not- / quite-wild, but of the world...” and The Book of Lazarus is truly of this world, a work of art, and just wild enough. This book is controlled in stunning ways by his sense of poetics, and by what he accomplishes on each page, those fields of white he fills with extraordinary language, exceptional appreciation for all that punctuation can do, and, of course, intense content that carries us deeply into his preoccupations, his obsessions, his way of seeing. This book is deeply concerned with death, with the work to stay alive, with what God is or was or can be. The poems are elegant. We see every choice he makes, what stays on the field, and what the margins must keep out. Mueske’s been such a poet, for many years, and now gone too soon. In this final book he writes about the suffering of the world, “Don't give me that story // about a garden. A pomegranate, / The Origin // of sin. We live / in the mad, pointless // profusion / of days lived // in the fiction / we created. We were // always alone with our stories, weren’t we?” As one of his readers, I’m grateful for every poem he leaves with us, grateful to see in this collection some of the poets who inspired him, grateful this stunning book is in our world.
—Deborah Keenan, author of eleven collections of poetry & a book of writing ideas, from tiger to prayer
About the Author
Steve Mueske was a poet and electronic musician. He loved reading and writing poetry and making music. Previously Steve had two books published, Slower Than Stars and A Mnemonic for Desire, and a chapbook titled Whatever the Story Requires. Steve also has countless poems published in print and online including The Iowa Review, Typo Magazine, The Massachusetts Review, Crazyhorse, Water~Stone Review, Verse Daily, Hotel Amerika and many more.
In spring of 2024, Steve was very excited and proud to have his third poetry manuscript accepted for publication. Unfortunately, just one month later, on June 12th, Steve passed away. While he won’t see his last book in print, his family wanted to bring his book to life. As you read The Book of Lazarus, please take a moment to reflect on life and embrace those around you.
Sincerely,
Steve’s family
Publication Date: August 15, 2025
Paperback, 88 pages
ISBN: 978-1-966677-14-7
Steven Mueske offers a refreshing perspective on existence and all its intimacies and absurdities in The Book of Lazarus. Through rich images and intricate form, Mueske invites us to witness the radiant fracture of being, to examine ourselves and our longevity. This work reckons with our limitlessness and what it means to be human in an age of collapse, longing, and persistent spiritual hunger. This author’s voice is familiar, resting with the reader momentarily in the in-betweens, each line carefully illuminating the profound fragility of our connected consciousness, “The in-between place is the radius’s / way of saying, I am the meadow. / From there, every direction you look / seems exactly the same.” This is a luminous, unflinching exploration of grace and humanity, packed full of wit, myth and metafiction. The collection offers a gift to its readers, a lesson on presence through life’s estranged shifts and magnificent returns.
Praise for Steven Mueske & The Book of Lazarus
In his poem “Invocation” Steve Mueske writes, “something not- / quite-wild, but of the world...” and The Book of Lazarus is truly of this world, a work of art, and just wild enough. This book is controlled in stunning ways by his sense of poetics, and by what he accomplishes on each page, those fields of white he fills with extraordinary language, exceptional appreciation for all that punctuation can do, and, of course, intense content that carries us deeply into his preoccupations, his obsessions, his way of seeing. This book is deeply concerned with death, with the work to stay alive, with what God is or was or can be. The poems are elegant. We see every choice he makes, what stays on the field, and what the margins must keep out. Mueske’s been such a poet, for many years, and now gone too soon. In this final book he writes about the suffering of the world, “Don't give me that story // about a garden. A pomegranate, / The Origin // of sin. We live / in the mad, pointless // profusion / of days lived // in the fiction / we created. We were // always alone with our stories, weren’t we?” As one of his readers, I’m grateful for every poem he leaves with us, grateful to see in this collection some of the poets who inspired him, grateful this stunning book is in our world.
—Deborah Keenan, author of eleven collections of poetry & a book of writing ideas, from tiger to prayer
About the Author
Steve Mueske was a poet and electronic musician. He loved reading and writing poetry and making music. Previously Steve had two books published, Slower Than Stars and A Mnemonic for Desire, and a chapbook titled Whatever the Story Requires. Steve also has countless poems published in print and online including The Iowa Review, Typo Magazine, The Massachusetts Review, Crazyhorse, Water~Stone Review, Verse Daily, Hotel Amerika and many more.
In spring of 2024, Steve was very excited and proud to have his third poetry manuscript accepted for publication. Unfortunately, just one month later, on June 12th, Steve passed away. While he won’t see his last book in print, his family wanted to bring his book to life. As you read The Book of Lazarus, please take a moment to reflect on life and embrace those around you.
Sincerely,
Steve’s family
Publication Date: August 15, 2025
Paperback, 88 pages
ISBN: 978-1-966677-14-7
Steven Mueske offers a refreshing perspective on existence and all its intimacies and absurdities in The Book of Lazarus. Through rich images and intricate form, Mueske invites us to witness the radiant fracture of being, to examine ourselves and our longevity. This work reckons with our limitlessness and what it means to be human in an age of collapse, longing, and persistent spiritual hunger. This author’s voice is familiar, resting with the reader momentarily in the in-betweens, each line carefully illuminating the profound fragility of our connected consciousness, “The in-between place is the radius’s / way of saying, I am the meadow. / From there, every direction you look / seems exactly the same.” This is a luminous, unflinching exploration of grace and humanity, packed full of wit, myth and metafiction. The collection offers a gift to its readers, a lesson on presence through life’s estranged shifts and magnificent returns.
Praise for Steven Mueske & The Book of Lazarus
In his poem “Invocation” Steve Mueske writes, “something not- / quite-wild, but of the world...” and The Book of Lazarus is truly of this world, a work of art, and just wild enough. This book is controlled in stunning ways by his sense of poetics, and by what he accomplishes on each page, those fields of white he fills with extraordinary language, exceptional appreciation for all that punctuation can do, and, of course, intense content that carries us deeply into his preoccupations, his obsessions, his way of seeing. This book is deeply concerned with death, with the work to stay alive, with what God is or was or can be. The poems are elegant. We see every choice he makes, what stays on the field, and what the margins must keep out. Mueske’s been such a poet, for many years, and now gone too soon. In this final book he writes about the suffering of the world, “Don't give me that story // about a garden. A pomegranate, / The Origin // of sin. We live / in the mad, pointless // profusion / of days lived // in the fiction / we created. We were // always alone with our stories, weren’t we?” As one of his readers, I’m grateful for every poem he leaves with us, grateful to see in this collection some of the poets who inspired him, grateful this stunning book is in our world.
—Deborah Keenan, author of eleven collections of poetry & a book of writing ideas, from tiger to prayer
About the Author
Steve Mueske was a poet and electronic musician. He loved reading and writing poetry and making music. Previously Steve had two books published, Slower Than Stars and A Mnemonic for Desire, and a chapbook titled Whatever the Story Requires. Steve also has countless poems published in print and online including The Iowa Review, Typo Magazine, The Massachusetts Review, Crazyhorse, Water~Stone Review, Verse Daily, Hotel Amerika and many more.
In spring of 2024, Steve was very excited and proud to have his third poetry manuscript accepted for publication. Unfortunately, just one month later, on June 12th, Steve passed away. While he won’t see his last book in print, his family wanted to bring his book to life. As you read The Book of Lazarus, please take a moment to reflect on life and embrace those around you.
Sincerely,
Steve’s family