Sub Rosa

Stan Rogal starts "Sub Rosa," his seventh collection of poetry, by defining the rose as a highly complex symbol. "Sub Rosa" is also highly complex, and often symbolic. Structured around the vibrantly sensuous paintings of Jacquie Jacobs, Rogal composes poems infused with pop-culture, mythology and irreverence. Each painting suggests the theme(s) for the poems following it and Rogal supplies the poetic variations in the content and the structure of his poems. At times mocking, at times dark, but always unpredictable, the poems explore what the poet draws from the paintings, and then follows his flights of fantasy to their resting place. Expect classical references beside pop lyrics, dark insights beside laughter, and read for the sheer exuberance of Rogal's love of word play.