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A LeRoy

A Dangerous Poet for Dangerous Times!

"In a dark time, the eye begins to see." So said the poet Roethke, and his words echo in this searing indictment of empire through the lens of poetry…

Through three imperial presidencies,
The poet cries, voice in the wilderness,
Reed swaying in the wind, a bruisèd reed,
His motion stirred to music.

Author, poet, and former Reuters journalist Abdiel LeRoy takes us into the inferno of U.S. politics with all its absurdities and horrors…

Daring to see and state the obvious,
Decry hypocrisy, prophetically to see
Not just the future but the now,
The awful now, and make some sense of it.

Created over 20 years, these three volumes overthrow the lies and blasphemies of three imperial presidencies under Bush, Obama, and Trump, as if the early prophets spoke through Shakespeare and echoed to humanity today. You will find no resort to outdated 'left-wing' or 'right-wing' proclamation here, no flag-waving for Democrat or Republican, but fierce denouncement for the peddlers of power, whether in Washington, London, Moscow, or Brasilia.

Yet LeRoy is not your typical fire-and-brimstone prophet. His moods range from witty satire to biting irony, from bawdy word-play to melancholic lament, even as he brings each White-House occupant before the throne of God, whether for mercy or judgment…

Rejoice! The day is come when every soul,
His placement for eternity to take
And due reward bestowed his earthly role,
Learns what pronouncement God for him shall make.

Now, having been called "Mr. President"
By doting throngs, Bush steps up to the fore,
For Heaven should follow earthly precedent
And saints, like press, should worship and adore…

But Heaven is about to divulge a litany "of carnal, bloody, and unnatural acts"—to echo Shakespeare as this poet often does—fraudulent elections, false-flag terrorism, war, assassination, torture, racism, planetary rape, and the rulings of corrupt courts. Throughout, LeRoy serves as a chronicler of world history over two decades. Among the signature events…

1. Volume I—Bush (2001-2009)

9/11
'War on Terror'
Military Invasion
Desecration of the Constitution
Hurricane Katrina

Volume II—Obama (2008-2017)

Obama awarded the Nobel Prize… for Peace?!
BP's oil spill
Nuclear disaster at Fukushima
Edward Snowden, and the NSA
Julian Assange, and 'Collateral Murder'

Volume III—Trump (2016-2021)

Rule by tweet
Family separations
Threats of "fire and fury"
The emergence of Covid

Never was divine fire more poetically expressed. These three works establish LeRoy as "a brave new presence in the politics of the globe," according to The San Francisco Review of Books, and are a collector's item for the discerning library.

“So well done. A remarkable command of the language and great sensitivity. And doing all this in an entirely new way, wading into (almost) unexplored literary territory.”
Claude Forthomme

“Abdiel LeRoy’s poetry and prose offer intellectual nourishment for critical thinkers and seekers of truth… I highly recommend these books to anyone who seeks to escape from the ‘Matrix’.”
Annemarie M. Osborne

“If you wanted to extend the critical view of American political history into the present beyond Gore Vidal’s ‘Biography of the United States of America,’ these books would be the ticket… A joy to read and an invitation to keep your eyes open as to what is really going on.”
Rogier F. van Vlissingen

“LeRoy’s words dance.”
Amy’s Bookshelf Reviews

Unparagoned

Verses Versus Empire

The Verses Versus Empire Collection: 2001-2021

When Bush Appears for Divine Judgment…

"Well, I'm elected President,
Oh isn't it a thrill?
I get to ride in limousines
Though the seats are stained by Bill..."

Thus, George W. Bush enters the Oval Office on the wings of a stolen election and presides over eight years of imperial atrocity, from war to torture to environmental destruction. But now he must answer to the throne of God!

In this opening work of Abdiel LeRoy's three-volume series on three imperial presidences, we recall the horrors of 9/11, desecration of Constitutional rights, and overseas invasion perpetrated by a military-industrial complex mired in 'War on Terror' absurdities. Hurricane Katrina follows, the execution of Saddam Hussein, and the 'Financial Crisis' of 2008.

That LeRoy documents all of this in poetry, prose, and short stories sings of unprecedented literary achievement, his moods ranging from light-hearted satire and bawdy wordplay to searing irony and melancholic lament. Yet the reader is entertained throughout.

These Verses Versus Empire works establish LeRoy as a poetic voice for our age, as if the early prophets spoke through Shakespeare and echoed to humanity today!

"A brave new presence in the politics of the globe."
San Francisco Review of Books

“If you wanted to extend the critical view of American political history into the present beyond Gore Vidal’s ‘Biography of the United States of America,’ these books would be the ticket… A joy to read and an invitation to keep your eyes open as to what is really going on.”
Rogier F. van Vlissingen

“LeRoy’s words dance around the page so lyrically that a story emerges… It’s not just about Bush, but his era, the history, the events that may not be remembered by all. The most heart-wrenching is ‘Olympus Shook’ in relation to 9/11, and then ‘Doomsday’, on the aftermath.”
Amy’s Bookshelf Reviews, Top-10 Books of 2019

“So well done. A remarkable command of the language and great sensitivity. And doing all this in an entirely new way, wading into (almost) unexplored literary territory.”
Claude Forthomme

“Abdiel LeRoy’s poetry and prose offer intellectual nourishment for critical thinkers and seekers of truth… I highly recommend this book and its companion editions to anyone who seeks to escape from the ‘Matrix’.”
Annemarie M. Osborne

Verses Versus Empire: I—The Bush Era

"A brave new presence in the politics of the globe."
San Francisco Review of Books

How Obama Made Trump (and Biden) Possible!

Confused? You should be! Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 2009 before going on to kill record numbers in drone strikes and oversee unprecedented levels of deportation and whistleblower prosecution.

What to make of it? What to make of him?! Abdiel LeRoy takes us through the inferno of U.S. politics, while exposing the follies and fraud of empire.

That he does so in poetry, prose, and short stories sings of unprecedented literary achievement, his moods ranging from light-hearted satire and bawdy wordplay to searing irony and melancholic lament. Yet the reader is entertained throughout.

In this second (of three) Verses Versus Empire books, we witness environmental devastation, from BP's oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico to nuclear disaster at Fukushima to the Dakota Access Pipeline. We see the poisonous effects of U.S. imperialism with the rise of ISIS. And we lament injustice, from the persecution of whistleblowers such as Edward Snowden to unaccountable police officers slaughtering black and brown victims.

LeRoy demonstrates how Obama swept the path for Trump's accession, all amid ongoing attack on Constitutional protections, contempt for international law, and a perpetual war footing sustained by official falsehood.

These verses establish LeRoy as a poetic voice for our age, as if the early prophets spoke through Shakespeare and echoed to humanity today!

“If you wanted to extend the critical view of American political history into the present beyond Gore Vidal’s ‘Biography of the United States of America,’ these books would be the ticket… A joy to read and an invitation to keep your eyes open as to what is really going on.”
Rogier F. van Vlissingen

“So well done. A remarkable command of the language and great sensitivity. And doing all this in an entirely new way, wading into (almost) unexplored literary territory.”
Claude Forthomme

“Abdiel LeRoy’s poetry and prose offer intellectual nourishment for critical thinkers and seekers of truth… I highly recommend this book and its companion editions to anyone who seeks to escape from the ‘Matrix’.”
Annemarie M. Osborne

“LeRoy’s words dance.”
Amy’s Bookshelf Reviews, Top-10 Books of 2019

Verses Versus Empire: II—The Obama Era

"In a Dark Time, the Eye Begins to See." 

So said the poet Roethke, and his words echo in this searing indictment of empire through the lens of poetry… 

Through three imperial presidencies, 
The poet cries, voice in the wilderness, 
Reed swaying in the wind, a bruisèd reed, 
His motion stirred to music. 

Author, poet, and former Reuters journalist Abdiel LeRoy takes us through the inferno of U.S. politics, with all its absurdities and horrors… 

Daring to see and state the obvious, 
Decry hypocrisy, prophetically to see 
Not just the future but the now, 
The awful now and make some sense of it. 

The moods range from bawdy wordplay and light-hearted satire to searing irony and melancholic lament. Yet the reader is entertained throughout... 

The world a stage on which plays out 
Congressional pantomime, a knot 
Unable to untie itself. 

In this third volume of LeRoy's 20-year Verses Verses Empire series, we witness the rise of Donald Trump with his reign of bombast and blasphemy. We hear the screams of children torn from their parents, the threats of "fire and fury" against other nations, and even denouncements of poetry itself by Trump's racist henchman, Stephen Miller... 

The blood 
Of innocents cry out to Heaven where 
These incensed lines as incense burn, 
With hate of Hate and hope of Hope. 

Finally, we witness the emergence of Covid, shaking the world's oppressive power structures, just as Moses' plagues tore down empire in his times. 

Thus, to quote The San Francisco Review of Books, Abdiel LeRoy emerges as "a brave new presence in the politics of the globe." 

That he does so in poetry—along with occasional prose and short stories—makes for unprecedented literary achievement and a legacy collector's item for the discerning library. These works herald a poetic voice for our age, as if the early prophets spoke through Shakespeare and echoed to humanity today. 

“If you wanted to extend the critical view of American political history into the present beyond Gore Vidal’s ‘Biography of the United States of America,’ these books would be the ticket… A joy to read and an invitation to keep your eyes open as to what is really going on.” 
Rogier F. van Vlissingen 

“So well done. A remarkable command of the language and great sensitivity. And doing all this in an entirely new way, wading into (almost) unexplored literary territory.” 
Claude Forthomme 

“Abdiel LeRoy’s poetry and prose offer intellectual nourishment for critical thinkers and seekers of truth… I highly recommend this book and its companion editions to anyone who seeks to escape from the ‘Matrix’.” 
Annemarie M. Osborne 

“The perfect portrait of Donald Trump.” 
Anna Maria Polidori