God Save My Queen: A Tribute
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Powell’s
God Save My Queen II: The Show Must Go On
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Powell’s
My first two books are collections of experimental essay, memoir, prose poem, and music history on my life-long obsession with the rock band Queen. Throughout these two volumes, I write one piece, or riff, to coincide with every song ever released by the band, plus selected solo work. These books, published by the super awesome Soft Skull Press, were reviewed in publications both large and tiny.
Reviews of God Save My Queen and God Save My Queen II.
These two books are absolutely fantastic … raises the profile of obsessive record collectors from nerd to artiste while simultaneously creating a genre of poetry where a new word for ultra-nerd needs to be created to describe the authorship. The first volume features one short poem for every track on every major Queen LP. As the book explores sexuality, humanity and vulnerability the lyrical text confusingly shifts from Nester’s personal biography to the exploits of Mercury and May in a haze of poetics where it doesn’t matter what or who he’s talking about. … To bring this point home the second volume is a track by track series of poems covering obscure Queen albums, solo work and hidden CD tracks, thus, even the fellow fans who were able to recall every Queen track and perhaps relate them to the poems in book one is left headscratching by this volume. These books are as beautiful as fat bottomed girls on bicycles.—Roctober
“Nester’s method considers a serious fan’s bliss impeccably … Nester’s best poems consider the homosexual allure of the band’s late singer, Freddie Mercury, describing Mercury’s gestures, phrasing and lifestyle with aplomb…vainglorious pomposity…”—Ken Tucker, The New York Times Book Review
Sean Thomas Dougherty, American Book Review
David Barringer, Word Riot
Gabriel Welsch, small spiral notebook
Roundtable discussion with Bookninja’s Peter Darbyshire and George Murray along with The Pursuit of Happiness’s Moe Berg
Peter Conners, Double Room
Tom Nissley, The Stranger, Seattle
Whitey Houston, Vue Weekly, Edmonton, Canada
Janine Arman, Clamor; opens in new window
Ross Martin, Crossroads: The Journal of the Poetry Society of America; opens in new window
Henry Yu, MAXIMUMROCKNROLL
J. Thomas Burch, Esq., Slugmag, Salt Lake City
Michael Basinski, The Hold
Gustavo Zapico, Espacio3, Spain
Other press and mentions.
Maple Shade Progress, my hometown newspaper; opens in new window
Alli Marshall, “Tales from the cryptic,” Mountain Xpress, Asheville, NC
“Nobody writes rock geek poetry like Daniel Nester.”—Jessa Crispin, Bookslut
“[A] very funny blend of music biography and personal reflection which demonstrates that, if explained coherently and in sufficient detail, a fanatical obsession with a rock band can seem almost rational. Almost.”—Jesse Delaney, Philadelphia City Paper
Matthew Webster, “Queen aficionado, poet ready to rock HUB,” The Daily Collegian, Penn State University
“Note to those Readers who still want to believe in devotional verse; for those who seek a cure for a spirit sunk under undifferentiated elegance: Take [Daniel] Nester’s God Save My Queen and God Save My Queen II and Reader, write me in the morning.”—Ray McDaniel, Constant Critic
“[A] very funny blend of music biography and personal reflection which demonstrates that, if explained coherently and in sufficient detail, a fanatical obsession with a rock band can seem almost rational. Almost.”—Jesse Delaney, Philadelphia City Paper
Rocking Freddie Mercury-oriented listing in the Chicago Reader
Listing in “Voice Choices,” Village Voice
Jamie Schwartz, CLMP Literary Magazine and Press Directory, 2005
Didi Menendez, MiPoesias, 2004
Ryan Robert Mullen, Word Riot, 2004. The ‘well-kept hockey mullet’ interview
Chris Gage, Gothamist, 2004
Talking About, Queens Public Television, 2004; real audio stream
Sound Affects, VH1 series, Ondi Timoner director, aired 2003
Ross Martin, Nerve, 2003
Kenan Herbert, Gigantic, 2003
