For Better or Verse

About the Book

Rhymes Without Reason: For Better or Verse is a collection of poetry compiled from a lifelong habit of scribbling down rhymes without a reason—except to preserve an emotion, or retain a memory, or expose the funny side of life, love, and all that stuff. Dennis Glaser has also authored a memoir—A Geezer’s Guide to the Universe—and a journal of his travels in Europe—Seeing Europe as a Traveler; not a Tourist—both published by Xlibris. And he has two more books in process—a collection of original short stories and his memories of his years in Nashville’s music scene. But it is his poetry that has always been his “emotional escape valve.” He first began giving into his inner urge to write poetry when he encountered the songs of Kris Kristofferson. He was in the audience at the Ryman Theatre the night Kris won the Country Music Association’s “songwriter of the year” award. And the next night, he was part of a small audience who saw Kris and his “Band of Thieves” perform in a tent show on the plaza of Nashville’s Municipal Auditorium. “I never met the man,” Glaser recalls. “But I did meet many of the friends he’d left behind when he left Nashville for Hollywood and a movie career. And,” he added, “I had the beer license for the Music City Row beer bar, “Kountry Korner,” which was the scene for Kristofferson’s song, Talley Ho Tavern, and where Kris once tended bar. “My next poetic influence was the late Shel Silverstein, who was hanging out at the Glaser Sound Studios (owned by my cousins, Tompall, Chuck and Jim Glaser). Shel was not only a poet, a cartoonist, playwright, screen writer and author of three best-selling children’s books—he also was of course a prolific songwriter. For example: A Boy Named Sue (Johnny Cash), Put Another Log on the Fire (Tompall), nearly all of the Dr. Hook catalog (The Cover of Rolling Stone, Sylvia’s Mother), several albums sung by Bobby Bare (Rosalie’s Good Eats Café, The Winner). Shel recorded several comedy songs which were popular on the Dr. Demento radio show. There’s much more—in fact, his biography on Wikipedia covers 10 pages. Suffice to say that merely being around the guy inspired anyone with any talent at all to begin putting his words on paper, or his music on tape. This quote captures something of Shel’s view of the creative process: “I want to be articulate, to communicate but in my own way. People who say they create only for themselves and don’t care if they are published . . . I hate to hear talk like that. If it’s good, it’s too good not to share . . .” His website is well worth a visit: http://shelsilverstein.com/indexSite.html: So that’s the story behind this book. I hope you’ll read it—and if you are a poet, I hope you continue to create your verse. Certainly, there are worse things you could do with your time!

About the Author

During Nashville’s seminal ’seventies--but not all at the same time--Dennis Glaser was an artist’s professional manager, music magazine journalist, record company vice-president of public relations, owner of a record-pressing plant, and mid-level advertising executive in Nashville. And managed a Music Row tavern in his spare time. A cousin of award-winning Tompall & the Glaser Brothers, Glaser had a first row seat to the origin of the Outlaws, the influx of the “street writers,” and the eventual evolution from “hillbilly” to today’s corporate culture