Withdrawal Symptoms: Light Verse for All Weights

Over the past fifty years William Walden's poems--collected here for the first time--have been widely published in the United States and England. His poems elevate the humble and deflate the pompous, celebrate and debunk quotidian truths.

Incisive and humorous, Walden is a conversational and companionable poet, a wry observer of the complexities of modern life, while offering a wink and a nod to the literati.

This debut collection offers a repertoire of self-effacing thoughts, mordant reflections, and puckish jabs on a variety of topics: the conundrum of gender and relationships, the fruits and ravages of time, the vexations of travel, the pretentiousness of art and literature, and the joys of language and word play.