Street Light Bolero

by Michael Paul Hogan

Print (softcover): $22.95
 

To pay by check please use this order form.

We are pleased to take orders from retailers. Email us with details about your order or call us at 207-837-5760.

ISBN: 978-1-962082-52-5 (print; softcover; perfect bound)

LCCN: 2025934980

Released April 8, 2025  |  Copyright 2025

178 pages

Author Biography

Born in London, Michael Paul Hogan is a poet, journalist, literary essayist, and fiction writer whose work has appeared extensively in the UK, USA, India, and China. He has published six books of poetry and numerous articles on contemporary literature, photography, and painting in both mainstream and independent magazines. Brought up in England and Wales, he has lived in Key West, India, Sumatra, Java, Thailand, and China, and to support himself during periods of working on experimental poetry and prose has variously sought employment as a commercial fisherman, house painter, bartender, day laborer, radio announcer, and market stall trader. Artist Descending a Typewriter: 9 Essays on Contemporary Art, endorsed by Viscountess Bridgeman as “An original and exceptional contribution to contemporary art history,” was published by Shanti Arts in 2023. Street Light Bolero is his first collection of short stories.

Victoria Merki (b. 1972, Baku, Azerbaijan) is an artist, illustrator, writer, and publicist. Born into a family of artists, she held her first international exhibition in Berlin at twenty. Since then, her works have been exhibited worldwide—from Europe to the USA and Canada. Merki has illustrated dozens of books and blends philosophy, symbolism, and mysticism in her art. Her paintings, literary essays, and fairy tales weave ancient legends with profound allegories. She currently lives in Germany, continuing to inspire through her work.

Endorsements

“‘Neither purely ink, nor purely water,’ Hogan’s stories weave a complex landscape spanning from New York to Paris, from the French Riviera to the Florida Keys, from London to East Asia, unified—even at its most exquisitely urban—by the shimmering embrace of the ocean, bathed in its mystery and wisdom. Through a dazzling variety of stylistic tones, seamlessly shifting between realism a la Hopper and unleashed, whimsical surrealism, Hogan smoothly leads the reader into a spiraling waltz—barely brushing the ground—meanwhile capturing snapshots of poignant, indelible humanity and delicate, otherworldly shadows.”
—Toti O’Brien, author of Other Maidens and An Alphabet of Birds

“I have long been an admirer of Michael Paul Hogan’s work. Each piece offers readers an exciting journey of discovery. He has the uncanny knack of revealing hidden avenues and alleyways with the easy grace of a skilled guide. When I read his work, six simple words spring to mind, ‘I wish I had written that.’”
—Clare Morris, author of Devon Maid Walking

“On the surface Michael Paul Hogan's collection of short stories could be read as a series of beautifully crafted fables. This would be a mistake. Through a process of dialectic ingenuity, he skillfully shakes up our perceptions of accepted realities and challenges us to ask gnomic questions about the meaning of our existence.”
—Michael Woods, Paris and the Surrealists (with George Melly)

“There is more than a hint of magic realism in these supple and lyrical stories. Michael Paul Hogan is an inventive and natural teller of tales, and his words just dance off the page.”
—Helen Ivory, author of Waiting for Bluebeard and The Anatomical Venus

“I first encountered Michael Paul Hogan in a story, ‘Paris Vagrant,’ which he submitted to a magazine of which I was Fiction Editor. I was entranced by this short piece and immediately accepted it for publication. Since then, I have both read and published other work by Michael, whose short fiction is both fresh and thought-provoking. His ability to create immediate empathy for his offbeat characters along with his well-structured yet lyrical writing style ensure that it is always a pleasure to read him.”
—Dave Kavanagh, author and publisher

News and Reviews