Rick Lupert’s 19th book – a collection of travel poetry written while out and about in Ireland, the nation that invented the color green. I can't think of a better book than this to comfort the jetlagged mind of a lonely traveler in a new country. Funny, observant and comforting, "Romancing the Blarney Stone" is a fine read from one of my favorite poets. ~ Amber Tamblyn, Author + Actress A Rick Lupert travel book not only shows us the country visited, it shows us the naked absurdity of the world. Romancing the Blarney Stone gives us a detailed, humorous tour of Ireland, full of blarney, a little stoned (various quantities of fine Irish whiskey are consumed), and always entertaining. ~ G. Murray Thomas, Poet + Editor Next...Poetry Calendar In this tremendous volume, Ireland, land of poets, plays host to Rick Lupert, an alien poetry invader from the not-quite-so-wild West. He brings with him a dry wit and a beautiful economy in his words, but most of all he brings a penetrating insight into the giant mass of contradiction that is modern Ireland. From a deceptively simple thread Lupert spins what becomes an almost Homeric epic odyssey across the island. I saw my own country through the culture-shocked eyes of a stranger who clearly loved it as much as it clearly confused him too. A really great, funny, and perceptive verse cycle by a true poet. ~ Rodney Orpheus, Irish Author + Musician Rick Lupert has been involved with Los Angeles. poetry since 1990. He is the recipient of the 2014 Beyond Baroque Literary Arts Center Distinguished Service Award and was a co-director of the Valley Contemporary Poets for 2 years. He created the Poetry Super Highway and hosted the weekly Cobalt Cafe reading for almost 21 years. His first spoken word album "Rick Lupert Live and Dead" featuring 25 studio and live tracks was released in March, 2016. He’s authored 20 collections of poetry, including "Donut Famine", "Professor Clown on Parade", "Making Love to the 50 Foot Woman", "The Gettysburg Undress" (Rothco Press), and "Nothing in New England is New" (Ain’t Got No Press), and edited the anthologies "Ekphrastia Gone Wild", "A Poet’s Haggadah" and the noir anthology "The Night Goes on All Night. He also writes and draws (with Brendan Constantine) the daily web comic "Cat and Banana" and writes the Jewish Poetry column "From the Lupertverse" for The Los Angeles Jewish Journal. He has read his poetry all over the world.