Book Review: Diary Of A Gentleman Diabolist – Author Robin Spriggs

Diary Of A Gentleman Diabolist by Robin Spriggs

This collection of interconnected prose poems by acclaimed fabulist Robin Spriggs defies easy classification. Equal parts grimoire, dream journal, adversaria, metafictional scripture, oracular revelation, and astral travelogue, Diary of a Gentleman Diabolist is a darkly seductive journey through the demon-haunted nether regions of magic, myth, and the poetic imagination.

I had no idea what to expect when Managing Editor of Anomalous Books Amy Jenkins contacted me about reviewing a book of Prose Poems by Robin Spriggs. I never heard of either. Apparently Robin Spriggs is a well known author of poems and stories, performs on stage and screen among many other things and has quite the following. I’ve also found numerous sites devoted to him on the internet. I definitely need to get out more often.

Anyways, as I started reading Mr. Spriggs Prose Poems I found myself laughing, thinking, shaking my head, frowning, smiling etc., in short I really enjoyed this little gem and have full intention of seeking out his other works and keeping my eyes out for this medium I was lucky enough to discover.

Reading Diary Of A Gentleman Diabolist during my lunch hour proved to be the perfect distraction from the days toils. Most prose poems were a page or less, but it wasn’t the length it was the quality of the words that mattered to me.

I won’t try to explain what Prose Poetry is, I’ll leave that to the experts but I will say that this was a very welcome reprieve from what I normally read and opened my eyes to something different and wondrous. If you have a couple of free minutes a day you would find it hard to find a better way to spend those few minutes than reading the Prose Poems of Robin Spriggs.

If you are tired of the novels, short stories, magazines, e-books and newspapers you have been reading and want to try something different I whole-heartedly recommend this little book filled with wonder.