Poetry

August’s poetry ranges from lyric to beat, love to hate, humor to heartbreak through deeply personal, witty imagery.

More of his work can be found on Instagram.

Online Publications

The Creative Process

Lothlorien Poetry Journal

The Vagabond’s Verse (Film)

Hare‘s Paw Literary Journal

Readings

Freedom

The Smoker’s Kama Sutra

Frostbitten Friend

Only Lonely Golems

WREATHED: Full Show

THE GOLDEN WEST

August Gladstone’s debut chapbook, The Golden West, is a surrealistic travelogue holding the poetry and essential lyrics from his debut musical album of the same name. In a soul-searing journey across an impressionist, mystical version of the American West, Gladstone explores existentialism, myth, naturalism, purpose and the American Dream through the songs of a spirit rambler. The Golden West is an innovative, voice-driven, unabashed reimagining of a literary tradition. It is set for publication from Finishing Line Press in early 2027.

REVIEWS:

“Drifting through the natural surrealism of the American West, this visionary, true to himself, makes songs that are poems, luminous and heart-felt.

—Larry Beckett, author of Amelia Earhart and Song to the Siren

“August Gladstone’s The Golden West has appeared - rare, luminous, surreal yet grounded - like a ghostly lake shimmering in the desert. His wandering souls roam sun-scorched lands, highways, and roadhouses, searchers in a tattered American dream, their stories at once timeless and riveting.

I was most struck by Gladstone’s strange visionary powers: a worker reborn as a locust, with all the biblical menace that entails; tumbleweeds scuttling under a bleeding moon; a traveler calling up to the uncaring sky - receiving a mysterious, incantatory reply. There are images to savor on every page, journeys as insane and real as a barroom brawl. Like the best works of art, Gladstone builds a distinct, mythic world in The Golden West: a landscape that sings, and the songs are haunting and true, leaving the reader enchanted, dusty, well-traveled, longing to return.”

—Reagan M. Sova, poet, author of Wildcat Dreams in the Death Light

“August Gladstone is a multifaceted artist who has way too much talent for someone this young! Watch out, World! He’s on his way!”

- Max Brooks, Author of World War Z

THE SMOKER’S KAMA SUTRA

(Manuscript) The Smoker's Kama Sutra is an inventive book fusing poetry and song to explore a loose narrative of surrealist travelogues. The Sutra charts the dreamlike route of a young rambler through natal docks, absurd circuses, seedy city underbellies, hallucinatory desert encounters to finally rest in the promised land of Los Angeles. It uses wild imagery and rhythm to dissect personal growth, spiritual reckoning and the weight of the self. The Smoker’s Kama Sutra bounces between psychedelia, sleaze and sacrament; painting a sensory voyage across an abstract, stylized version of modern America. Combining music, storytelling and formal poetry, The Smoker’s Kama Sutra is a one-of-one reading experience to be remembered.

REVIEWS:

“I had a blast like a flea riding the back of Noah's dove, soaring through this odyssey of spiritual movement, psychological unraveling, mythic proportions… a skillful, unforgettable fever-dream of a collection.” - Reagan Sova (Author, Wildcat Dreams in the Death Light)

“Well-made, musical, full of imagery, heart-felt lyric poetry that sets [Gladstone] apart from other artists.” - Larry Beckett (Author, Song to the Siren)

IVY

(Manuscript) IVY is a journey through a tempestuous love affair. Forty poems are broken into four seasons, each season offering shifts in tone and style as Gladstone details the peaks and valleys of young love. From distant infatuation to fiery passion to vacuous defeat, he fuses weight, wit, pain and charm into uniquely voiced lyrical poetry. Ivy is an inventive romance where tender moments are held under a microscope birthing descriptive songs of truth – alive in personal, piercing elation.

REVIEWS:

“There's music throughout, and it reminds me, many of the poems, of Jim Morrison's work with The Doors, and his poetry. There's such romance here, and wit and wisdom. Took me to Neruda and Whitman... Ivy is a good analogy for the emotional growth and struggle overtly and covertly expressed in the poems.” (John McCaffrey - Author & Writing Professor)

“They all took me to a place or a memory. They all felt relatable in one way or another. I enjoyed each and every one.“ (Angelique Ortiz - 3 Arts Entertainment)