"Erik Richardson is a modern mythmaker. From his cauldron of history, science, philosophy, and mathematics bubble lives we'd forgotten we've lived, or those we thought-until now-were impossible. a berserker stuck in traffic asks us to recall the wilderness, wonder, and even violence of our collective past and return to it in our times, chained to cubicles though we may be. Richardson's poems remind us of our latent powers, and offer the hope that one day we will tell stories where we are not workaday dullards, but demigods." --B.J. Best, author of But Our Princess Is in Another Castle "Readers, buckle up the DeLorean! a berserker stuck in traffic is a joyride to the past and back again. It's a terrifically constructed balancing act of history vs. present day, math teacher vs. kung fu master, everyman vs. his own ghosts. The male characters are funny, insightful and oh-so-slightly flawed; the women are reverently framed as centrifugal force. This first book of poems is intelligent, insightful, word-wicked, a one-sitting wonder." --Cathryn Cofell, author of Sister Satellite Readers, buckle up the DeLorean! a berserker stuck in traffic is a joyride to the past and back again. It's a terrifically constructed balancing act of history vs. present day, math teacher vs. kung fu master, everyman vs. his own ghosts. The male characters are funny, insightful and oh-so-slightly flawed; the women are reverently framed as centrifugal force. This first book of poems is intelligent, insightful, word-wicked, a one-sitting wonder. Cathryn Cofell I envy and rejoice in Erik Richardson's range of voice. His poetic scope encompasses berserker, 3rd grade teacher, husband and father, mathematician, and student of both the suburban and pastoral worlds...though my favorite's the kid who scrutinized Kung Fu Theater each week for clues to save his family, and the world...clues that come to some fruition in these poems. Michael Kriesel, President, Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets