The Fog of the Midnight Hours

{From the 2023 Christmas Newsprint Magazine}

Written by Megin Potter  |  Photos provided

Poetry verbalizing the small-town, working man’s wherewithal in his gritty grapples with desire. 

In Greg Manzi’s second collection of poetry, The Fog of the Midnight Hours (Published April 2023 by Raw Earth Ink), down-to-earth observations and self-deprecating humor marinate ruminations that are both profoundly cautious and optimistically weary in their poignant appreciation of life’s tragic beauties. 

Influenced by the social, cultural, and economic ambiance of his Upstate NY home, Manzi zeroes in on his grief through the lens of a butcher (who has also worked as a Chemical Handler, and Forklift Operator).  

In addition to his blue-collar pursuits, Manzi also studied both French and Italian, holds a graduate degree in English Literature from the University of Albany, and has an Associate’s degree in Broadcasting from Herkimer Community College. 

Rather than being a “major bookworm” as a kid, he picked up the writing habit seemingly overnight, Manzi said. 

Referencing classically renowned poets like Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Raymond Carver, John Updike, and Andre Dubus, in the context of his rural East Greenbush existence, Manzi simultaneously situates himself as the voice of the downtrodden and the transient hero who has broken free from the minutia of everyday life. 

“My goal as a writer is to make people feel something, to me, that’s the whole point,” he said. 

Manzi is a man with a tenaciously punchy voice who uses stumbling blocks as stepping stones. His first book, We Lived Like Kings (2022) feels through the numbing haze of a painful romance, while The Fog of the Midnight Hours resharpens his ruminations (cushioned by a winter coat of discontent).

Manzi shares his experiences rather than “shamelessly pilfering” a selection of cover band imitations ripping off a Charles Bukowski-esque style and “passing themselves off as edgy poets,” he said, by utilizing various genres and styles in his poetry to reveal the secrets within this world that still amaze him. 

Find The Fog of the Midnight Hours and other Manzi works at Braveheart Books & Bazaar, 874 State Route 43, Stephentown, and online on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Lulu, and at raw-earth-ink.com