Father Said Poems

Hal Sirowitz, the Poet Laureate of Queens, offers a funny and tender portrait of his father in his follow up to his acclaimed Mother Said and My Therapist Said. Sirowitz's mother may have dominated the household with her overly protective advice, but his father had a few bon mots to impart to his son as well. In Father Said, he teaches Hal important lessons such as 'What to Do When You Burp' and 'How to Avoid Being Idle'.

Hal Sirowitz is an internationally known poet and the author of five books of poetry: Mother Said; My Therapist Said; Before, During and After; Father Said; and Stray Cat Blues. His work has been translated into thirteen languages and published in many anthologies and magazines. He was awarded the Nebraska Book Award for Poetry, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship, and a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship. He is also the former Poet Laureate of Queens, New York. Hal has performed and appeared on MTV’s "Spoken Word Unplugged"; Lollapalooza; Edinburgh’s Fringe Festival; the Helsinki International Poetry Festival; the Jerusalem Conference of Writers and Poets; PBS’s "Poetry Heaven"; NPR’s "All Things Considered"; PBS’s "The United States of Poetry" and "Fresh Air" with Terry Gross. Hal is a retired New York City public school teacher. He lives with his wife, the writer Minter Krotzer, in Philadelphia.