Born
(Groundwood Books, 2020)
“In dreamy poetry and paintings, this gentle book is a lyrical and loving tribute to an unborn child as she waits to be introduced to the world.”
Kirkus Reviews
“Suffused with warmth and joy … will likely be shared with fascinated young readers time and time again”
Shelf Awareness
Purchase Born here
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Friend or Foe
(Groundwood Books, 2016)
“A quiet, thoughtful narrative for all readers who like to wonder.”
Kirkus Reviews
“A charming modern-day fable, without a simplistic moral, about what makes for and what undoes the sense of otherness.”
Brainpickings
Purchase Friend or Foe here
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Two Million Years of Technology
“In the expansive world of the Edmonton Fringe, there isn’t a known category for John Sobol. 2 Million Years of Technology…is a tirelessly smart and rigorous blend of performance poetry, history, lecture and political speech — with a jazz intro. 4 STARS” Edmonton Journal
“Sobol wields the English tongue like his saxophone, coaxing exotic, melodious and profoundly poetic combinations of words into the air…Sometimes he’s a storyteller, sometimes he’s a philosopher, sometimes he’s a beat poet or an a cappella singer, and sometimes he’s simply this really interesting and intelligent guy having a chinwag with us, his audience friends. 4 STARS” Edmonton Sun
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Digitopia Blues
Race, Technology and the American Voice
(Banff Centre Press, 2002)
“Digitopia Blues is a cutting edge, highly recommended look at an American popular culture of the future.” Midwest Book Review
“His book begs to be read, and what’s more, it begs to be discussed.”
The Georgia Straight
“One outstanding feature of this book is the infectious quality of the author’s passion for the music and poetry he writes about…No mere pontificator, Sobol backs up his points with pertinent references to the jazz canon – both the much and the lesser known.” Paul Dutton, CODA Magazine
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AWOL Love Vibe’s Exstatic Almanac
A Book of Daze
(Book + CD) Insomniac Press, 1997)
“The truth is that AWOL Love Vibe is a three-man urban assault team that will dramatically change the way you listen to poetry…Together they form three points of an equilateral triangle. Each equal in intensity, honesty and dedication yet each exploring the extremes of vocal communication from a different vantage point…Like the good-natured fools of yore, the three wise storytellers mesmerize us with their amazing wordplay and good humour. They incorporate everything you have ever seen or heard about poetry and public performance, multiply it by the power of three, and mold it into new polyvocal combinations.” The Gleaner
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Blue History, The John Sobol Poetry Band (1991)
“His is a spirit that loves to explode sounds and images, that can deliver a palette of emotions, that alternates free jazz and funk, platonic love and post-industrial delirium”
Alain Brunet, La Presse
“Sobol’s project is to be in the world but not of it; to revere sex and despise whores; to be an ‘anti-citizen’ and member of the the voluptuous world.”
Option Magazine
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