Jon D. Lee

Ode to Brian is simultaneously a very funny and eerily horrifying book—a sort of Mormon college Animal House crossed in a weird hybrid with Kafka. You will be shocked that the Narrator does not murder Brian before the calm stoical last page. I may have myself if trapped with this roommate from hell. You too…

What is Brian? An emblem of sloth and gluttony straight from the Middle Ages, maybe Piers Plowman. There’s more news of modern life and the world of the young in this charming and entertaining poetic sequence than you are likely to find almost anywhere else. Read it and learn…and pass the Doritos.

—Bill Holm, author of Coming Home Crazy


As the opening poem tells us, this book is “The Study of a 26-Year-Old College Student.” You will never forget Brian, who eats and plays video games while you get all the education. Jon Lee’s voice and craft are clear and straight-forward. A pleasure to read.

—Kenneth Brewer, Utah Poet Laureate