Michael D. Amitin isn't just a poet or a musician-he's the grit under the tires of the American West. From California highways to the dim-lit diners of Western Colorado, Amitin trailed the smoke and ghosts of train depot towns before trading it all for Paris's crooked streets in 2009. Named the International Beat Poet Laureate for 2020-2021, his words have spilled across pages like California Quarterly, Horror Sleaze Trash, and Love Love Magazine, leaving ink stains on every corner of the literary underground.

This book is a noir-soaked chronicle of Amitin's travels, not just through landscapes but through the cracks of a psyche that doesn't bother pretending it belongs. Anti-authoritarian to the bone, these pages burn with jazzy riffs and folk undercurrents, weaving a surreal, cinematic soundtrack for misfits and night owls. It's the kind of poetry that punches you in the teeth while slipping a saxophone solo into your bloodstream.

Think Bela Lugosi channeling his darkest dream through Chet Baker's horn-a smoky, wry, ferocious hymn for those who know the muse is a cruel mistress and the blank canvas is a battlefield. Shadow Morphine Dress isn't just a book; it's the sharp edge of a winter night tapping at your window, daring you to feel something raw.

"In Shadow Morphine Dress, Amitin's poetry explores the darker shades of the City of Lights. Alternating currents surreal, subversive, and humorous, he paints pictures surreptitiously hidden from those passing through for a quick glimpse at Gustav Eiffel's timeless wonder. As well, he plunges his sun-soaked subconscious to dredge up keen observations of his life growing up in small-town America. The Dress is Noir-beat, independent, jazzy and vaudevillian, jacked-on inquietudes, rude awakenings, and a healthy dose of anti-authoritarianisms.

-Zeke Mulvaney, Author: Forest Ranger Love Tribes