"I taste you in the fleshy fruit of the guayaba that melts as slowly as your kisses in my mouth - your eyes that explode in sunlight, your humid, fluid voice, the soft, oceanic touch of your fingertips." - Un Beso de Fuego (A Kiss of Fire) - Island FlirtationsIsland Flirtations is Bear Step's third collection of poetry and follows a series of passionate, poetic encounters that range from exploding Nicaraguan volcanoes to Puerto Rico's turquoise shorelines and everything else in between. The book is filled with the romance and mysteries of Latin America and the Caribbean Islands.A veteran of the early 80s Chicago Hardcore Punk Rock scene, Step dives deep into the tropics and uncovers its sultry romance. His poems are spiced with the humid mist of the tropics and flavored with surrealistic imagery. All of Bear Step's writings reveal a deep respect for the traditional music, literature and poetry of Latin America and the Caribbean Islands. Included in the book are tropical photographs taken by the author on his journeys.
About the Author: Bear Step is known as "The Kilted Poet." Step published his first book, Silence Broken and other Poems in 1988. Step moved to Atlanta, Georgia in 1990 and became an integral part of the Café Diem Poets for over five years. The Café Diem Poets held monthly poetry readings, published The Shaky Table monthly journal and performed poetry readings at nightclubs, bookstores and radio stations across Georgia. Step also performed at the Lollapalooza festival in the mid 1990s. One of his live performances is captured in the movie, Coffeehouse: Atlanta's Underground Poets. In 1993, Step published the magazine, Libre, featuring articles highlighting local writers and artists. The magazine featured his famous fictional interview with Salvador Dali. He later had two poems published in Mudfish #7 from New York City. Step published his second book of poetry entitled, Palabaras Oscuras: Poems of Sweat from the Tropic Eye in 1995. He was nominated as "Georgia Author of the Year" at Kennesaw University in 1996 and hosted occasional spoken word radio programs on WREK FM at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Bear Step is a veteran of the early 80s Chicago Hardcore Punk Rock scene and played guitar in Negative Element and many other Punk Rock bands. He and his band are featured in the movie, You Weren't There: A History of Chicago Punk 1977-1984. He co-published Cultural Exploring Magazine in 1998 and served as the co-owner of Nuevo Impacto Magazine from 2001 to 2006. From 2001 through 2008, Step traveled extensively throughout Latin America.