This collections of 40 poems, one crime story and two horror story can be summarized as follows:

From the alleyways of Ybor City to the last train home on the Washington Metro comes a collection of poems from the scarred yet unrelenting heart. Fred explores themes of noir, addiction, mental health and broken lives through the lens of redemption. When you hit rock bottom the only way out is up. Spit blood, raise your fists and come out fighting.

By Fred Shrum, III

Edited by Gerardo Pelayo
Cover and jacket design by Matthew Revert

PRINT / ISBN13: 9781954921023 USD: $12.99  /  CAD: $17.99

ON SALE: July 11th 2023

GENRE: Fiction / Poetry

PAGE COUNT: 78

Fred Shrum, III was born near Washington, D.C. and grew up in Florida. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of South Florida at Tampa.

Fred is the author of Tourist Trap: Oba Chandler and the Murder of the Rogers Family (Bay Media, 2018).
He enjoys the beach, tacos, music, baseball, and all things crime and horror.
Twitter: @fshrum
Mailing list: http://eepurl.com/gdr7Tf
www.fredshrum.wordpress.com

Praise for Psalms of the Street Sweeper

“Fred writes the best kind of poetry. Words from the scarred yet unrelenting heart, sewn beautifully to the sleeve.”
-Stephen J. Golds, Author of The Dead, The Dying and The Gone Trilogy, and Poems For Ghosts in Empty Tenement Windows I Thought I Saw Once

“With Psalms of the Street Sweeper, Fred Shrum III explores the hidden crevices and the grittier aspects of human existence. Whether the spiritual dichotomy of a mobster to the internal struggle of addiction, Fred’s concise and forceful writing blasts away at the veneers of stability and respectability while illuminating the revealed darkness through his poetry.”
-Scott M. Deitche, author of Cigar City Mafia: A Complete History of the Tampa Underworld, and Hitmen: The Mafia, Drugs, and the East Harlem Purple Gang

“Psalms of the Sweet Sweeper hits hard as this talented writer swaps between crime noir poetry and self-reflection, giving you a nostalgic feeling, as well as stopping you in your tracks with these heart-felt poems. Some of the poems, such as “Good To The Last Drop” and “Change The World” stayed with me. They were particularly close to the bone, giving me a sentimentality of my own youth and the reverberation that followed me into my adulthood.”

-James Lilley, Author of The Blue Hour and Thousand Ghosts of You

“Psalms of the Street Sweeper hits harder than a gut of .45 slugs. This chapbook is riddled with hard hitting vignettes that linger and tug at you days after you’ve devoured them. Fred writes with grit, passion and raw honesty. I found myself returning to a few that lingered out of reach like a haze of smoke in a dive bar. Songs of the South, Slug City and Rules for Radicals hit me the hardest. Damn fine writing on every page. I envy fresh eyes on these pages. I dare you NOT to be moved.”
-Mark Pelletier

“Fred has assembled a fascinating collection of poetry, plumbing the depths of human darkness and cruelty. From “Songs of the South”, a cry for unity and understanding in a divided nation, to “Justice For Jessica”, a plea for justice in the Jessica Chambers murder case, we are forced to confront our deep-seated pain and frustration with the state of contemporary culture. Shrum has dramatically presented the bleakest of crime while contrasting it with the brightest hope for change.”
-Andre F. Peltier, author of Poplandia

“Fred’s poems cry out at the pain of what becomes us after years of bad choices. Even random chance is like a nightmare of agony. Few have pulled at my soul as Fred did.”
-Wayne Clingman, author of Life and Times of Frank Balistrieri and Buffalo Mob