Walter Bevan, the author of Dead Leaves and Other Flowers, took his own life on February 14, 2001, the evening he was scheduled to give a reading of his poetry. He was 36. He had been published in several periodicals and was preparing this collection as his first book.

Life did not compromise with Walter Bevan and Dead Leaves and Other Flowers is, in turn, an uncompromising account of his tormented later years. He deals, in these poems, with severe depression, sexual addiction, divorce, paranoia, wounding relationships, the darkness and light of creativity, unrequited passion, alcoholism, hospitalization, poetic frustration, incapacity from medication, and the spiritual underpinning of human life. The poems are courageous, honest, informed, witty, imaginative, challenging, and gutsy in their search for meaning. Dead Leaves and Other Flowers is a very brave and unforgettable book.

Dead Leaves and Other Flowers was edited by James Strecker. Cover art by Keith Stelling.

At the request of Walter Bevan’s family, all proceeds from Dead Leaves and Other Flowers are donated to the Canadian Psychiatric Association.

We strongly recommend this publication for those who work with mental health patients, or for people with family or friends suffering from mental illness.