Bipolar Cowboy

by Noah Cicero

The first poetry collection by acclaimed cult author Noah Cicero, Bipolar Cowboy is "a book of love poems for all those who loved so deeply it crossed into mental illness."

If you've ever loved so much you lost your mind, if you've ever felt inclined to wander into the desert to die alone, then take the bipolar cowboy's hand. He's ready to see you through to the end.

Genres: Poetry, Mental Health, Nonfiction, Contemporary, Romance, Goodreads Choice Awards

124 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 1, 2015

Reviews

[Es Summer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dear Noah,
I just finished your book.
I feel bonded with you. Let's be two bipolar cowboys in a wasteland.
I should thank you.
You taught me how to be cool.
You taught me how to wear clothes that fit.
I see you sitting somewhere in Nevada,
wearing a black hoodie-hood,
and baggy blue jeans.
I see you twist-pulling your messy hair,
and inhaling Marlboro cigarettes,
smoke all around you.
Sadness pulling the corners of your mouth down, down, down.

You actually made me very happy,
and sometimes you were tender.
Your words cut and heal,
they make me smile with tenderness and hurt with chaos.
I think I care about every beat of your anxiety-filled heart.

It's lightly snowing outside,
Condensation thick through light windows.
The idea you exist,
isn't actually an idea,
you actually exist.

That you exist somewhere,
going to work, doing the dishes,
probably even smiling at times,

And I have to pretend you're just an author,
just some person who gives me this book.
It seems odd, doesn't it?

You're suffering,
you have anxiety,
you come up with ten truths,
I believe you are a bit magic, too.

The moon is inside your head,
and I love, love, love your poetry.
I remember it now,
it takes me back to when it all first started.
But I've only got myself to blame for it, and I accept it now.
It's time to let it go, go out and start again.
Will you do it, too, Noah?

This review of barely-poems,
is merely a moment, a feeling.
The person writing this recognizes herself in the madness of a bipolar cowboy.
Special shout out to Noah Cicero for creating art out of words.

*Paperback kindly received by Noah Cicero in exchange for an honest review.*

[Brian Alan Ellis · Rating 4 out of 5]

The work remains honest and real, and Cicero puts a lot out on the table, making Bipolar Cowboy a brave and poignant look into an artist’s mind as he struggles to exist in a world where Hulkamania is generally not the strongest force in the universe and we are all in danger of being crushed by a five hundred–pound giant hailing from parts unknown.

Read more at Heavy Feather Review: http://heavyfeatherreview.com/2015/05...

[Guillaume Morissette · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really liked reading this, though it almost feels more to me like unsent draft emails addressed to no one in particular than poetry. I don't mean this negatively in any way, as the main strength of this collection, I feel, is that it come across as direct, spontaneous and genuine. I wish more poetry collections had those qualities.

[Zainab · Rating 2 out of 5]

It didn't feel like a poetry book. I felt like I was reading a 10 year old's diary to be honest.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me want to strap on my spurs and travel over the bumpy pass to self-actualisation county.

Bipolar Cowboy shows us that Noah is not a one horse writer with one of the most touching and engaging 'personal journey' style poetry books of recent memory. However he does this while retaining a much greater degree of lyricism; one which many similar books (by authors residing in the smouldering crater of whatever alt lit it and/or was) fall short on. For example, A friend of mine recently told me that while they hadn’t read a whole book/collection by [young unnamed but personal favourite and critically acclaimed poet] they didn’t like what they’d read because it seemed all ‘oh I’m so sad i haven’t showered in days i can’t get out of bed’ and they found that boring. I advised them to read the whole book (which is one of my favourites) but I saw where they were coming from.
Bipolar Cowboy is, like Sum 41, All Killer No Filler.
Bipolar Cowboy takes us into the life of Noah (real Noah, or some version thereof) as he works through one heck of a bad time.
Bipolar Cowboy shows us that bad things happen to all types of people at seemingly random intervals and that the best way to cope with this is to saddle up and keep ridin’ through the long dark night and if you’re lucky you’ll outrun the wolves and survive.
Bipolar Cowboy gives me hope and I can think of only one other book that has explicitly generated feelings of ‘hope’ in me.
Good luck out there on the prairie.

See You Bipolar Cowboy...

[Miescha · Rating 3 out of 5]

While reading this I couldn't help thinking this is Linus from the Peanuts gang all grown-up, in the best way possible! Except now, instead of sitting in a pumpkin patch waiting for the Great Pumpkin, he's waiting for the return of the Ex-Lover. With a metaphysical diatribe on sincerity I kept waiting for him to say, "I'll find a love that's REALLY sincere!" Haha! Three stars for me is a good rating. While I didn't experience the goosebumps that would have warranted a 4 or 5 star rating, this is a solid block of poetry. A classic lovers lament that saves itself from oblivion by the fact that it is painfully aware of the futility and perhaps artifice of what it claims love to be. He speaks the silent fear of even the most (perhaps especially) wordy poets, "the only weapon i have is silence", a weapon the poet knows he almost compulsively cannot ever turn to.

[Kyle Muntz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really excellent, plainly written book of poetry, which (surprisingly) I might even like better than Noah Cicero's novels. A lot of it resonates really strongly with me right now, too, especially the parts about leaving America and losing someone. There's a lot of very intense, very personal pain in this book, sometimes raw to the point of clumsiness, but that also seemed like part of the point; and I was especially fond of the long poem that finishes the book, and the pieces throughout that touched on the relationship at the center of it. I haven't read poetry much for years, but this was really great.

[Gretel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Writing these must have no doubt been therapeutic for Cicero, but it mostly reads like an emo diary. I can't say I enjoyed the reading experience, but I appreciate Cicero's honesty. However, I can't find much merit in poetry like: A pigeon running through/ the Starbucks parking lot.// A small child walks over/ and scares the pigeon./

[xTx xTx · Rating 5 out of 5]

so thrilled i came into ownership of this book last night (from the author himself!) What a fucking amazing book of poems! Man, it made me miss good poetry.

Get this if you want to be moved.

Noah Cicero has a poet's heart and it's splattered all over the page of this book.

[Ju$tin · Rating 2 out of 5]

3/10

[ivy jade ᰔᩚ · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Noah believed everyone was like a song. Everyone is playing a song all the time, and when we find someone who plays a song like our song, then we become friends, and if the song is close enough, then we become lovers, even if it is only for a night.”

[Armoni97 · Rating 1 out of 5]

safe to say i won’t be reading poetry from a straight white man again

[Leo · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very raw and intimate account of the author's struggles with depression and mental health issues following a painful breakup, and his attempts to cope with his new reality. Written throughout the stages of him experiencing it, without holding back almost anything. I've read Noah Cicero's prose before, and I really enjoyed this book of poetry. With this having been written over 7 or 8 years ago, I hope (and I imagine) that he's found peace in his life now.

[Juliet the Book Slayer · Rating 5 out of 5]

It might not deserve the 5-star rating I gave it, but as a fellow Bipolar Cowboy I had to rate it that highly because of what it made me feel.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Literally me.

[Maddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like poetry is hard to rate because you can feel vastly different from poem to poem (writing and reading poetry). There were points where the author had me and then lost me and had me and lost me again. The ex girlfriend obsession was a bit much and probably one of my least favorite parts of the poetry collection.

I can sympathize with having to cope with mental illness personally or loving someone who does. I'm bipolar myself and I think that the author of this book is too though his experience with his disorder is not similar to what I've experienced (so it's possible I took the title far too literally). It's a case by case situation for each person because everyone's lives are so different which is probably why I wasn't able to agree with everything he said.

I agree with some of the other readers that it seemed that this book was written as a therapeutic release for the author. He had some really good lines but some of the poems fell a little flat for me. I was hoping for more.

[Jed Kudrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Bipolar Cowboy" is a raw and unflinching collection that lays bare the turbulent inner world of its author, capturing the struggles with depression, heartbreak, and the relentless weight of modern life. Its verses, often resembling unsent draft emails, burst with a direct, spontaneous, and genuine emotional honesty that is both brave and deeply relatable. Cicero's work confronts the darkness head-on, offering intimate insights into the pain of a breakup and the ongoing battle with mental health, all without holding back. The collection's visceral and sometimes gut-wrenching approach resonates so powerfully that many readers find themselves saying, "Literally me." Despite its occasional descent into uncomfortable or nonsensical territory, "Bipolar Cowboy" stands as a poignant testament to vulnerability and the enduring human spirit.

[Bandit · Rating 2 out of 5]

Amusing title, but the collection itself didn't do much for me. The poems in it are autobiographical to the extent that the book came with the author's timeline for the years featured.
Alternating between first and third person narratives, this very personal journey just didn't interest me very much. Since it is so navelgazingly-personal, as the overwhelming majority of poetry these days lamentably seems to be, it'll probably speak to some readers than to others.
There was one really fun turn of phrase, but writing this review a week later, I cannot remember it.

[Esforçonulo]

dnf aos 25%

a poética do noah cicero é das menos interessante da "alt-lit". tudo parece infantil, escrito sem revisão e egocêntrico. compará-lo à ellen kennedy, mira gonzalez ou tao lin é um absurdo, dado que cada uma destas poéticas é mais interessante por n motivos.

aqui não há nada de interesse. é tudo muito concreto e directo, mas um concreto trabalhado e não genuíno. não quero saber da maior parte do que o noah trata, nem fico surpreendido. parece remastigado, lamuriento e aborrecido.

[Jodell · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to read this book of poetry because half my family is bi-polar and or real Cowboys in the wild wild west. I thought it would help me understand them better.

What the fuck Noah?

I loved the flowers on the cover. Like a beating, bleeding, weeping tattoo heart. Crying out for someone to understand its pain. Now, I understood that..........

[Pamala · Rating 2 out of 5]

I understand, I've been through this phase of my life where writing poetry is the only thing that keeps me afloat. It's therapeutic and it helps a lot. But I am rating this based on the poems and the effect of them to me which is to say, nothing. It didn't give me any feelings at all. Maybe we need to be there to know the feeling.

[Shayna June · Rating 4 out of 5]

A dark sort of anthology, the book explores mental illness and romantic turmoil in a way that is often uncomfortable, sometimes nonsensical, and often sad in a really gut wrenching way. I did find many poems to be powerful on the first read, and overly negative or humouring unhealthy thoughts/feelings in some glorified way on following reads.

[Salma · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow. I’ve really jinxed myself when I said that the poetry books of which I came across are good. This was terrible and a true waste of my time. I don’t want to be mean but this book seems like it was written by a child. I’ve read better poems by children. I’m sorry to the author but this truly is not a good poetry book at all.

[Daria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very blah premise, and worth the criticism, but the middle part had some very strong parts that really elevated this beyond broken-heart-revenge diary towards a sincere, to borrow a key word from the text, reflection the nature of solace and creativity. The closing part didn't deliver, but then, endings rarely do.

[Bob Comparda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A poetry book about Noah Cicero's thoughts and feelings on his break-up with his ex girlfriend. Lots to relate to, also a lot of specific situations. Altogether I enjoyed this, especially when I would find the really good lines that are littered through the pages. Would recommend to anyone who has ever been in love and lost it.

[Michael Fuhrman]

I had a weird feeling in the beginning of this that the author’s wellbeing was in the balance of whether I found the poems moving/good or not. Then I read:

“Noah Cicero had a tragic flaw. / The emotion of not / wanting to be rejected / was more important / than wanting actual love.”

And I felt. I was right.

[S Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book seems like it was written by someone who thinks the way I do. I could relate to it.I loved the way the thoughts musings and everything has been shared....I like this book even before I completed it.I want to be friends with Noah.

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing

Relatable
Noah Cicero really shines a light on basically what being human is
He shows in parts the confusion of not understanding if some.emotions were real or a disorder
Not to mention parts were funny

Highly recommend

[Maria Fatima · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know what to feel about this book. It's actually depressing and I appreciate how brave Noah is to share his poems with everyone. It's good to know that writing helps Noah to express what he really feels, it's therapeutic for him. But I'm rating this as for poetry book and I don't think it's a poem book at all. It's more a diary book for me.

[A.Vesper · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some of the things and lines were really cathartic to read.