A Poet.
Brian R. Strauss is a Southern California writer based in San Diego, CA. Born and raised since 1993 in Chula Vista, CA– Strauss began writing at an early age. As a child he was obsessed with sharks. Hoping to study them someday as a “shark-ologist” he endeavored to write his first book on the subject of sharks. His illiteracy at the time did little to stifle him.
It was in his AP Lit class during senior year of high school where his teacher encouraged him to explore poetry- a creative outlet he quickly became enamored with. Upon graduating from Hilltop High School in 2011 he pursued a degree in English at Sonoma State University with a concentration in Creative Writing. During that time Strauss studied directly under a number of esteemed authors who he chooses not to name-drop here.
The experiences he shared with those educators and his fellow students were deeply formative and the vast quantity of experimental writing he did was ultimately distilled down into a portion of his debut collection Call of the Void, released roughly six months after his graduation and return to San Diego at the age of 22.
About a year later he published his sophomore collection of poetry Strung Like Puppets which was then featured as part of a cover story feature in San Diego CityBeat as one of six collections of poetry that “represent some of the best [San Diego] has to offer.” In the nearly a decade that has passed since then, Strauss has completed work on a third collection of poetry titled Existential Cowboy to be released in Spring of 2026.
Strauss’ writing is hugely influenced by a large swath of literary voices throughout the 20th century. Writers such as Frank O’Hara, John Steinbeck, Henry Miller, Jack Kerouac, Sylvia Plath, Pablo Neruda, and Langston Hughes all played significant roles in the development of Strauss’ authorial voice and style.
In spite of his deep appreciation for 20th century literature in particular, he remains committed to reading the emerging literary voices of our modern era, some of his favorites of which are listed below.
Modern Favorites:
Frank by Diane Seuss
Everything is Returned to the Soil by Briana Muñoz
How to Pull Apart the Earth by Karla Cordero
Citizen by Claudia Rankine
Late Wife by Claudia Emerson
The Apple Trees at Olema by Robert Hass
PUBLICATIONS
BOOKS
Strung Like Puppets — Foxx Press, June 2016
Sophomore collection of poetry by Brian R. Strauss, exploring post-addiction life, external decay, and domesticated “nine-to-five bliss.”
Call of the Void — Foxx Press, May 2015
A sensory and psychological exploration of perspective and dissolution through a doomed relationship.
SELECTED POEMS
Aria — Zaum Magazine / Sonoma State University, March 2015
Written under the pseudonym “Daniel Tehrani.”
Swimming Alongside Venus — Zaum Magazine / Sonoma State University, March 2015
Lullaby — Zaum Magazine / Sonoma State University, March 2015
I Am a Cancerous Nothing — Insert Lit Mag Here, November 2014
If You’d Close the Door, You’ll Never Have to See the Day Again — Insert Lit Mag Here, October 2014
Mulberry — Insert Lit Mag Here, September 2014
Man Gives You a Cup of Coffee, Take a Sip — Insert Lit Mag Here, August 2014
A reflection on the gilded nature of “living room philosophers” and the tension between self-worth and personal poetics.
Hotel Cavalier — Insert Lit Mag, June 2014
A portrait of emotional decay within a toxic relationship.
pAn(I)mosity — Insert Lit Mag, June 2014
An experimental poem blending sound and visual disorientation through shifting language and time.
Man Gives You a Cup of Coffee, Take a Sip — Zaum XS / Sonoma State University, April 2014
Preten(d)se — Zaum XS / Sonoma State University, April 2014
A sexually charged exploration of the line between lust and love.
Hotel Cavalier — Zaum Magazine / Sonoma State University, March 2014
Touch — Zaum Magazine / Sonoma State University, March 2014
A meditation on isolation and disassociation in the life of a man living alone.
The Meat Rack — BareBack Magazine, January 2014
Examines gender expectations and constrictive social constructs.
The Meat Rack — The Kitchen Poet / Underground Books, November 2013
Hotel Cavalier — The Kitchen Poet / Underground Books, November 2013
pAn(I)mosity — The Kitchen Poet / Underground Books, November 2013
Ode to Parkinson’s — Zaum Magazine / Sonoma State University, March 2013
Reflects on the inevitability of aging and decline.
The Meat Rack — Zaum Magazine / Sonoma State University, March 2013
NEWSLETTER
Stay up to date on new releases – events – and all things writing.
You’ll also be added to the waitlist to receive news on my new collection of poetry Existential Cowboy.