Retired Kingston Doctor Releases First Book of Poetry 

Title: Iced Tea Poetry
Published by: Goose Lane Editions with the Gregg Centre for the Study of War and Society
Price: $23.95
ISBN: 9781774032671

If you’ve ever tried to make a glass of iced tea, you know it’s only easy on paper. There are only a few simple ingredients in the drink. Some sugar, maybe some lemon, and of course chilled tea. While these things are easy to acquire, adding just enough of each ingredient to get a perfect balance is more complicated. It’s all about the process and the quantities. Author and poet  Dr. Greg Stidham certainly can concur, hence why he named his first poetry collection Ice Tea Poetry.

The poems in Ice Tea Poetry provoke a wide range of emotions, from humour to reflection. All of the poems in this collection rely heavily on musicality and images.

Iced Tea Poetry may be Dr. Stidham’s first book of poetry; however, it’s not his first foray into writing. Dr. Stidham’s 2016 memoir, Blessings, and Sudden Intimacies: Musings of a Pediatric Intensivist, describes how he formed a positive and optimistic worldview despite the stresses of working in an ICU where tragedy is a regular occurrence. Then, in 2022, Dr. Stidham released a book of short stories titled Dear Friends.

Dr. Stidham’s debut poetry effort has already received acclaim from fellow poets. Third Poet Laureate of Kingston, Ontario, Jason Heroux, gave Iced Tea Poetry his seal of approval, saying, “Simplicity and balance take time, patience, and care. The same holds true for Greg Stidham’s refreshing, full-bodied poetic debut.” Professor and Poet-in-Residence at East Tennessee State University praised the image-generating and thought-provoking side of the poetry, saying, “Iced Tea Poetry offers images distilled and crafted in the forge of lived experience.”

Iced Tea Poetry is distributed by Ingram Sparks and is available in bookstores worldwide.

You can also purchase it using this link. here.

About the author:

Dr. Stidham is a retired Professor of Pediatrics from Queens University and the Kingston Health Science Centre who resides in Kingston, Ontario. Earlier in his career, Dr. Stidham spent 28 years working in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center and LeBonheur Children’s Medical Center in Memphis. Today, he works as a volunteer bereavement counsellor for parents. Iced Tea Poetry is his fourth book.