The title of Lorenzo Buj’s debut poetry collection is a jest at his own expense.

A faculty member in the Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures, he will hold a launch event for Earlybloom Bombs on Saturday, Oct. 2.

“The title is a line from one of the poems,” says Dr. Buj. “You can say it’s a self-targeting irony, given that I’m turning 60 this year — not exactly an early bloomer. The book is a kind of promise made to professors and mentors long ago — like John Ditsky and Alistair MacLeod and Walter Skakoon — only now being fulfilled.”

What he delivers is “punkoid, COVID-annoyed” poetry that draws on his experiences as a fixture on the Windsor-Detroit punk scene of the 1980s, when he fronted a band while sporting a hairstyle best described as Mohawk-bouffant.

“I voice the persona of a grumpy character 40 years later,” Buj says.

Taking inspiration from Vladimir Nabokov’s 1962 novel Pale Fire, he follows the poetry with pages of notes, using these to extend the persona and add  “prickly cultural commentary.”

The launch event will run 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. at the Dominion House Tavern, 3140 Sandwich St. It’s scheduled as a casual drop-in on the patio but will move indoors if weather dictates.

Buj is making copies of his book available for a voluntary donation.

“I have no ambition to recoup the costs,” he says. “It’s not about money wasted; finding readers is money well-spent.”

Learn more on the event Facebook page. To RSVP, email lzb@uwindsor.ca by Tuesday, Sept. 28.