Best Part of Truth is the Lies

Judge Santiago Burdon

I’m a recovering Catholic 
drug fiend and addict,  
a drunk, a thief and ex-con, 
musician, writer,  half assed poet, and fighter, 
a drifter, failed husband and father, 
horrible dancer, an awesome cook, Atheist, well read and a scholar, 
quick tempered, dog person, sports fan, crack shot,
A romantic, and excellent driver. 
a dreamer,  jokester, gambler,
and friendly,
Punctual, lazy, afraid of spiders,
Worked as a smuggler,
too old now to do time,
It's the reason I've retired. 
 
JSB


BIOGRAPHY image
Updated  Biography 

The Odyssey of Judge Santiago Burdon began in the “City of Big Shoulders,” as Sandburg called it in his poem “Chicago.” He was born during Mayor Richard Daley's first days in office and Eisenhower's first term as President.

His father named him Judge, hoping he would pursue a career in law. He had no idea his son would end up appearing in front of so many.

Santiago attended Universities in the United States and abroad, focusing his studies on Victorian Literature and Authors. His short stories and poems have been featured in over three hundred magazines, on-line literary journals, podcasts, and anthologies. He was recognized in Who's Who of Emerging Writers 2020 and again in 2021.

Santiago has had 7 books published in the past 3 years.
2 collections of poetry; 'Not Real Poetry' and 'Tequila's Bad Advice Poetry With The Worm'. 
5 books of short stories; 'Stray Dogs and Deuces Wild Cautionary Tales' 'Quicksand Highway' 'Fingers In The Fan' 'Lords of the Afterglow Renegades and Noblemen' 'Overdose of Destiny Impulse Fiction.'
Santiago became a Septuagenarian turning 70 last July. He plans to relocate to Austin, Texas from Costa Rica this winter.

Hello Author Interview

PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release:


March 1st, 2020: Judge Santiago Burdon of San Jose, Costa Rica, has been named as one 111 emerging writers and authors worldwide to be included in the Who’s Who of Emerging Writers, 2020, due for release on May 1, 2020. Judge Santiago Burdon is a poet, short story author and novelist,whose works have appeared in over 150 publications and anthologies, novels include: Stray Dogs and Deuces Wild Cautionary Tales , Not Real Poetry ,  Quicksand Highway, and, Fingers In The Fan.
Emerging writers are considered those writers who are not well known but have built up a body of work, as either poets, short story authors, non-fiction writers and novelists, or a combination of those, that have contributed to excellence in writing.
Published by Sweetycat Press, a non-profit entity founded by short story author, novelist, playwright and former journalist, Steve Carr, the writers and authors included in the Who’s Who were selected by a panel of editors and publishers.
The Who’s Who of Emerging Writers, 2020, provides the biographies of the writers and authors and lists some or all of their published works. All proceeds from its sale on Amazon.com will go to producing other publications that support emerging writers by bringing their names and works to the attention of influencers in the publishing industry and the reading public.
-30-
Contact Information:
Judge Santiago Burdon
17 Calle 23
San Jose, Costa Rica
elchapo1225.sg@gmail.com
506 6391 4293
https://5d1dd405a81e9.site123.me/

Press Release image
Stray Dogs and Deuces Wild Cautionary Tales image
Published by,
Horror Sleaze Trash Press
Arthur Graham 
Banana Man
Reviewed in the United States on December 23, 2021
Santiago has given us a collection of short stories that I think perhaps are more than just stories. These stories feel autobiographical and true. It says these are cautionary tales but the lessons are like don't sell drugs, and if you happen to meet a guy named Johnny Rico, you shouldn't pal around with him.


All that being said these do manage to be some of the most entertaining short stories that I've read in a long time. Santiago has a wonderful way with words. And his stories sparkle and delight. If you ever wondered what it's like to be a cartel mule. You can read these. I think he has to call them cautionary tales as sort of his way of saying hey kids don't try this at home. Because his writing is so shiny and intriguing it has a way of glamorizing the lifestyle. Which I'm sure is not his intention. He's not some sort of cartel drug mule recruiter. At all. The man is obviously a true artist at heart. And an excellent writer to boot. And I for one certainly feel like he is doing us a great service with these stories by allowing us to live vicariously through him.


Long live Santiago! So that he may continue to regale us with his wonderous tales. Which are true.
https://www.amazon.com/Stray-Dogs-Deuces-Wild-Cautionary/dp/1655287931


Not Real Poetry image
Published by;
Impspired Press 

Steve Lester Carr
Review of "Not Real Poetry"
by Judge Santiago Burdon
Amazon June 25, 2021


Raw, powerful and visceral and yes, it is actually real Poetry. Reviewed in the United States on June 22, 2021
It should first be said that Judge Santiago Burdon's collection of poetry "Not Real Poetry" is in actuality, real poetry. There are few (if any) lines in this collection about how flowers smell like teardrops or how the bellies of puppies are soft and smooth like silk pillows. If those kinds of sentiments are the only definitions of poetry, or if poetry that is about love and romance requires a roaring fireplace and a glass of wine to accompany it, then I'm glad to say, that is not the poetry in Judge's collection either. I say, glad, because Judge's poetry is almost the antithesis of poetry that is full of flowery language and idealistic ramblings about the nature of love and romance. It is about love and romance that is visceral, raw and real. This is poetry borne of a man's disappointments, angers, frustrations, and occasional fits of rage regarding his experiences with love and lovers, sex partners and sex workers. This is poetry that is as sharply edged as a butcher knife, and as filled with the subtext of pain from the masculine viewpoint, as the stings from a hive of hornets. Judge has done an amazing thing with his poetry: he has thrown out the window what is politically correct and written what is exactly on his mind and in his heart about many of his experiences with the opposite sex, most of which are negative and primal. But beneath all of that there is a yearning to find love, to succumb to it. In every action there is a reaction. Women may be turned off by it because of its sometimes brutal assessment of his dealings with them, and other men may feel a need to keep it a secret that they read it (and heaven forbid, enjoyed, it) for fear that it may taint them as being sexist or misogynistic. But those are the reasons Judge's collection SHOULD BE READ. It makes men and women alike confront the truth that not all romantic and love poetry involves stanza after stanza of lovelorn anguish or exaltations, that sometimes love and romance stinks. This is poetry that is definitely real; it just may not evoke the warm and fuzzy feelings associated with poetry.


Steve Lester Carr is an internationally published Author. His Short Stories have been featured in over 500 magazines and on-line literary sites and blogs. He's also Editor and Publisher of Sweetycat Press.

https://www.amazon.com/Not-Real-Poetry-Santiago-Burdon/dp/1914130286


Quicksand Highway image
Published by:
Horror Sleaze Trash Press
Arthur Graham 

Quicksand Highway
by Judge Santiago Burdon (Goodreads Author)
James IV rated it amazing

Be it full of truths or exaggerations, or both, Quicksand Highway is one hell of an insane story collection! These are down and dirty tales from the drug world's sleazy underbelly. Spun with dark humor and sarcasm that will make you laugh as well as ask, "WTF?" Stories of forks in shoulders, stolen cars, fast women, faster bullets, lines being drawn—crossed—snorted, friends, enemies, and broken romances in the shadows.
Most importantly, the tales themselves are well written. I can see the author reciting these stories at gatherings. Arm gestures and finger guns at climaxes and plot twists. Laughing through all the pain and joy of a life well-lived.

James D. Casey IV is an artist, poet, author of seven poetry collections, and the founder/editor-in-chief of Cajun Mutt Press.
https://www.amazon.com/Quicksand-Highway-Judge-Santiago-Burdon/dp/B09KNGJT6T



Fingers In The Fan  image
Published by:
Impspired Press 
Steve Cawte

FINGERS IN THE FAN
Fingers In The Fan
Judge Santiago Burdon 


Another odyssey of Santiago with his ex cellmate, loose cannon alcohol and drug fueled Colombian carnal, Johnny Rico. 
Once again this collection of short storíes is filled with the same gritty dialogue, dark humor and adventurous mayhem Santiago has popularized in his previous books. 'Fingers In The Fan' complements the Bohemian tales of bizarre and twisted states of mind exposed in  'Stray Dogs and Deuces Wild' and 'Quicksand Highway'.
Still working as a drug smuggler for a Mexican Cartel, Santiago; a recovering addict, ex-con, womanizer, gambler and ill-fated pilgrim encounters situations of irresistible misfortune. 
The stories are well written and Santiago's prose is clear, the language concise: spiced with the Spanish of his streetwise bilingualism. The indelible portraits of even minor characters, make this collection something to get high on. This is the gut-punch you've been waiting for. Burdon's pen is setting the world on fire.
Read everything you can by this rare writer. 

Dave Wolff
Editor/Publisher
Asphyxium Magazine
Cerebral Agony Magazine 

https://www.amazon.com/Fingers-Fan-Judge-Santiago-Burdon/dp/1914130766

Tequila's Bad Advice Poetry With The Worm  image
Tequila's Bad Advice Poetry With The Worm
Publisher: Southern Arizona Press Paul Gilliland Editor
March 2023


Judge Santiago Burdon is the best living writer today.
Veronica Falletta

If you spend your dollars on one book of poems, make it Judge Santiago Burdon's brilliant, irreverent, 'Tequila's Bad Advice poetry with the worm' These poems are a shot in the arm and a kick in the ass and will revive your heart and love of exemplary poetry in a sea of swamp drivel. This collection of 'poetry with the worm' is conclusive confirmation that Judge Santiago Burdon is the best living Writer today .
My favorite and welcomed poetry punch in the face is 
Two Dollar Talisman. Black Moon Promise will bleed your heart and you will give thanks.
Tequila's Bad Advice will make you fall in love with the outlaw poet who wrote it and drop a tear for his outrageous and unexpected tenderness. Judge Santiago Burdon is not a poet and this is not poetry. Judge is an absolute rockstar and these pieces of him are his song.
Buy it. It's easily the best collection by a living writer that I have read in years. This is the gut-punch you've been waiting for. And Burdon's pen is setting the world on fire.
Read everything you can by this rare man who is equal parts barbarian and gentle man. You will not be disappointed.
And you might even fall in love with a legend like I did.
(Viva la Santi!)

Veronica Falletta is the recipient of The Stan and Tom Wick Scholarship Award for exceptional work in poetry, Kent State University. She is also a published Author and Poet.

Tequila's Bad Advice Poetry With The Worm
Book Trailer 
Lords of the Afterglow Renegades and Noblemen image
Lords of the Afterglow Renegades and Noblemen
Southern Arizona Press Paul Gilliland Editor 


"Lords Of The Afterglow " is a collection of seventeen bizarre, precarious as well  as comical Bohemian tales of adventurous mayhem. While working as a drug smuggler for a Mexican Cartel, Santiago; a recovering addict, ex-con, womanizer, gambler and ill-fated pilgrim encounters situations of irresistible misfortune.
Adding chaos to these events is his excellmate, loose cannon, drug and alcohol fueled Colombian partner Johnny Rico. It is an expedition into twisted and hilarious states of mind and body. Every story in this collection centers on the working relationship and unique friendship of these 'Dos Chiflados' Two Whacky Guys. Judge Santiago Burdon delivers another collection of razor sharp slices of vivid and lurid lives that are brutal, tragic and painfully funny. 'Lords Of The Afterglow' is a must read.
Jesse James Kennedy is the author of Missouri Homegrown, Tijuana Mean and Black Hills Reckoning.




Overdose of Destiny Impulse Fiction  image


Overdose of Destiny, Judge Santiago Burdon’s fifth book of short fiction, takes us on another wild and crazy ride. Considered to be one of the most influential writers of hard hitting and raw fiction of our time, this 21st Century “Nelson Algren” has shared a book of 20 Impulse Fiction stories that a reader will find hard to put down. Each story recounts a moment in life that creates a person’s character, and Santiago is certainly “a character”. Whether he is addressing young teen hormones or losing one’s virginity to an older woman, drug running or standing lookout for a Payphone Bandit, aiding an injured fruit bat or a Senator’s ex-wife, or sharing tall tales from grizzly bears to big fish, each story will take you on an adventure with the hero winning in the end. 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1960038397?fbclid=IwAR1FR6C8WyQ6sUopXVxoKCjh2pnzPmtZKn1u6DXexPfTIC2VigOLU-rD2i0
Overdose of Destiny 
  •  12/08/2022 05:13 PM

Forward written by: S.L. Fleurimont Editor The Remnant Leaf Journal Tequila's Bad Advice (poetry with the worm ) Judge Santiago Burdon The Remnant Leaf Journal "Judge Santiago Burdon's poetry is a sophisticated slap in the face. The imagery induces you to clear your throat and shift your weight from one side to the other. Santiago doesn't waste his words in an attempt to make you comfortable. As a poet he delivers defined grit and structured devastation. He speaks in the language of gasoline fumes and stale cigarette smoke. Always honest and fearless, never apologizing. Know that I am a fan." S.L. Fleurimont Editor The Remnant Leaf Journal

Read More
1 min read
  •  10/07/2022 06:33 PM

Read More
1 min read
  •  09/01/2020 01:21 AM

Read More
1 min read
  •  08/21/2020 02:02 AM

Read More
1 min read
  •  07/02/2020 09:35 PM

Read More
1 min read
  •  02/24/2020 09:45 PM

Read More
1 min read
  •  11/01/2019 02:04 AM

Read More
1 min read
  •  07/25/2019 01:59 AM

Read More
1 min read
  •  07/20/2019 06:23 AM

Read More
1 min read
  •  07/10/2019 10:50 PM

Read More
1 min read
  •  07/10/2019 04:35 PM

Read More
1 min read
  • San José, Province of San Jose, Costa Rica
I BUILT MY SITE FOR FREE USING