General Hospital Star Michael Easton Re-Releases ’18 Straight Whiskeys’

There’s far more to Michael Easton than playing Dr. Hamilton Finn — and a handful of other characters on General Hospital and ABC soaps. The talented actor is also a filmmaker, graphic novel writer, and poet.

Michael Easton: Poet

In 1997, he released a book of poetry titled 18 Straight Whiskeys. He recently revealed that he has written an updated version of his book of poems, which was released in 2018 and contains an additional 30 new poems.

“The publisher came to me and said, ‘Hey, it’s the 20th anniversary. Would you like to add some new poems to it?’” Easton told TV Insider. “I thought that was interesting. I hadn’t written poetry in a long time. I took about 8 or 9 months and I wrote down 30 new poems and put them in a book. They tell the story of this person from 20 years ago and who he is today.

Decades Of Change

“It’s been a strange journey. I look back at the poems I wrote in 2011. In the course of a month, I had both lost my father and also became a father. I wrote a few poems to my children. I never would have imagined doing that 20 years ago.”

Easton entertained the idea of going back to his original works and tweaking them. The publisher, however, preferred that the pieces remain in the same form in which they were first presented. “I wanted to go back and edit some of the poems and they said, ‘No, you can’t do that.’ So, they remain as they were from 30 years ago.”

Famed book cover designer Chip Kidd (The Golden Age of DC Comics: 365 Days) designed the cover for Easton’s poetry book. “We were really lucky [to get him],” the actor says.

Easton’s other literary works include the books Soul Stealer and Credence. You can check out the actor’s website for ordering information. General Hospital airs weekdays on ABC. Check local listings for air times.