Carnegie Mellon University Press
Softcover
Pages: 184
Size: 6” x 9”
Published: August 2012
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Beginning in poverty and a broken home, Wesley McNair went on, through family hardships and setbacks, to become what poet Philip Levine has called “one of the great storytellers of contemporary poetry.” This memoir tells how he developed into a poet against the odds, incorporating his struggles into his art.

Critical Praise

“Readers...will root for the author as a young persona... [The book’s] denouement is stunning...”
—Kirkus Reviews

“Recommended to memoir connoisseurs and lovers of contemporary poetry alike; the unflinching candor sets this one apart.”
—Library Journal

“A standout.”
—Concord Monitor

A “spellbinding tale....deeply evocative...fascinating.”
—Maine Sunday Telegram

Advance Praise

 “A superb memoir... This is a story about hope, how when it is necessary to survive...truth and beauty can not only survive, but thrive. With nobility and grace, Powerfully.”
—Philip Schultz, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Failure