Cultural Writing. Autobiographical Essays. These touching and intimate
essays reveal the integrity of Hayden Carruth -- one of the most
solitary, esteemed, and controversial poets of this century. Despite his
wide erudition, he has lived largely outside academia. These essays
chronicle a lifetime of wrestling with his personal demons and muses;
time spent hospitalized for severe chronic depression; a passionate love
of jazz and blues; his suicide attempt; and most of all, his uncommon,
unflinching honesty.