Danger, Man Working: Writing from the Heart, the Gut, and the Poison Ivy Patch - Softcover

Perry, Michael

  • 3.75 out of 5 stars
    152 ratings by Goodreads
 
9780870208409: Danger, Man Working: Writing from the Heart, the Gut, and the Poison Ivy Patch
Softcover
ISBN 10: 0870208403 ISBN 13: 9780870208409
Publisher: Wisconsin Historical Society Press, 2017

Synopsis

"Every writer has advice for aspiring writers. Mine is predicated on formative years spent cleaning my father’s calf pens: Just keep shoveling until you’ve got a pile so big, someone has to notice. The fact that I cast my life’s work as slung manure simply proves that I recognize an apt metaphor when I accidentally stick it with a pitchfork. . . . Poetry was my first love, my gateway drug—still the poets are my favorites—but I quickly realized I lacked the chops or insights to survive on verse alone. But I wanted to write. Every day. And so I read everything I could about freelancing, and started shoveling." 

The pieces gathered within this book draw on fifteen years of what Michael Perry calls "shovel time"—a writer going to work as the work is offered. The range of subjects is wide, from musky fishing, puking, and mountain-climbing Iraq War veterans to the frozen head of Ted Williams. Some assignments lead to self-examination of an alarming magnitude (as Perry notes, "It quickly becomes obvious that I am a self-absorbed hypochondriac forever resolving to do better nutritionally and fitness-wise but my follow-through is laughable.") But his favorites are those that allow him to turn the lens outward: "My greatest privilege," he says, "lies not in telling my own story; it lies in being trusted to tell the story of another."

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

About the Author

Michael Perryis the New York Times bestselling author of numerous books including Population: 485 (recently adapted for the stage), Truck: A Love Story, and The Jesus Cow. His live humor recordings include Never Stand Behind a Sneezing Cow and The Clodhopper Monologues.  He has recorded three albums with his band, the Long Beds. His live humor recordings include Never Stand Behind a Sneezing Cow and The Clodhopper Monologues. He can be found online at www.sneezingcow.com.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Publisher
Wisconsin Historical Society Press
Publication date
2017
Language
English
ISBN 10 
0870208403
ISBN 13 
9780870208409
Binding
Paperback
Edition number
1
Number of pages
240
Rating
  • 3.75 out of 5 stars
    152 ratings by Goodreads