EAST LIVERPOOL -- At the Brown Room of the Mary Patterson building thursday night, Craig Paulenich delivered the first-ever reading of the "bones" from his latest book, Blood Will Tell.
He writes verses about his blue-collar upringing in Western Pennsylvania by a hard-working slovakian family and steel mill life. He has taken the grim reality that a lot of men can't wait to punch out of and made a room full of people rapt to listen to the stories in the heavy, rough-throated cadence.
As he told the audience about his father's 52 years of steel mill, he said, "Here's one for my dad" and described the theme of the works as "a blurring of my father [The Old Man] and myth.""Scabs weren't well recieved at my house," Paulenich said, as he introduced his next poem, swigging from his beer. Later, he said, "Most of this is far too true."
Someone in the audience asked him about his writing process and discipline, and he replied simply, "My discipline sucks," but added that sometimes he tries to set goals to make himself get a poem done. "I just th
row words on the page, beat 'em up some and kick 'em around."
row words on the page, beat 'em up some and kick 'em around."Copies of Blood Will Tell were sold for slightly less than the $18 Amazon.com retail price, and the author was signing. Fans who missed the event also missed the special.
(Photos from top: Craig Paulenich performing; Paulenich and his wife, Carla; Professor Karen Boyle and Paulenich talk shop; Paulenich and Kelly "Kam" Hayes whose art was displayed)
