The Inconclusive Rule

Books of poetry usually come without a note or preface. I beg an exception for this one. Whether my reasons persuade, I leave to you.

The Laughing Heart—Revised

This is a story of epic ambition—literally. It is one of an ambiguous and contestable heroism, of guilt, of stigma, of resilience, of mental illness, and of baseball. There’s music and murder, sanity, sainthood, and sickness. There is love within and across generations, and there is loss and grief. There’s hatred, crime, and revenge. There is baseball, the violin, philosophy, natural and hard-earned talents, mentored and mentor.