blistered asphalt on dixie highway by Ron Whitehead

Ron Whitehead‘s book is an accessible, soulful, gritty handbook-exposé of hoops fanaticism. His poems capture the glory, humor, and pain that comes with being a fan. But as Whitehead roots for his team, the reader roots for the poet, the family man, the dreamer, the perpetual child who never loses hope, and always keeps his eye on the ball and his head in the game. It’s an important, fun read that brings you straight into the heart of basketball. The heart of Kentucky. The heart of America.

–Frank Messina

Poet Laureate of the New York Mets

“Of all America’s living poets—and I mean all of them, even the academic lauded boring ones—Ron Whitehead has the STRONGEST most PERSISTENT most POWERFUL VOICE of them all. You can hear his voice in every line, every word, every basket. It is the voice of Blake and the voice of Yeats; it is the voice of Kerouac and the voice of Ginsberg. It is the rolling thunder of Bob Dylan. It is the voice of the crowd at the game and the voice of the athlete in pain and victory and playing ball with your brother in the snow. It is the voice of the poet as athlete and the athlete as poet.”

–Dr. John Rocco