“Austin LaGrone has written a first book of exceptional singularity, wholeness, and focus of vision. He can be playful and tragic. His poems are deadly serious, even when they are funny, and he is unafraid of being understood. He is also unafraid of making fun of himself (or his persona) because he understands he is part of the great human joyful mess. He sings from right in the middle of it, he praises, he satirizes, his heart is broken yet he, his poems, still have hope.” Thomas LuxAustin LaGrone was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. His poems have appeared in Black Warrior Review, Brilliant Corners, Fourteen Hills, Hayden's Ferry Review, Many Mountains Moving, Spoon River Poetry Review and New York Quarterly. He holds degrees from St. John's College and New York University and teaches at John Jay College in Manhattan.