In The Thick of Thin, Larry Smith writes of a life full of personal challenges, a life full of consistent engagement with the larger world, and a life full of commitment to making it a better place--as a husband, father, writer, editor. Smith has worn a lot of hats, and he's worn them well. His story here has the emotional resonance of all of his writing. Much of his life's work has been focused on making the point that working-class lives like his in communities like his are important to our culture and history, and he makes that point more strongly than ever in telling of his own in this memoir. --Jim Daniels, author of Street Caligraphy
Larry Smith's strikingly lucid and complete memoir has a deep and strong focus upon bringing forward the experience of Midwest Ohioan milltown working-class life. The range and volume of Smith's work, from poetry to fiction to memoir--and including his tremendous contributions through his Bottom Dog Press--is simply stunning. His writing moves with great energy, directness, honesty, clarity, and empathy--which, for Smith, "opens creativity." This empathy touches upon family, townspeople and others, but also upon nature, in the sense of experiencing the oneness of self and place. --Ingrid Swanberg