An anthology of Northern California Poetry by Neeli Cherkovski, Bradley Mason Hamlin, Gerald Nicosia & A.D. Winans. "When I was young and down and out and wrote from pain and anger from my one room apartment on the fringe area of high crime I was told by people of affluence who enjoyed the company of writers that it was good for me to be hungry that this is what good writers are made of that someday I'd look back on those days with fondness"— A. D. Winans, from "Down and Out." "these hands wait, but love cannot not like a fountain pen with an eighteen carat nib waiting in a shop window, alone"— Neeli Cherkovski, from "Gran Hotel Cosmos."
Neeli Cherkovski (born Nelson Innis Cherry) grew up in Los Angeles, California and moved to San Francisco in 1974, where he was a member of the vibrant North Beach literary community. He has lived with Jesse Cabrera since 1983. Cherkovski has published many books and his work has been translated into many languages. His papers are archived at the Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. He is a recipient of an American Book Award, a Josephine Miles National Literary Award, and is a San Francisco Public Library Literary Laureate. A Greek translation of Cherkovski's selected poems will be published in 2024 and his book of portrait poems will be published by City Lights Books in 2025. He is currently working on a memoir of his life, as well as a collection of literary essays.