If & When We Wake - Tapa blanda

What happens when you pair a poet and a thriving singer-songwriter together? You get the marriage of intellect, artistry and a damn good book in your hands."If & When We Wake" is the product of winters and springs. It has been buried under snowpack, thawed, cultivated, scorched by the sun, and buried yet again. The result is a book of poetry and art that shines light on the desperation, helplessness, and loss that everyone feels, and tries to find the beauty of acceptance and growth. It examines the necessity of finding meaning in life after experiencing death.This collection is an attempt to crack back through the ice and rip out a life that emits a light and a heat. It is the woods. It is the grass poking up between toes and tiny bits of soil underneath fingernails. It is alive, and it will sprout and grow.“Beautiful thoughts from a quiet head” – Atlantic Records“A gorgeous, thoughtful book” – Whiskey and ArmchairsIn this updated second edition of IF & WHEN WE WAKE, Francis Daulerio pens a heartfelt introduction honoring the late artist and musician, Scott Hutchison. In honor of Scott, Unsolicited Press is donating 10% of sales to The Scott Hutchison Foundation.

Francis Daulerio was born in a small Pennsylvania suburb in 1986, and has led a fairly quiet life. A music fanatic, his decade of experience as a singer and songwriter brought him to poetry where he found himself captivated by the writings of Brautigan, Kerouac, and Niedecker. His record collection is as diverse as his book collection, and all have been equally influential in his development as a writer. After graduating from West Chester University with a degree in English and Secondary Education, Francis married his high school sweetheart and began teaching English in a Chester County high school. He later enrolled at Arcadia University where he received an MFA in Creative Writing with a concentration in poetry. Working under the instruction of poets Dorian Geisler and Genevieve Betts, Francis practiced the art of distillation and simplicity with the goal of creating small, heavily-layered poems that held powerful meaning in a few short breaths. His writing represents the desire to fall backwards into nature and focuses on tangible, real-world experiences, both beautiful and devastating, and how those experiences inform each aspect of life. Francis currently teaches English and Creative Writing in Chester County, PA. He lives in the woods with his wife, dog, cat, and a small herd of deer. He spends any free time outside and is a sucker for a good single malt.