Curation #15 from my Kerouac bookshelf: Life Lines by Charles James

Item #15 in my Kerouac bookshelf curation project is the poetry book, Life Lines, by Charles James. This 2009 book published by BookSurge (now CreateSpace) won first place in the poetry category of the 18th Annual Writer's Digest Self-Published Book Awards (2010).

For truth-in-advertising's sake, I must point out that I edited and published this book, as well as wrote the Foreword. Charlie, as I call him, is a good friend. Regardless of my bias, he is a poetry powerhouse and deserves a wide audience. The provenance of this particular copy is that it is inscribed to my partner, Crystal, who cleaned up the calligraphy for the cover and suffered through my editing and publishing process. If memory serves, she may have done some typing as well.

On a side note, Charlie is famous for winning a free speech court case back in 1974 -- see https://www.leagle.com/decision/1974594385fsupp2091574 -- regarding his wearing a black arm band to school while teaching in Addison, NY, to protest the Vietnam War. Charlie's case is the subject of a chapter in Richard Harris' 1978 book, Freedom Spent (see link below).

Here is one of my favorite pictures of Charlie, taken in September 2010 on our deck in Belgrade Lakes when he visited us in Maine. As you can see, he is a character.

Charlie James communicating his opinion about the Internet

I've put a link below from which you can buy Charlie's book. If you are a poetry fan, you won't be sorry, and he would appreciate your support.





Below is a picture of the top shelf of my Kerouac bookshelf showing the placement of Life Lines (11th item in the pile) on the day I started curating my collection. Next up: The Last Time I Committed Suicide (DVD).

The top of my Kerouac bookshelf