About the author
This book of poetry is the work of a lifetime, Max's lifetime. Now 74 years old, Max started writing poetry when he was ten years old. His only goals in writing poetry were to explore his emotions and "have fun." These two goals are his hope for you, the reader, to get in touch with your thoughts and feelings, and, also, to have fun.
Born in Deming, New Mexico, in 1946, Max and his family moved to El Paso, Texas, when he was four. His father found work on Ft. Bliss as a plumber. Max grew up with his older sister, Mary Jean and his younger brother, Guadalupe, or "Lupe." He attended a Catholic elementary school where reading did not come easily to him. He discovered later that he was dyslexic.
His father died when he was nine years old; initially, his poetry was dark. He was fascinated with Edgar Allen Poe, not the subject so much, but how it flowed. As he grew older, he studied the naturalist Henry David Thoreau.
Max graduated from Burgess High School in May 1966. He joined the U.S. Air Force from 1966 to 1970, and earned the rank of Sergeant. After having served in Vietnam, he returned to the states and graduated from the University of Texas at El Paso with a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice. While employed in a number of jobs, because of his PTSD, he continued to work on his poetry. Max currently lives in El Paso, Texas. (email: makiereade4@gmail.com)
Max feels poetry lives closely to music, song writing, theater, and literature. He was very fortunate to have been introduced to Grace Otto, an emerging new artist, literally on the scene. The book cover and pages of his poetry are illustrated by Grace Otto with her visual impressions of his writing. Both the poetry and the art are fun to see, read, reflect on and enjoy.