"With admirable honesty and empathy, Thomas Hallock's essays and poems guide us on what is revealed as a necessary search for contentment--its languages, philosophies, and made kinships. And we travel with him on a sometimes-rocky path, but one that is always loving, always tender." - Honorée Fanonne Jeffers, author of THE LOVE SONGS OF W.E.B. DU BOIS

Local author, professor, and friend of the bookstore Dr. Thomas Hallock's HAPPY NEIGHBORHOOD explores through poetry and prose the cultivation of contented place.

Join us at the bookstore for a celebration of this georgous collection!

This evening of poetry and community will be hosted by Creative Loafing's Ray Roa and will feature incredible local poets Gregory Byrd, Gianmarc Manzione, Anda Peterson, Miesha Brundridge, JoEllen Schilke, & Denzel Johnson-Green!

Big Storm Brewing will also be providing their Tasty Tangerine IPA, Hoppy Neighborhood!

Let us know we will see you there! Please RSVP at the link provided!

HAPPY NEIGHBORHOOD candidly confronts the challenges the author has faced as a father, spouse, and son. Hallock grapples with finding peace in Florida, his adopted home state and not where he ever chose to live. In becoming a father, he must unpack painful emotions that he still carries, and not pass onto his own child. And as a writer, he wrestles with artistic self-indulgence and the need for poetry that can accomplish honest emotional work.

Thomas Hallock is professor of English at the University of South Florida's St. Petersburg campus. His publications include A ROAD COURSE IN AMERICAN LITERATURE; FROM THE FALLEN TREE; and WILLIAM BARTRAM, THE SEARCH FOR NATURE'S DESIGN.