I think readers always have the "where did you get your idea" question running through their minds when they're reading a book. But, really man, how do you come up with financial poetry? Then how do you turn financial poetry into a book about a suburban dad who decides after endless economic hits to become a drug dealer with some dudes he meets outside 7-11 while picking up milk for his kids breakfast.
I was explaining "The Financial Lives of the Poets" to my husband last night when I finished it and had to say "I know it sounds nuts but it's a great book". How can you not love a story about a newspaper business reporter who quits his job to launch a financial poetry website (WT....) only to find out the idea won't fly (really??) then gets stuck in the endless whirlpool of today's economic crisis? Then while trying to figure out a way to save his house and his way of life, becomes a drug dealer. This story never went where I thought it was going and I loved every minute of it. It made me laugh and think and there's not much more you can ask for in a book.
The copy I have happens to be a PS edition which has extras at the end of the book including the incident that inspired to story. More and more books I'm getting are the PS editions and I have to say I love them. I really like being involved in what went into creating art. I love good dedications and acknowledgments too. I love feeling like I'm in the know of what goes on behind the pages of books I love. I hope more and more publishers come out with these editions. As for Jess Walter, I think I'll be checking out his other works and if he ever does decide to start up a financial poetry website I may just have to check it out.
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