Description: Explore with Ronald Pelias the physical space between people, and learn the metaphorical importance of leaning, in this personal, performative narrative about relationships.
Review Quotes:
"Reading Ron Pelias's autoethnographic poems, stories, and essays, I feel as though I have been invited to sit down on a comfortable couch, by a crackling fire, wine in hand, with a good friend. Ron takes me into his confidences as he tells about his life and relationships, those he's been in as well as those he has observed. I become aware of presence and absence. I feel the touch of a hand, see a side glance, hear a word spoken, or not, the silences both calming and deadly. I lean in, listen, sense, and tell back my stories. You too will recognize yourself in Ron's stories and poems as you confront the power of languaging, the complexities of communicating, the expectations of masculinity, the care and danger in holding and letting go of friends, lovers, and family members. You will feel connected, held, leaned into, as though Ron is writing to and about you--your passions, frustrations, victories in relating; to and about you--disappointing others, getting along, leaning in, and trying to learn how to love and accept the love of others."
- Carolyn Ellis, University of South Florida