life from joining the Marines in 1969 to becoming a professional publisher is told with his innate gift for

description that captures the personalities and quirks of his colleagues and the literary luminaries that

he happens to meet. For Pearn, becoming a poet was an ongoing series of adventures that took place

from Illinois to Colorado and from Mexico to China, where he taught English. The narrative is peppered

with poetry samples and musings on the natural world, academia, and spirituality.

Sports fans will appreciate Pearn's tales of the 1969 Wyoming Cowboys football team and the 1957

season of the high-school basketball team, the Ashland (Illinois) Panthers. Book buffs will enjoy his take

on reading and the great works of literature. Film buffs will relish his adventure as an extra in a

Hollywood movie. Service members will be entertained by his stories of life in the Marines. Whatever

life offered him, Victor Pearn keeps swinging away to make sure he comes out on top-and manages to

put it into a poet's perspective.