{"title":"David Starkey","description":"\u003cp\u003eDavid Starkey served as Santa Barbara’s 2009–2011 Poet Laureate. He is Founding Director of the Creative Writing Program at Santa Barbara City College, Co-editor of the California Review of Books, and the Publisher and Co-editor of Gunpowder Press. Over the past thirty-five years, he has published eleven full-length collections of poetry with small presses—most recently Dance, You Monster, to My Soft Song and What Just Happened: 210 Haiku Against the Trump Presidency —and more than 500 poems in literary journals such as American Scholar, Georgia Review, Prairie Schooner, and Southern Review. His textbook, Creative Writing: Four Genres in Brief (Bedford\/St. Martin’s), is in its fourth edition. He is also the author of two composition textbooks: Hello, Writer: An Academic Writing Guide (Bedford\/St. Martin’s) and Academic Writing Now: A Brief Guide for Busy Students (Broadview). Starkey is also a writer of fiction and creative nonfiction (published in American Literary Review, in Cimarron Review, in Living Blue in the Red States, and elsewhere), and a playwright whose plays have been produced across the United States (davidstarkey.net).\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDavid Starkey’s books are published by Keylight Books, an imprint of Turner Publishing.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBrowse more: \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/books-new-releases\"\u003eNew Releases\u003c\/a\u003e · \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/award-winning-books\"\u003eAward-Winning Books\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"poor-ghost","title":"Poor Ghost","description":"\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eThe Next Great Rock and Roll Novel\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eOn a September afternoon in Santa Barbara, a private jet carrying the members of Poor Ghost—one of America’s most storied rock bands—plunges into the backyard of Caleb Crane, a retired insurance salesman. Still mourning his wife’s death from Covid, Caleb finds himself navigating trauma, grief, and loss, all while his quiet neighborhood is invaded by pushy reporters and rabid Poor Ghost fans.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eFor fans of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eDaisy Jones \u0026amp; the Six \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eand its fictional documentary structure\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\" data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e, \u003cem\u003ePoor Ghost\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e moves back and forth between the impact of the plane crash on Caleb’s life and an oral history of Poor Ghost—from its beginnings as a working-class punk band to rock icons. As the twisting and turning strands of the plot converge, readers are shown what happens when different worlds (literally) collide with one another, and how we view, negotiate, argue with, and aid those who are unlike us.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- amazon-buylink --\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003csmall\u003eWe earn a commission for purchases made through the following links.\u003c\/small\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/1684429730\/ref=nosim?tag=tpcecomm-20\" rel=\"sponsored nofollow\"\u003eshop for this title at Amazon\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c!-- \/amazon-buylink --\u003e\u003c!-- bookshop-buylink --\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/book\/9781684429738\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003eshop for this title at Bookshop.org\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c!-- \/bookshop-buylink --\u003e","brand":"David Starkey","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":43965775872216,"sku":"9781684429721","price":30.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43965775937752,"sku":"9781684429738","price":13.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0563\/7786\/8475\/files\/ScreenShot2024-01-10at2-35-54PM_mockup_v2_1704919029_e3ada45a-b4bd-47f0-8deb-8029094a83d0.jpg?v=1791073158"},{"product_id":"the-ballad-of-poor-ghost","title":"The Ballad of Poor Ghost","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSpecial offer, available only with preorders! Preorder \u003cem\u003ePoor Ghost\u003c\/em\u003e and get \u003cem\u003eThe Ballad of Poor Ghost\u003c\/em\u003e free!\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eOriginal Song by Falstaff Riley\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith the purchase of David Starkey's \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/turnerpublishing.com\/products\/poor-ghost?_pos=1\u0026amp;_psq=poor+ghost\u0026amp;_ss=e\u0026amp;_v=1.0\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"\u003e\u003cem\u003ePoor Ghost\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e, you can receive \u003cem\u003eThe Ballad\u003c\/em\u003e \u003cem\u003eof Poor Ghost\u003c\/em\u003e for free! Written and recorded by David Starkey's band, Falstaff Riley, this song is a great companion piece for the rock and roll novel, \u003cem\u003ePoor Ghost\u003c\/em\u003e. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"David Starkey","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44499318931672,"sku":"","price":2.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0563\/7786\/8475\/files\/TheBalladof_mockup_v2_1709752623_97bf9ae3-1a1d-431a-b443-190ae8828231.jpg?v=1791077277"},{"product_id":"the-fairley-brothers-in-japan","title":"The Fairley Brothers in Japan","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFrom the author of\u003cem\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ePoor Ghost\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003ecomes a poignant road trip novel following two middle-aged brothers, Chris and Andy Fairley, as they attempt an unlikely musical comeback in Japan.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eChris and Andy Fairley couldn’t be more opposite—Chris, an uptight, ever-pessimist and Andy, a go-with-the-flow hopeful. Their glory days seemed long behind them since their moderate success as a folk-rock duo and their relationship with each other fizzled out in the mid-1980s. But when their hit song is unexpectedly chosen for a Japanese car commercial, the men are given one last shot to revive their fame and friendship.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThey embark on a tour across Japan, but soon find their venues are far from glamorous venues: a wedding reception where they're asked to play their hit on repeat, a flower farm gift shop, a windy sculpture park, and a restaurant where customers catch their own fish. As tensions between the brothers rise and a strange reporter begins following them all around the country, the men aren’t sure if the band or their relationship will survive. With echoes of Andrew Sean Greer’s\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eLess\u003c\/em\u003e,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Fairley Brothers in Japan\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003eis a gently comic exploration of aging, family, and belonging. It’s a tale of two brothers, not just hitting the road, but rediscovering themselves along the way.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"Starkey deftly balances nostalgia, humor, and heartbreak throughout, providing authentic-seeming details about touring Japan while presenting a realistic story of two brothers coming to a better mutual understanding with age. A wise and smartly told story of reunion.\" \u003c\/em\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Kirkus\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"David Starkey has written a lyrical novel of brotherly love—the deep places of the heart brothers Chris and Andy struggle with; the memories, power, and grief of family; what music meant before and what it means now; how they try to discover a place to stand. A place to belong. The conflicts, silences, secrets, pain, and reconciliation at the center of this complex story are engrossing because Starkey’s writing is graced with a compassionate clarity in bringing each brother to life through their changing and hard-fought harmony. Read this novel. Stand in its wondrous circle of storytelling and music and life. Experience the harmonious music of Starkey’s wonderful writing.\" \u003cstrong\u003e—Fred Arroyo, author of Sown in Earth: Essays of Memory and Belonging\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"UTF-8\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"If you love the spirit of live music, the comeback, and family finding their way, you will love this book. David Starkey is a gifted, natural storyteller with a poet’s attention to detail and hope. This book is captivating and thoroughly delightful.\" \u003cstrong\u003e—Lee Herrick, California Poet Laureate, author of In Praise of Late Wonder\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\"I love a good road trip novel and The Fairley Brothers in Japan is just that: an endearing story of two brothers’ journey to reignite their youth, with an evocative musical backdrop. It’s a gentle, compelling ride which drew me into their relationship and the Japanese culture. The sort of novel which stays with you for days after you finish it.\" \u003cstrong\u003e—Ivan Wainewright, author of The Other Times of Caroline Tangent\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c!-- amazon-buylink --\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003csmall\u003eWe earn a commission for purchases made through the following links.\u003c\/small\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/dp\/B0DT8V3J5G\/ref=nosim?tag=tpcecomm-20\" rel=\"sponsored nofollow\"\u003eshop for this title at Amazon\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c!-- \/amazon-buylink --\u003e\u003c!-- bookshop-buylink --\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/bookshop.org\/book\/9798887980669\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003eshop for this title at Bookshop.org\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c!-- \/bookshop-buylink --\u003e","brand":"David Starkey","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":50094001488088,"sku":"9798887980652","price":30.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":50094001520856,"sku":"9798887980669","price":15.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0563\/7786\/8475\/files\/FairleyBrothersinJapan_FinalCover_mockup_v2_1738692705_685279bf-42e7-48fc-ba13-9762f682aa4f.jpg?v=1791079808"}],"url":"https:\/\/turnerpublishing.com\/collections\/author-david-starkey.oembed","provider":"Turner Publishing","version":"1.0","type":"link"}