Tom Waits's poem for the homeless

by Adam SweetingTuesday, 18 January 2011

Tom Waits is releasing his poem, Seeds on Hard Ground, in a limited-edition "chap book" format (a chap book being a pocket-sized booklet popular in the 17th and 18th centuries). It will be available exclusively through his website in a collaboration with ANTI- Records, with the aim of raising funds for homeless services in his region of northern California and bringing attention to a growing homelessness problem in today's difficult economic circumstances. The poem is available to read in its entirety here.

The poem is described as "a long lyrical ballad in the voices of those who walked, fell or were pushed to the margins of society". Both Waits and ANTI- Records are donating all proceeds of the poem, available in two limited editions of 1,000 copies each in North America and Europe, to Redwood Food Bank, Sonoma County's Homeless Referral Services, and the Family Support Center operated by Catholic Charities.

Orders can be placed now for the 22 February and 28 February releases on Waits's website.

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