Harper Paperbacks Work Shirts for Madmen

Renegade artist Harp Spillman is lower than a bow-legged fire ant. Because of an unhealthy relationship with the bottle, he's ruined his reputation as one of the South's preeminent commissioned metal sculptors. And his desperate turn to ice sculpting nearly led to a posse of angry politicians on his trail. With the help of his levelheaded and practical potter wife, Raylou, Harp understands that it's time to return to the mig welder. Yes, it's time to prove that he can complete a series of twelve-foot-high metal angels--welded completely out of hex nuts--for the city of Birmingham. Is it pure chance that the Elbow Boys, their arms voluntarily fused so they can't drink, show up in order to help Harp out in a variety of ways? And why did his neighbor smuggle anteaters into desolate Ember Glow? Is it true that there's no free will? Review PRAISE FOR WORK SHIRTS FOR MADMEN If there is a fiction genre blending the riotous, bleary-eyed excess and absurdity of gonzo journalism with the rather earnest sensitivity of a John Irving hero--who always does right by his wife in the end-- Work Shirts belongs to it . . . it's a fun read . . . an adventure to be undertaken. --Newsweek PRAISE FOR GEORGE SINGLETON George Singleton writes about the rural South without sentimentality or stereotype but with plenty of sharp-witted humor . . . A raconteur of trends, counter-trends, obsessions and odd characters.--NPR Morning Edition --No Source From the Inside Flap Renegade artist Harp Spillman is lower than a bow-legged fire ant. Because of an unhealthy relationship with the bottle, he s ruined his reputation as one of the South s preeminent commissioned metal sculptors. And his desperate turn to ice sculpting might ve led to a posse of angry politicians on his trail. With the help of his sane and practical potter wife, Raylou, Harp understands that it s time to return to the mig welder. Yes, it s time to prove that he can complete a series of twelve-foot-high metal angels welded completely out of hex nuts for the city of Birmingham. Is it pure chance that the Elbow Boys, their arms voluntarily fused so they can t drink, show up in order to help Harp out in a variety of ways? And why did his neighbor smuggle anteaters into desolate Ember Glow? Is it true that there s no free will?" From the Back Cover PRAISE FOR WORK SHIRTS FOR MADMEN "Smackover funny and rare, many of Singleton's laughs come from deep wit and not easy southern eccentricities and the rough-screeching Skoal crowd."--Barry Hannah, author of Yonder Stands Your Orphan "George Singleton writes like a irreverent genius with his finger on the pulse of an American culture gone as absurd as the price you recently paid a dermatologist. But if you happen to be a physician, or therapist, better skip this one . . . or if you wear one of those little American flags in your lapel, better skip this one, et cetera. But if you want a short-time, sentence-by-sentence, explosive pleasure, or a long-time pleasure brought by a story with a beating pulse that you can live inside of for awhile, and remember forever, then take this on over to the cash register."--Clyde Edgerton, author of Lunch at the Piccadilly PRAISE FOR GEORGE SINGLETON "George Singleton writes about the rural South without sentimentality or stereotype but with plenty of sharp-witted humor.... A raconteur of trends, counter-trends, obsessions and odd characters." --Morning Edition, NPR "Singleton is an ace at locating the pathos beneath the deadpan laughs."-- USA Today" About the Author GEORGE SINGLETON lives in Pickens County, South Carolina, with ceramicist Glenda Guion and their mixture of strays. More than a hundred of his stories have been published nationally in magazines and anthologies. He teaches writing at the South Carolina Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities.