teddy merino reads *the city the earth the heart a happening*

teddy marino (yes, all lowercase, he tells us) got his start as a poet while studying History at UW, Madison, and working at a daycare. He wrote about politics, the apocalypse, and sex. After graduating, he lived a year in Puebla, Mexico, where he taught English, volunteered for a labor rights organization, and lived in a Franciscan orphanage.

In August of 2007 he moved to his native city of four generations. He found an Americorps job, working at an elementary school on the border of Garfield and Humboldt Park. He continues to work there as a teaching assistant and bicycle program manager. He writes about his (and the schools) neighborhood, about the city, people, and children.

His first book, *the city the earth the heart a happening* is mostly about Chicago, with a little bit of Puebla, a couple poems from the East Coast, and a handful of love poems.  And this is what he tells us about it:

“I want to celebrate before suffering the interminable winters of publishing companies whose bodily gases smell too much like roses for me. Broiler Plate: Italian sausage, Polish sausage, matzah balls, beef tacos, fried plantain, collared greens, and a barbecue seitan sandwich.  Broiler Plate: Looking for cultural nourishment of an unsung Chicago poet? Welcome to the party.”