"MAMA: a poet's heart in a Kentucky girl" is an outstanding new collection of poetry and interviews by famed Kentucky poet Ron Whitehead and his mother, Greta Render Whitehead. Take a stroll through time and visit life in rural western Kentucky during the 1937 flood, World War II and the Korean War. This 224 page collection is filled with stories of faith, making do in hard times, surviving grief and loss, cutting tobacco and raising livestock on the farm, childhood adventures and--most importantly-- human strength and frailty. Ron and Greta Render Whitehead spin tales of joy, hope and love that warm hearts across the globe. "Ron and Greta Whitehead have created a soulful, folksy and important masterpiece. The book brings us closer to Kentucky, closer to family, closer to humanity."-Frank Messina, author, actor, and the New York Mets Poet Laureate "A lovely homage not only to Ron Whitehead's beloved mother Greta Render Whitehead but to all their kin, the poems and stories in MAMA will make you laugh and weep and wonder. These are the tales of ordinary people, told by a mother and son who see the world in a most extraordinary way."-Bobbi Buchanan, poet, professor, publisher of NEW SOUTHERNER "Ron Whitehead continues his legacy. With humor, tears, and an abundance of love, he has written a lasting tribute to a remarkable woman, MAMA."-Nancy Bruner Wilson, poet, author"MAMA is a beautiful and entertaining collaboration between Mother and Son. It is not only their story but a true life story of a place and time in Kentucky."-Michael Dean Odin Pollock, legendary Iceland musician "Ron Whitehead knows how to weave bridges between generations, art forms, countries and actions through the relentless energy of his words. This is by far the strongest bridge he has created for it is co-created with his Mama, and his Mama is no ordinary woman."-Birgitta Jónsdóttir, Poetician, activist & a member of the Icelandic Parliament for the Pirate Party, Chairperson of the International Modern Media Institution "Ron Whitehead remains one of the great lyric poets of our time and his precious Kentucky roots which fill our hearts now fill the pages of this latest collection of new poetry. He brings us into his home where the voice of his mother joins him as a guide for us all to rejoice in the simple beauty that surrounds us all when we learn to pay attention. Any and every page of this memorable book warms the heart and brings some desperately needed Southern comfort to all who read it."-David Amram, legendary composer and musician"Ron Whitehead is a poetic dynamo whose work is to be reckoned with on a global level. His latest book is about the woman who birthed him and set loose that wonderful, wild, gentle, explosive stick of dynamite poet we've come to know and love. Yes, he's pure Kentucky. But stick him any place in the world and he fits in like the wind right before a much needed thunder storm."-Lee Pennington, former Kentucky Poet Laureate"God used a golden wagon to bring the prophet Elijah to heaven. For a while it has seemed to me that he used the same wagon to send us Ron Whitehead but what do you know, here is a book that proves he came into this world from a Mother's womb. Ron Whitehead has written another masterpiece."-Ólafur Gunnarsson, Iceland's leading novelist
About the Author: Poet, writer, editor, publisher, scholar, activist Ron Whitehead is the author of 30 books and 40 cds. He has performed thousands of shows, with musicians and bands, round the world. He has produced over 3,000 poetry & music events, festivals, and non-stop 24 & 48 & 72 & 90 hour Insomniacathons throughout Europe and the USA. He has published over 2,000 titles including works by Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs, Neal Cassady, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Gregory Corso, Herbert Huncke, David Amram, Diane di Prima, Amiri Baraka, Ed Sanders, Anne Waldman, Hunter S. Thompson, Andy Warhol, Yoko Ono, Jim Carroll, Bono, Robert Hunter, Lee Ranaldo, Frank Messina, Birgitta Jonsdottir, Douglas Brinkley, E. Ethelbert Miller, Michael Dean Odin Pollock, Jan Kerouac, John Updike, Rita Dove, Eithne Strong, Theo Dorgan, President Jimmy Carter, Seamus Heaney, Thomas Merton, Robert Lax, Edvard Munch, Knut Hamsun, Jean Genet, James Laughlin, Brother Patrick Hart, Wendell Berry, His Holiness The Dalai Lama and many others. He wrote the poem Never Give Up with The Dalai Lama. He recently returned from a Finland and Estonia Tour where he was the featured poet at four international arts festivals. When not traveling the world he home bases at his hermitage on Cherokee Road in The Highlands of Louisville, Kentucky. Greta Render Whitehead was born in 1932, in Matanzas, Kentucky, to Raymond and Louverine Render. She is the oldest of thirteen children. In 1950 she married Edwin Whitehead. They have six children, sixteen grandchildren, and twenty seven great grandchildren. This is her first book. Greta lives in Beaver Dam, Kentucky.