Happy Vagrancy

“Happy Vagrancy is in many ways about essays themselves—essays as means of thinking, means of gathering, and offering nuggets of thought. These essays break into song and story, but they are not bound by tune or plot. There is something about them—a radiance—beyond structure, arc, or conclusion.”—Philip Brady, author of By Heart: Reflections of a Rust Belt Bard The essays in Sam Pickering’s new collection sing with thoughtful observations on life, death, love, and literature. Whether attending a reunion at Sewanee, cruising the Caribbean, wandering the streets of Storrs, Connecticut, or rambling through Nova Scotia, Pickering is able to work a quotation, insight, or reminiscence into almost every page. His collection sparks with copious observations from other writers and books that he’s devoured through the years. One of the many joys in Happy Vagrancy is finding a new author or essay hiding in the deep foliage of Pickering’s prose. He delivers his insights with humor, wit, and a keen eye for the ordinary wonders that surround us.