<p><i>people here</i><br><i>have become</i><br><i>the people</i><br><i>they''re pretending to be.</i><br>''Sam Shepard''s language is sparse and crystal clear. His words appear modest, but they have huge scope.''<br>Wim Wenders<br><br>This volume is the first collection of Sam Shepard''s autobiographical fiction and poetry.<br>It inspired the award-winning film, <i>Paris, Texas</i>.<br><br>''Sam Shepard is the greatest U.S. playwright of his generation. Since 1964 he has mapped out a huge mythic territory...like Whitman, his is vast and contains multitudes, his plays soar over the empty tracts of the Midwest, celebrate the space, energy and naive optimism of the new-found lands.'' <i>Time Out</i></p>