Cutting Teeth

The son of a shipyard machinist, Ivan Hobson's debut poetry collection provides insight into his family and community during his youth. These poems show the inner-workings of the machine shop, as well as the shop's direct effect on the Hobson family and their small California community. While many of the poems focus on the shop environment, its people, and their struggles after the shop closes, boiled down, this book is a coming-of-age story about a vulnerable young man, his relationship with his father, and the many lessons learned from family.

Ivan Hobson is an MFA graduate from San Francisco State University. Along with teaching English at Diablo Valley College, he works as a shipyard machinist in Alameda, California. Ivan's poems have appeared or are forthcoming in publications, including the North American Review, Hunger Mountain, The Midwest Quarterly, as well as Ted Kooser and The Poetry Foundation's American Life in Poetry.

This book contains illustrations from the artist, Earl Thollander, a Californian artist, illustrator, and author who is best known for his painting, sketching, and travel book writing. Earl earned his bachelor's degree from the University of California, and later attended San Francisco Art Institute and the Academy of Art.

Earl had a great interest in traveling and started making artwork that related to the different parts of the world he visited. He became renowned for his unique drawing and painting style, often exploring the Napa Valley. In his career, Earl authored and illustrated more than 62 travel, cooking, and children's books, including Back Roads of California, Earl Thollander's San Francisco, School for Julio, and Sunset Cookbook.