{"product_id":"teacherpizza-guy-jeff-kass-9780814347157","title":"Teacher\/Pizza Guy","description":"\u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eExplores the emotional and physical labor necessary to work nights as a pizza delivery driver and days as a high school English teacher.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003ci\u003eTeacher\/Pizza Guy\u003c\/i\u003e is a collection of autobiographical poems from the 2016-17 school year in which Jeff Kass worked as a full-time English teacher and a part-time director for a literary arts organization and still had to supplement his income by delivering pizzas a few nights a week. In the collection, Kass is unapologetically political without distracting from the poems themselves but rather adds layers and nuances to the fight for the middle class and for educators as a profession. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe timing of this book is beyond relevant. As a public high school teacher in America, Kass's situation is not uncommon. In September 2018, \u003ci\u003eTime\u003c\/i\u003e published an article detailing how many public school teachers across the country and in a variety of environments work multiple jobs to help make ends meet. \u003ci\u003eTeacher\/Pizza Guy\u003c\/i\u003e chronicles Kass's experience of teaching, directing, feeding people, and treading the delicate balance of holding himself accountable to his wife and kids, his students, his customers, and his own mental and physical health while working three jobs in contemporary America. The journey of that year was draining, at times daunting, at times satisfying, but always surprising. Many of the ideas for these poems were initially scribbled onto the backs of pizza receipts or scratched out during precious free moments amidst the chaos of the school day. A driving force behind the book is Philip Levine's poem \"What Work Is,\" which Kass believes attempts to examine not only the dignity and complexity of what we think physical, tangible work is but also the exhausting, albeit sometimes fulfilling nature of emotional work.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003ci\u003eTeacher\/Pizza Guy\u003c\/i\u003e is a funny and relatable collection for readers, thinkers, educators, and pizza lovers everywhere.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Jeff Kass\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0814347150\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780814347157\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Wayne State University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/26\/2019\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 256\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.35lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.80h x 5.80w x 0.40d","brand":"Jeff Kass","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43994160333055,"sku":"9780814347157","price":17.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_0d52c945-c068-4475-9a85-e8f0b579734d.jpg?v=1683328484","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/teacherpizza-guy-jeff-kass-9780814347157","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}