CLAY TOWN, 1954

About the Book

“Clay Town, 1954” is an anthology about people living in a small Ohio town...where the soot from trains and the dust of sewer pipe factories settle on dreams, passions and carnality of those walled in by the customs and dictates of the fifties...where these characters struggle with conflicts of duty and desire as they battle the enigmas and frustrations of growing up, and growing older...where Dag Mercer, a slow-witted young man, with an errand service, weaves in and around the stories of pathos, from the bar and whore house through the slaughter house and mortuary, past the train depot, the fields, the countryside, the woods, the schools, the main street stores to the mansion on the hill about to be converted into a nursing home. Once each year, in the cycle of this midwestern town, the streets and stores are closed for a parade and fireworks honoring the clay workers from the few remaining sewer pipe plants, and Dag Mercer, in his Uncle Sam costume, will lead it for the final time.

About the Author

An award winning poet, short story writer and documentarian, the author has written, produced, and directed over 200 film/video productions, many focusing on current events, social issues, historical, and international subjects. An English major graduate of The Ohio State University, he became a writer-producer while at WOSU-TV, moved to WITF-TV, Hershey, PA, then to Washington, D.C. working at WRC/NBC-TV. In Los Angeles and Tucson he is working on another anthology, “The Bizarre Shop,” a video series, “On These Ruins,” about ancient archeological sites, and as a freelance writer-director. He married his wife, Ada, while attending Ohio State.