Bum Town is a book-length poem that delves into growing up in white, working-class Chicago in the 1960s and the author's tempestuous relationship with his father. Tony Fitzpatrick goes on an allegorical search for his father's ghost, revisiting his stories, and figuring out how we become who we are. This is a lyrical story of the burial of a salesman, of the man's juvenile delinquent son, of driving aimlessly around the city when the son was excused from school. It's about how, when we lose our parents or those who came before us, we can honor their history, add to it, and, if we're smart, nurture it.
The book features forty beautifully printed etchings by the author, a major American artist whose works have been shown throughout the country and the world.
Tony Fitzpatrick's etchings, prints, paintings and drawings are collected in museums worldwide including the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the National Museum of American Art in Washington D.C.