Ted Torgersen graduated cum laude in 1971 from UCLA with a degree in English. He is not known at all as a result of his being banned in his senior year at university for his part in clearing the name of a prominent faculty member who was framed for causing a jailbreak at the height of the civil rights upheaval. There is reason for speculation that his suppression as a writer started before that.
This work is not what he would have written as a young man with a song in his heart, except for the first chapter, a collection of songs which were written long ago. Instead it contains his writings from 2005 to 2014 when it was first self published, some of which could be labeled as 21st Century Nihilism. There are also poems that deal with metaphysical themes and some that are pure whimsy. He divides his time between Point Arena, California in southern Mendocino county and Black Rock, Tobago WI, where some of his more upbeat pieces were composed.
A portrait of the artist as a young man.
The following poem is one the author regrets not including in the book. We hope you enjoy it.
