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Parting Words: Remembering Hayden Carruth

Poet, editor, essayist and novelist Hayden Carruth died this week at the age of 87. Carruth won the National Book Award in 1996 for his collection, "Scrambled Eggs and Whiskey."

He was no stranger to awards, but they don't often pay the rent, and Carruth spent much of his career poor. He struggled with alcoholism and a nervous breakdown — experiences that were central to his poetry.

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