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A Gentleman and a Shaman: The Last Days and Sad Death of Townes Van Zandt

Matt Hanks, No Depression, January 1999

IF YOU CAN see through the hangover haze and black-eyed pea tradition that ties one First Day to another, January 1st can serve as a dog-eared page for the book of days that follow. But on New Year's Day 1997, I saw the cycle of mortal life more poetically than I ever had before.

Total word count of piece: 3823

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