Moving the Hat

Richard Snodgrass' memoir, Moving the Hat, retells the classic struggle of a younger brother working to establish himself in his life and his art against the psychological bullying of a successful and famous older brother. Through interweaving prose and photographs, Moving the Hat tells the story of Richard as a young adult, a journey that saw him through the beginnings of becoming a monk; graduate from UC Berkeley at the height of the Free Speech Movement; spend several years in the music and hippie scene of San Francisco; followed by a dozen years as a construction inspector on high-rise buildings-all the time continuing to write three to four hours a day and master his photography. Then in his mid-thirties as he came into his own, he returned across the country to devote himself to his art, as well as confront his feelings about his brother, and his brother's young wife. With Richard's photographs in counterpoint to his story, Moving the Hat is a unique portrait of the making of an artist, told with insight, wit, and a life-affirming pursuit of balance.

Richard Snodgrass' memoir, Moving the Hat, retells the classic struggle of a younger brother working to establish himself in his life and his art against the psychological bullying of a troubled, domineering older brother, the poet W.D. Snodgrass. Through interweaving prose and photographs, Moving the Hat tells the story of Richard as a young adult, a journey that saw him through the beginnings of becoming a monk; graduate from UC Berkeley at the height of the Free Speech Movement; spend several years in the music and hippie scene of San Francisco; followed by a dozen years as a construction inspector on high-rise buildings-all the time continuing to write three to four hours a day and master his photography. Then in his mid-thirties as he came into his own, he returned across the country to devote himself to his art, as well as confront his feelings about his brother, and his brother's young wife. With Richard's photographs in counterpoint to his story, Moving the Hat is a unique portrait of the making of an artist, told with insight, wit, and a life-affirming pursuit of balance.