Acclaimed poet and memoirist David Biespiel tells the story of the rise and fall of a Jewish boyhood in Texas, and his search for the answer to his life's central riddle: Are we ever done leaving home? Growing up in a family devoted to Jewish identity, Biespiel comes under the tutelage of the head rabbi of the largest conservative congregation in North America. After the rabbi kicks him out of the synagogue during a public quarrel, Biespiel leaves Texas and his religious upbringing behind. After a near-forty-year exile from Texas, he returns for a day to see home--and himself--in a way that changes his relationship to the world around him. Biespiel draws on a lifetime of writing to create this memoir, an essential companion for anyone who has journeyed far from home.  "In the great American tradition of improvised cultural makings and unmakings, migration and recurrence, David Biespiel unfolds our national quest onto an unexpected terrain: a decidedly Texan and traditionally Jewish neighborhood of Houston. A surprising, heartbreaking and inspiring story." -- Robert Pinsky, Former Poet Laureate of the United States and author of At the Foundling Hospital "Novelist Thomas Wolfe famously pondered whether we can ever go home again. Here, acclaimed poet Biespiel...wonders whether we can ever really leave...At the center of this meditation is a testament to Houston's diversity, but as a kind of memento mori for home it is a work of amazing power. One hears a sense of longing and dismay in Biespiel's prose, as if that constant edge of anxious questioning that comes with being young, bright, and talented still haunts him, as it so often did Wolfe's autobiographical heroes. And yet, within this lyrical remembrance, one catches glimpses of a genius unimaginable...This is a writer who never ceases to amaze, whose prose grows more fascinating and flame-bright with each new book." -- Library Journal (Starred Review) ​ "A distinguished poet reflects on his Texas roots and on the Orthodox Jewish upbringing from which he distanced himself...In this moving, erudite book, the author offers an intimate, searching meditation on personal identity, and he effectively investigates the universal question of the nature and meaning of home." -- Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review) "[Biespiel] narrates the book himself, his Texas accent and cadence flickering in and out, his voice faintly husky with reminiscence. An excellent storyteller...This is a haunting, heartfelt book beautifully read." [audiobook] -- Katherine A. Powers, Washington Post "David Biespiel had me from the first sentence...In A Place of Exodus: Home, Memory, and Texas , the award-winning poet, literary critic and memoirist explores the meaning of home, the way memory shapes the heart and the big skies and bayous of his hometown and the grip it has on his soul...Biespiel writes in breathtaking prose, full of close observation, candor and longing." -- Sandee Brawarsky, Jewish Week "In A Place of Exodus , David Biespiel embarks on a search not for resolution, reprieve, or spiritual repatriation but for the very scent of an era, its ancient and communal dramas, its generational and theological forces. With tenderness, ferocity, and profound humility he traces the origins of his singular sensibility - one that is both wrestled and inherited from beloveds, the land, and tradition. Because Biespiel is Jewish (though admittedly "retired") he is compelled to remember. Because he is a storyteller, he caresses the complex characters and places of his past. And finally, because he is a poet, he makes it all sing -- gorgeously." -- Lia Purpura, National Book Critics Circle finalist and author of All the Fierce Tethers "David Biespiel vividly recreates his unlikely Jewish upbringing....He raises large questions about the meaning of home and the nature of exile, which is why A Place of Exodus is such a keen reckoning. It is even a sort of homecoming." -- Edward Hirsch, President of the Guggenheim Foundation and author of Gabriel "Biespiel makes use of a broad...canvas to present a detailed portrait of the Meyerland of his youth and his reasons for leaving. Poetic passages abound with philosophical meditations as counterweights. "A Place of Exodus" pinpoints a particular place within a particular city, but its larger concerns are relatable to any reader who has felt a pull from afar to leave home..." -- Andrew Dansby, Houston Chronicle "A deep reflection on the meaning of home and how we construct our identity." -- Aaron Howard, Jewish Herald-Voice "Those who've questioned their faith will find much to contemplate in this astute, richly told memoir." -- Publishers Weekly "With the lyricism he's cultivated as a nationally recognized poet...he meditates on the places and selves we call home, no matter where we are....Biespiel dwells rewardingly on description, particularly of the Houston landscape, and detail. His account of one childhood Seder in