"It is rare to receive a large book and be so captivated from the first to the last page that you just can’t put it down. It’s hard to believe that in this Era, you can read the work of a living poet where every poem tells you a story which makes you want to read each poem again. Ron Whitehead's new book, "The Crow and the Outlaw” does that. Taking what would be considered to be everyday experiences for anyone who celebrates their Southern country roots, this book shows us the Beauty Part of family bonds, unconditional love, struggles of survival and the joy of facing life head on and making every challenge a new adventure. Ron Whitehead makes us feel that his journey is ours as well. Like Cervantes descriptions of Spanish life in his classic “Don Quixote” Ron Whitehead’s “The Crow and the Outlaw” invites us all into a world we have never visited and makes us feel at home. Poets throughout history have enabled us to feel as if they have guided us to places we have never visited and shared emotions we have felt but never have dared to share with others. Ron Whitehead’s new book is part of this great tradition. He is our tour guide to his life and makes us feel as if we are part of it. The Navajo Prayer of the 12th Night tells us of the Trail of Beauty which has always been here and that if we walk it, Beauty surrounds us. Ron Whitehead’s The Crow and the Outlaw” takes us all on that trail. It celebrates the sanctity of the Now, the preciousness of the gift of life and the hidden beauties of what we deem as Ordinary but which is actually Extraordinary when we read this book!" - David Amram - West Camp, NY “I blink as I read. Did I catch that, it went by so fast? More compactly almost than you can imagine, intensity pouring off the page, Crow never says what you already know. With Intensity pouring off each page, Crow never says what you already know. Crow never bores—but speaks to us from the author’s shoulder, where she first perched when her body died—shot by Ron’s father. Whitehead reaches an acme in his already prestigious poetic revelations. An astonishing journey for the reader. Short, digestible, each a gift, these poems roam into the vast territory of Ron Whitehead’s life, minutely observed. “A poet-prophet,” “a major literary figure,” “a genius,” “birthed in the whirlwind chariot of Elijah,” as critics have said—he shows himself to be all of these in this one book.” - Margaret A. Harrell - author of the “Hell’s Angels” Letters: Hunter S. Thompson, Margaret Harrell and the Making of a Classic “Ron Whitehead’s Crow and Outlaw confronts the mystery of life, death, mother nature and father time. The poetry and its wise messengers; Crow, Mammie, Friends, Ancient spirits, teach us that in life one dies many deaths. One triumphs, fails, triumphs again, then consumed by the good earth. Ron Whitehead teaches and reminds us that there ain’t nothing wrong with that. Ron Whitehead reminds us—reminds the world, to get off our asses, stop complaining and start living again. LIVE!” - Frank Messina - Poet, Artist, Actor “I thought I knew Ron Whitehead’s voice well, having read many of his great poems and sung with him for a poetry album, until I started translating his work into Chinese. I followed his crow and encountered his crow spirit and heart! It’s truly magical! Crow’s way may not be smooth or easy. Often it’s a passage of darkness and pain. But if you persist, you’ll find wisdom, peace and delight. Follow the Crow and Out-law and surprise yourself with what you’ll find.” - Wang Ping - Professor of English Emerita Macalester College