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The Mess That Made Them is story-driven narrative nonfiction built from case studies of creators who made lasting work while their lives were actively falling apart. Instead of treating “genius” as a personality trait, it follows the real pattern: refusal, containment, survival, exile, darkness, reinvention, and the stubborn choice to keep making things anyway. The book blends cultural history with a personal-essay intimacy and a sharp, candid voice, turning famous names into usable stories for anyone who feels stuck in the messy middle.Ryan T. Pozzi is a writer and essayist whose work interrogates legacy, myth, and reputation, with particular attention to who shapes our understanding of history. His debut, The Mess That Made Them, was released by Bloomsbury on September 3, 202. His work has been accepted by Rattle, Fjords Review, Broad River Review, and Northern New England Review, among others, and he was a 2025 Best of the Net nominee. He’s just across the river from Omaha and loves a good bookstore conversation.
Local musician Chip Albright will moderate the conversation. He is a storytelling singer-songwriter who weaves a type of music from a blend of genres: Folk, Roots, Americana, and Country. Chip describes his songs “as empathetic vignettes, allowing listeners to see through someone else’s eyes.” A true Midwesterner with rural Kansas roots and Des Moines, Iowa branches, Chip Albright still believes in good over evil.
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2629 Beaver Ave Ste S1, Des Moines, IA, United States, Iowa 50310
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