In Tune: Tom Waits Poem Benefits Charity

Musician Tom Waits is releasing a limited-edition chapbook (a small, pocket-size publication) to raise money for charity.

The nine-page minibook will contain Waits’s poem “Seeds On Hard Ground,” a lyrical piece written to bring attention to the downtrodden and inspired by Michael O’Brien’s photographic portraits of the homeless.

There will be two special pressings of 1,000 each. Proceeds will go to the Redwood Empire Food Bank, Sonoma County’s Homeless Referral Services and Family Support Center operated by Catholic Charities. Release date is Feb. 22.

To see the chapbook online, visit www.tomwaits.com. An abridged, rearranged version of the poem will appear alongside O’Brien’s photographs in the upcoming book “Hard Ground” due out March 1.

Stacy Fogarty is an on-air radio personality and music director for a popular radio station in the heart of the Colorado Rockies.