Both Ways Home : Alpine Ghost Press : 9798218080334 : 23 Sep 2022 : In these 80 poems and 12 short stories, James Duncan explores his two hometowns of Albany, NY and San Antonio, TX, the allure of each as strong as magnetic poles as he crosses the vast American landscape to one or the other in search of work, love, friends, and futures unwritten. Marquee lights, Halloween nights, and familiar neighborhood cafes populate the poems, while the stories range from biographical to quiet studies of those struggling to make ends meet and discover their own paths forward in each city. In "Bring Your Son," a mother contemplates how her divorce might affect her little boy's future; in "Little Victory Diner," a runaway works off his meal by washing dishes and bonds with a lonely waitress; a search for a mother's grave in the Texas heat goes awry in "Empty Spaces"; and in "Dominion," a young girl lost in the outskirts of a wealthy rural community learns who to trust and who to leave behind as the l