tenement lawyer in boston, teaches at the university of massachusetts, amherst-- creative writing, latino poetrya. he's published 16 books, and his collection of poems, the republic of poetry, was a finalist for the pulitzer prize. >> at 16, i worked after high school hours at a printing plant that manufactured legal pads-- yellow paper stacked seven feet high and leaning as i slipped cardboard between the pages, then brushed red glue up and down the stack. no gloves-- fingertips required for the perfection of paper, smoothing the exact rectangle. sluggish by 9:00 p.m., the hands would slide along suddenly sharp paper, and gather slits thinner than the crevices of the skin; hidden. then the glue would sting, hands oozing till both palms burned at the punch clock. ten years later, in law school, i knew that every legal pad was glued with the sting of hidden cuts; that every open law book was a pair of hands upturned and burning. ( applause ) >> funding for "overheard" with evan smith is provided in part by mfi foundation, improving the quality of life within our community. and from the texas boar