In the tradition of those by William Allen White and Russell Baker, Robert Cormier's essays, originally written as newspaper columns, offering touching, humorous, and intensely personal observations and anecdotes about small-town life in America. Cormier explores those things that interest and excite him--from current events to the movies--as well as things that touch his heart--a daughter's wedding, the shape of his mother's hands. "I have words to spend, and I do not always spend them wisely." Cormier writes--a surprising confession from a novelist hailed as a master craftsman and noted for his spare and controlled prose. It is also the confession of a writer unafraid to submit to the rigors of writing under deadline and of an observer who sees with his heart as well as with his eyes. I Have Words to Spend is a splendid collection of pieces about the small-town visions and values that have particular poignancy in a time of turmoil. This is a volume to treasure and to return to over and over again. "Cormier's economical style of writing stories with a twist is evident in this collection of eighty-five short essays that were originally written as newspaper columns."--The Book Report