Scraping Away

This poetry collection explores the emotional and financial toll of service work, celebrating the humanity of restaurant workers. Scraping Away captures their struggles and stories.

In this debut, full-length poetry collection, Fred Shaw offers a profound exploration of the sacrifices inherent in service work. Scraping Away presents a series of narrative, often elegiac poems that articulate the experiences of restaurant workers. Shaw delves into the emotional and financial costs associated with feeding a public that frequently views those in the service industry as faceless and interchangeable. This collection aims to honor and humanize the 102.6 million workers, highlighting the intersection of class and labor, as well as the complexities of profit, loss, and privilege. Through these verses, Scraping Away serves as a poignant reminder that individuals are more than just their occupations.

The speaker within these poems also navigates intricate family dynamics and the struggles of growing up in a blue-collar, Rust-Belt environment. The verses reflect on the speaker's relationships with his parents, often invoking music and material objects as catalysts for memory and introspection. This personal lens enriches the exploration of broader themes, allowing readers to connect with the emotional weight carried by service workers.

Employing clear language and vivid imagery, Scraping Away invites readers into the inner lives of restaurant workers, fostering empathy and understanding. Shaw’s collection resonates with echoes of Studs Terkel’s classic, Working, as it elevates the narratives of the working class into the realm of poetry, making their stories heard and felt.