Pure Products of America Inc.

<This propulsive narrative poem tells the extended story of the popular born-again televangelist Ray Bob Elray-better known to all his fans as Big Bubba-his twin sons Nick and Jesse and his niece and adopted daughter Donna. The comic tragedy of Big Bubba's family begins to unfold when he is interviewed by an old friend country radio disc jockey Charlie Printwhistle. Bubba has come to Waco Texas to preach a revival but soon reveals to Charlie much about his complicated relationship with his family his ambitions for the ministry his faith healing and his most recent venture with Pure Products of America Inc. which produces and endorses anything pure from Bibles to jelly preserves-for a whopper of a fee of course.Structured as a verse play of two acts composed of three scenes each Pure Products of America Inc. follows the unwinding of Bubba's legacy as his heirs fall out and his already slippery relationship with religion is tested by genuine grief. Along the way master poet John Bricuth treats readers to a sly sarcastic-and sometimes deeply moving-look at storytelling old-time religion and the American way.