Levi the Poet
It's All Worth Living For
Levi the Poet
It's All Worth Living For
Levi the Poet just released a coffee table book.
Right? It’s full-color, thick stock, high-quality imagery and design, but, as soon as you crack the cover, you realize how far from a simple lookbook it is. The care in design and attention to its condition is no doubt a beautiful touch – it starts on the cover with a lavish embossed “LTP” logo – but the true heart of the release reveals itself in its opening dedication. It begins with a letter penned to Levi MacAllister’s wife, Brandi, who has been a visible and constant support beam in his career, an earnest four-paragraph love letter, a careful introduction into the heart of a life dedicated to an alternative and difficult career.
Like hitting puberty, the book matures with each page, from his hand-drawn childhood pictures to a collage of ticket stubs and posters from LTP live shows over the years. The pages give readers a glimpse into how MacAllister has gotten where he is today – but they’re also demarcations of one man’s attempt to wrangle his wandering and creative mind into a life-fulfilling journey, played out on the pages It’s All Worth Living For.
Credit is due to the level of detail included in each section, sections which were surely projects unto themselves. The quality exceeds even that which large-label publishers turn out, and the craft yields a unique experience that feels personalized, like a one-on-one chat after a performance instead of a mass thank you email after going to a football game.
Of all of the fascinating and entertaining elements of this project, the standout touch is the fact that MacAllister went back and made margin notes on all of his pieces. Some are somber, some observational, but the best are the ones that reflect how his perspective has shifted on the topic of his work as he’s changed as a person.
It’s All Worth Living For is sure to be one of MacAllister’s proudest creations, but credit to the shoulders you’ve stood on is also important. If we are to believe Jim Rohn and the idea that a person is the average of their five closest friends, those who have walked alongside him are fairly and notably given robust acknowledgment of their role in his life. For example, MacAllister’s supporters in his Patreon-based The Fraction Club are all called by name and picture over the course of four pages.
The book would have felt properly wrapped, but, as a true steward of the written (and spoken!) word, he has bookended the work wonderfully. The conclusion is an inspiring and encouraging self-reflective letter to Levi MacAllister ten years ago. It’s the documented journey through pain, suffering, love, faith, young life, and proof of exactly what you can accomplish if you make the hard choice to commit and see what is in store at the end of all the hardship.
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