Clemens grew up in Detroit during the era of white flight and the start of the city's rapid decline. While he honestly addresses the area's problems, he also speaks warmly about his literary roots shaped by growing up white, working class and Catholic in an area where such became the minority. The author graduated from Grand Valley's Honors College in 1995 with a B.A. in English, Language and Literature. He currently lives in a suburb of Detroit.
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