"I cannot live without books." -- Thomas Jefferson

Friday, October 23, 2009

Friday video bonanza

We've been having a lot of fun lately. Great events. Smart people. Incredible writers. Here's just a small sample.

First up is Jonathan Shaw. This clip is of Jonathan reading from his poetry book, Love Songs to the Dead. The poems were all written between 1970 & 1976, during which time Mr Shaw was hanging out with the likes of Jim Morrison and Charles Bukowski. While the influence is certainly discernible, the language, rhythms, and heart are all Jonathan.



Next, David Alan Grier. "Barack Like Me" is a chronicle of DAG's reflections on what Obama means for race in America. Here he explains why our new president represents the death knell of the "angry black man".



Lastly, we have an extremely interesting event coming up on November 1st. Broadcaster and memorabilia collector, Bob Brill, developed (at the age of 6) a slight obsession with 50's burlesque stripper Patti Waggin. He eventually acquired Patti Waggin's estate, literally tons of photographs, letters, contracts and film reels. After wading through this life-time of records, Bob put together "Letter's to a Stripper: A Patti Waggin Tale", a history of Burlesque told through photographs and fan letters. Here's an inside look at Patti Waggin and Bob Brill.



Coming soon... James Ellroy, Robert Greene & much much more.

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