Hello! If you are reading this, you’re probably interested in my portrait project: Descendants of Indenture. Thank you so much for your interest, it’s so very appreciated. I’m a writer and photographer, and also a descendant of indenture so this project is near and dear to my heart. Here is the basic information about my … Continue reading Portrait Project: Faces of Indenture
Today, the Tour de France begins. Our government is cruel and incompetent and corrupt, and many countries all over the world are currently active combat zones experiencing major humanitarian crises, so right now it’s kind of difficult to focus on anything as frivolous as the Tour de France. But, as we look at the world … Continue reading Watch: ‘Vive le Tour!’ Louis Malle’s Short Documentary of the 1962 Tour de France
The novel ‘Sing, Unburied, Sing’ by Jesmyn Ward is, essentially, two different stories happening at once: a road-trip story and a story about a multi-generational family in Mississippi coming undone under the weight and history of American racism and mass incarceration. It’s the story of thirteen-year-old Jojo and his three-year-old sister Kayla, who live with … Continue reading Review: ‘Sing, Unburied, Sing’ by Jesmyn Ward
Ray Bradbury is probably most well-known for his seminal dystopian work, Fahrenheit 451. If you were lucky, you had a good English teacher in high school who assigned Fahrenheit 451; not as a mere reading assignment, but as a means to open minds and discussions to the ills of censorship. If you were really lucky, … Continue reading Review: From the Dust Returned by Ray Bradbury
I’m probably not going to make it to 100. I can be honest about it. It’s the last week of October and I’m halfway through my 61st book. I should be in the 80’s by now! Ack! We’ll of course see what happens and I’m by no means throwing in the towel. But I definitely … Continue reading What I’ve Read So Far: 100 Books in 2016
Dear Bootleg Librarian: I need a new audiobook. I like mystery, suspense, life philosophy. What can you recommend for me based on your book travels? From Mysteryland Dear Mysteryland, That’s awfully cool you’re looking for a mystery because it’s one of my favorite genres and I can recommend a few. Anyone who knows me, knows … Continue reading Ask the Bootleg Librarian: A good mystery, please?
The Man Booker Prize, the presitigious literary award from the UK, has for the first time awarded its prize to a person from the United States. The author of The Sellout, Paul Beatty, has written several books, mostly touching on the same themes of racial identity. The book came to quick critical appraise, won the … Continue reading What Everybody’s Reading: The Sellout by Paul Beatty
I read A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway for the first time about 15 years ago. On a grey, rainy day, I walked into Shakespeare & Company, the bookstore near Hunter College in NYC, and asked the bookseller for a recommendation. After a brief discussion about my tastes and preferences, she said, “Oh, I know! … Continue reading Recommended Reading: A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
In December of 1973, the New York Times film critic Howard Thompson, known for his pithy critiques, reviewed a rather strange-looking French animated film called “Fantastic Planet.” In his review, he says this of Fantastic Planet: “The story itself is a sci-fi honey, with tiny earthlings ‘from a destroyed planet’ dominated as pets or outcasts … Continue reading “Fantastic Planet,” A Strange and Mostly Unknown Film
If you’ve seen the classic and influential Orson Welles film, Touch of Evil, you know it needs no introductions. If you haven’t seen it, you’ve most likely, by one route or another, learned about its famous opening crane shot; probably the most famous and iconic three minutes ever filmed. Ever. It’s been copied and studied and … Continue reading “Touch of Evil” NY Times Movie Review, from 1958
I recently walked past a broken full-length mirror on the sidewalk in my Bushwick neighborhood, but the image it made was so compelling I had to go back and study it. The patterns of the broken glass and the refracted light captivated me so completely that I couldn’t move. There is something about the individual … Continue reading Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian: Infinite Possibility
There are few times in life in which superlatives are ever really fitting. I think we find them acceptable because we like to exaggerate; punctuate our own language with interest; make everyday occurrences seem out of the ordinary and somehow useful to others and special to notice, when in actuality, most occurrences are boring and … Continue reading [UPDATED] Björk Comes to Brooklyn
I’ve missed a few days of my series but I’m convinced I’m going to catch up, or at the very least – this amazingly creative and powerful poet who hails from the country of my father, will hopefully make up for a few missed posts. Dionne Brand is one of the most intense, lyrical poets … Continue reading Female Poet Series: Dionne Brand, ossuary VIII
It’s day three of my 30-day series dedicated to brave and brilliant female poets.Today’s poet is Akiko Yosano, who was born in December 1878 near Osaka, Japan. Yosano was her pen name, and she was born Shō Hō, but changed her name after she had begun to write about more controversial topics, such as pacifism, feminism … Continue reading Akiko Yosano, In Praise of May
It’s day TWO of my Thirty-Day Series of Female Poets! I’m excited to continue with this project and I will devote more time to this as the series goes on and on. Trying to research and write this in a half an hour after a long work day, probably isn’t going to do the series … Continue reading Juana De Ibarbourou, Life-Hook
This is the first installment of my month-long series showcasing a wonderful piece of poetry by a female poet. I hope to do this for thirty straight days. For the first poet, I’ve chosen Sojourner Truth and her incredibly powerful poem, Ain’t I A Woman. I can’t think of a better person more suited to … Continue reading Sojourner Truth, Ain’t I A Woman?
To many people, including myself, Björk is a mystical, cosmic non-human entity from the future who allures us into her realm with colors and sounds and images and warmth and light and darkness that she’s pulled out of her little mystical pocket like a forgotten receipt. “Oh that? I was wondering where that went!” I imagine … Continue reading MoMA’s Most Ambitious Project Yet: Ruin Björk For Everyone
If you don’t venture to Astoria often, I highly recommend it for this view alone. This was taken from Astoria Park. Also, Astoria’s Greek food is second to none. Try the saganaki, anywhere you can get it. Trust me on this. Continue reading The RFK Bridge
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On The Pavement - A Place for Books and Culture 