The Great Gray Bridge

New Year’s Day I began to feel creeping over me one of the viruses that’s been forcing so many people to their beds. Day One’s utter tiredness soon morphed into a stomach bug. After three semi-miserable days, by Thursday night, Jan. 3, I was finally well enough to venture out of the apartment. I’d been building myself up to enough of a rally that I hoped I could manage at least a couple hours out in public. I was scheduled to be among the readers at a long-planned night of readings from Rust Belt Chic: The Cleveland Anthology, to which I’d contributed, “Remembering Mr. Stress, Live at the Euclid Tavern.” I’d been looking forward to it since RBC co-editor Anne Trubek asked if I wanted to be part of the event. What’s more, I’d invited friends who said they’d be there–I couldn’t not show up. Still, not feeling good yet, I let Jason Diamond, host of the reading series Vol. 1 Brooklyn know that I’d been ill and asked if he could slot me in early on the program, in case I had to bail or something. He was great about it, putting me first. I appreciated this. I used to often speak up first in classes, and have never minded being in that spot.

The reading room at Public Assembly in Williamsburg, Brooklyn was a big darkish space with rows of folding metal chairs, some upholstered benches, and lights above and behind a wide stage on one side.  Jason introduced the program by revealing his geographic own roots–not Cleveland but Chicago. He said that to a kid like him growing up in Chicago–while parts of the nearby Midwest clearly identified with something: Minnesota=hockey; Wisconsin=the Packers; Detroit=the Pistons, who Bulls fans hated–about Cleveland–even less was certain. It struck me that while Chicago may have its widely reputed Second City issues, it’s always the First City of the Midwest. After Jason read the brief bio about me that I’d provided, he brought me up to the stage. As I set my talking script on a music stand next to the mic I looked out across the chairs and found I couldn’t see anything or anybody. Those lights above the stage were now all behind me, leaving me peering in to a black cavern. I was a bit unsettled, not having presented somewhere like this before. When I speak, say, at a publisher’s sales conferences, I rely on eye contact with the book reps to know how my points and pitches are landing. I had some lines in my script I hoped would prompt a few laughs, or a tear, but the delivery was going to be tricky under the circs. No problem, I thought, I know people are still sitting there, even if I can’t see anyone. With that, I launched in to the piece:.

Growing up in the hotbed of rock n’ roll that was Cleveland in the 60s and 70s, I began going to hear live music before I had even turned fourteen. 

This was exciting. I could feel confidence growing in the crowd that they were going to be hearing something interesting. Their interest seemed to grow as I read and talked the piece over the next six minutes. At about the midpoint, I revealed a visual aid I had brought–my copy of the album that gave my essay its name, “Mr. Stress, Live at the Euclid Tavern.” This drew an appreciative titter from the crowd. I wrapped up with these two graphs:

In reporting this piece, I interviewed Cleveland musician Alan Green, with whom Stress played live gigs as late as 2010.  He reminded me that Stress was born a minute after midnight on New Year’s Day in 1943, and was feted as Cleveland’s firstborn of the new year—a fitting birth for a bluesman if you remember bluesmen singing the lyric about the fabled character, “born the 7th son of a 7th mother on the 7th day.” Clearly, Stress had a suitable pedigree for a bluesman. Alan’s reminder that Stress had long ago been a New Year’s baby brought back a flood of rich memories from great New Year’s Eve shows when Stress and revelers raucously marked a new year and Bill’s birthday.

Living in New York City today I remain a devotee of going out to hear live music, a happy habit I formed forty years ago listening to Mr. Stress. I must add that after Rust Belt Chic was published last fall, Stress read my essay and we’ve been reunited via telephone and the Internet, after more than 25 years being out of touch. He’s very glad to see his career remembered in this book. Even with macular degeneration, he still reads voraciously with the aid of voice-enabled software. We were in touch on his birthday two days ago, his 70th, and he knows I’m presenting his story here tonight. 

I felt good delivering this tribute. It was mete and right to honor Mr. Stress who warrants more homage and notoriety for having given so much to the blues and Cleveland’s live music scene over many decades. As I added for the crowd, Stress’s impaired vision may be at least partly attributable to his music-making, for he told a Cleveland Plain Dealer reporter in 2011,

“I woke up one morning and. . . I had lost a third of my vision. I’ve heard it comes from [a harmonica player] blowing so hard, you pop blood vessels. I can’t drive or get around as well. But it ain’t stopping me from playing the blues.”

As I finished I glanced up from my pages and looked into the darkness. A soft “Whew” and a whistle came from the audience, then an uprush of clapping. I was amazed at how long the applause lasted, seeming to go on for many seconds. I couldn’t have asked for a more attentive audience, or a more appreciative reception.

I was followed by six other readers, five of whom were contributors to Rust Belt Chic, all former Clevelanders, and one guest Michigander, who told a story about Detroit. It was a grand night, made grander by the boisterous crowd, easily more than 50 people–this, only three nights after New Year’s Eve–Jason Diamond‘s inspired MCing; and stellar presentations.

The order in which the seven of us read, from last to first is pasted in below, with our bios as they were provided to Jason, readers’ relevant links, and a brief note on the topics each of us presented. I made an audio recording and if I’m able, will later share my reading on Mr. Stress. I want to thank certain friends who came to the event: Bridget Marmion, of Your Expert Nation, a book marketing firm with which I am also associated ; Daniel Zitin, independent editor, and his son Benjamin; and Peter Ginna and George Gibson, of Bloomsbury Publishing (they are also colleagues with RBC contributor, Pete Beatty, who was the evening’s last reader.). Copies of Rust Belt Chic: The Cleveland Anthology were sold that night, and you can buy it too,  from Cleveland-area retailers, online booksellers, and the RBC website. I urge you to support this unique expression of community literary spirit.

Meantime, if you want to read my essay pretty much as I delivered it Thursday night, please find it at the post below this one here on The Great Gray Bridge. You may also click on this link for the complete post with all the contributor bios and their topics.

—

Pete Beatty is from Berea. He edits books for a living in Manhattan, but all his furniture and clothes are in Brooklyn (not the one in Cleveland). He writes and edits for theclassical.org. He is additionally @nocoastoffense. Pete read about Cleveland’s original schism–the divide between the West Side and the East Side of town.

Clare Malone lives in Washington, D.C and writes for The American Prospect magazine. Her work has also appeared in Slate.com, Bloomberg, and GOOD. She grew up in Shaker Heights. Clare read about Little Italy.

Ami Greko is the founder of Book Camp NYC and co-creator of the lecture series 7x20x21. You are not allowed to tell her mom or her boss anything about this story. She talked about her Detroit roots.

Upon leaving Cleveland in 1985, Mike DeCapite got to work writing a love letter to the city—his first novel, Through the Windshield (1998), which Harvey Pekar called “one of the better American novels of the past several years” and Jocko Weyland called a “down-at-the-heels masterpiece.” DeCapite’s story “Sitting Pretty,” published first as a CUZ Edition (1999) and then included in The Italian American Reader (2003), is also set in Cleveland, as is much of his unpublished novel Ruined for Life! His work includes the chapbook Creamsicle Blue (2012) and the essay collection Radiant Fog, which is just out from Sparkle Street Books. DeCapite lives in New York. He read a piece that invoked Jethro Tull, J.P. Snodgrass–a record store he frequented–Lou Reed, Marcel Marceau, and Liza Minelli.

R. Stephen Shodin was born in Youngstown, Ohio. By day he is a production manager for the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. At night he plays guitar in the instrumental rock band Bells≥. Once in a while he contributes to Vol.1 Brooklyn. He lives in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. R. Stephen offered a corrective to any romanticization of Rust Belt chic, discussing about his hometown of Youngstown.

Noreen Malone grew up in Shaker Heights (along with five siblings, including sister Clare). She now lives in Brooklyn, New York, where she writes for the New Republic. Her writing has also appeared in New York, Slate.com, and Newsweek. Noreen read about baseball and the Cleveland Indians.

Philip Turner is a longtime Cleveland-area bookseller who with his family owned and ran Undercover Books, with bookstores in Shaker Hts., downtown Cleveland, and Chagrin Falls. He moved to New York City in 1985 where he began working as a book editor and publisher. His personal essays have been published in the BN Review and PW Comics World. He blogs daily at The Great Gray Bridge where he writes about music, books, publishing, media, culture, and current affairs. (Taken after I’d read from Rust Belt Chic, photo by Bridget Marmion.)

Browse by Month:

• June 2013
• May 2013
• April 2013
• March 2013
• February 2013
• January 2013
• December 2012
• November 2012
• October 2012
• September 2012
• August 2012
• July 2012
• June 2012
• May 2012
• April 2012
• March 2012
• February 2012
• January 2012
• December 2011
• November 2011
• October 2011

Browse by Category:

• Art, Film, Photography & Design
• Bicycling
• Books & Writing
• Canada
• Food & Spirits
• Media, Blogging, Internet
• Music, Bands & Radio
• News, Politics & History
• Personal History, Family, Friends, Education, Travels
• Philip Turner's Books & Writing
• Publishing & Bookselling
  • Philip Turner Book Productions
• Sports
• Technology, Science & Computers
• Urban Life & New York City

Browse by Tag:

"Tuesdays at Mona's" #caponebowl #fridayreads #IdleNoMore #obama2012 #OWS #R3NYNJ #RNC #SmallBizSat #WorldRadioDay 'the dirty war' 9/11 11th Street Bar 2012 election 2012 Presidential Campaign @GoogleLocaLNYC A.B. Guthrie ABC News Abe Reles Abigail Tucker abolition Abraham Lincoln Abrams Books abstract expressionism Abu Ghraib accountability ACLU Acoustic Research Active Space Adele Stan A Diary of the Century Adorno Prize Adrian Glynn adventure fiction Adventures in Solitude A Face in the Crowd Affordable Care Act Afro-Jersey Ahead of Time Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Alana Wilcox Alan Bisbort Alan Lomax Alaska Albert Eisenstaedt albinism album cover art Alexander Gardner Alexander Moulton Alexandra Styron Alex Shoumatoff Al Jaffe Allah-Las Al Pacino Alternative education AlterNet Amazon amazon.com Ambassador Joseph Wilson American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression American Copy Editors Society American history Amerind Ami Greko Amity Beach Amy Helm Ana Egge Andrew Rasiej Andrew Solomon Andrew Sullivan Andy Cobb Andy Griffith Andy MacMillan Anne Trubek Ann Romney Antarctica anthropology antiques Antonin Scalia AP Arcade Fire archaeology Archer Mayor architecture Argentina Ari Fleischer Arkells Arlene's Grocery Arthur Sulzberger Art Modell Artur Davis Ascent of the A-Word As It Happens Associated Press Associate Press Association of American Publishers Attawapiskat Audubon Aung San Suu Kyi author discoverability Auto bailout Auto industry rescue Avalon Publishing Group B. Traven Babe Ruth Bain and Company Bain Capital bait & switch Band of Horses Bank of America bankruptcy Banned Books Week Barack Obama Bard Graduate Center Barnes & Noble Barney Rosset Barry Feinstein baseball baseball books Baseball Project BEA Beate Sirota Gordon Beinecke Library Bellevue Literary Press Bell House Belt magazine Ben Fountain Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Wheeler Ben Katchor Ben Wheeler Bernie Gunther series Berrett-Koehler Publishers bicycling Bilbo Baggins Bill& Melinda Gates Foundation Bill Bryon Bill Clinton Billy Wilder Bird on a Wire birth control Blackie and the Rodeo Kings Blackwell's Bookshop Bloomberg Businessweek Blue Rider Press BMF Media Group BN Review Bob Delaney Bob Dylan Bob Murray Bodleian Library BOMB Boni & Liveright book bloggers Book Camp book collecting Book Court Book Expo America Book Expo America 2013 Book proposals book publishing books bookselling Books into Browsers bookstores book writing Bowery Ballroom Bowery Electric boxing Boy Kings of Texas bpNichol Brad Blog breakup albums Bretton Woods Brian Beutler Brian Donlevy Brian Lamb Brian O'Leary bridges Bridge School British Library Brooklyn Brooklyn Folk Festival Bruce Bartlett Bryant Park Budd Schulberg bullying Burma Bushwick Open Studios Buzzfeed.com byliner.com C-Span Cadence Weapon Calvin Reid Canada Canada Day Canada Reads Canadian Blast Canadian indie music Canadian literature Cape Fear Capital One Bowl Capitol Records Cara Posey Carl Franzen Carl Lennertz Carlton Reid Carmen Aguirre Carol Anshaw Carroll&Graf Carroll & Graf Carroll & Graf Publishers Casey Sherman catholic bishops Catl CBC CBC Q CBC Radio 3 CBC Radio One CBC Sunday Edition CBC TV CBS News censorship Center for Responsive Politics Chad Childers Chaka Khan Change the Ratio Charles Darwin Charles M. Blow Charles Rennie Mackintosh Charles Sheeler Chaw Ei Theirn Chester Brown Chic Gamine Chief Theresa Spence child pornography child soldiers China Chinua Achebe Chris Bohjalian Chris Christie Chris Claremont Chris Fischbach Chris Kubicka Christopher Frizzelle Christopher Hitchens Chuck Hagel Chuck Palahniuk CIA Circle Line circus Circus art Citizens United City and Colour City Museum of New York Civil War CJL0 1690 AM Claire McCaskill Cleveland Cleveland Browns Cleveland Cavaliers Cleveland Indians Cleveland music scene Cleveland Plain Dealer Clifton Hicks Jerrod Paxton climate change Clint Eastwood Clovis theory CMJ Music Marathon CNBC CNN co-opetition Coach House Books coexistence Coffee House Press Colin Linden Colin Powell Collinson Owen Colm Meaney ColorLines: News for Action Columbia Columbia Graduate School of Journalism Comic NY comics Comics Weekly communion Confessions of an Economic Hitman Confessions of Nat Turner Congregation B'Nai Jeshurun Connie Schultz context. Cornbread Mafia Craig Silverman Crazy Horse Critical Mass blog Cross-country travels CT Cuff the Duke CUNY Graduate School of Journalism curation Cursor customer activism D.A. Powell Daily Beast Dakota Tavern Dalia Lithwick Dallas Good Dan Fesperman Dan Froomkin Dan Gillmor Daniel Lanois Daniel Menaker Daniel Pearl Danny Glover Danny Palumbo Danny Whitten Dave Carroll Dave Cullen David Barton David Bernstein David Blomquist David Corn David Dunlap David Gergen David Irving David Petraeus David Plouffe David Roche David Wheeler David Wilk DC Comics Dead Run Deadspin Dean Haspiel Dean Heller death penalty Death Takes a Holiday Deep-sea thermal vents Deep Dark Woods Degrassi Jr. High Democratic National Committee Democratic Underground Denise Campbell Department of Justice depression Derek McCormack Derf Backderf design Desiline Victor Des Moines Register Desmond Morris Diary of a Wimpy Kid Dick Cheney Digital Book World discoverability disemployment DNAinfo.comNewYork DNC Dodge Fiasco Dog Day Afternoon dogs DOJ Domingo Martinez Donald E. Westlake Donald Trump Donald Westlake Douglas & McIntyre Douglas&McIntyre Downtown Abbey Dr. Joseph Greenberg Dr. Paul Epstein Drawn & Quarterly Dreams From My Father Dream Syndicate dressage Drudge Report Duke Ellington Dumpstaphunk Dutton E.B. White Earl I. Turner Earl Turner Earth Institute easing eye strain ebooks economic sanctions Ed Caesar Edith Wharton editors Ed Kennedy Ed Kilgore Edmund Elmaleh education Edward Hoagland Edward Robb Ellis Edward Steichen Edward Thorp Gallery Edwin Black Elaine Dewar Elderhostel Electronic Frontier Foundation Elephant Stone Elia Kazan Elie Wiesel Elinor Lipman Eli Smith Ellen Hunnicutt Ellen Willis Elliott Brood Emily Bazelon Emily Bell Emily Haines ereading devices Eric Cantor Eric Lundgren Euclid Tavern Euro Cup 2012 Evan McMorris-Santoro evolution Ewan Turner exterminators Exxon Ezra Klein F.lux Fairport Convention Fair use Fales Library fall Farley Mowat Fast Romantics FBI FCC FEMA Femi Oke film noir Fiona MccRae Fireman's Memorial First Nations Florida FOIA foldable bicycles Food for the Dead Foo Fighters Forbes forbes.com ForYourArt FOX FOX News Francine Wheeler Francis Ford Coppola Franconia College Franconia Notch Frank Bardacke Frank Capra Frederic March Frederic Tuten Fred Hiatt Freeman Lewis Free Press Frodo Baggins From Heaven Lake Frontline FunnyBooks Gabby Giffords Gail Kump Gallery 35 genealogy General Eric Shinseki genetics Geoffrey Nunberg Georgette and Lyn Mosbacher George W. Bush George Washington Bridge Gerald Early Gilbert King Giller Prize Ginia Bellafante Giuliani Glasgow Glastonbury Festival Glenn Beck Global Citizen Glynnis MacNicol GoDaddy Goddard Riverside Community Center golf Goodreads Good Roads movement Google Google Places NYC GOP Gotham Grace Kelly Grant Lawrence Grateful Dead Graywolf Press Great Gray Bridge tumblr Green-wood Cemetery Green Couch Sessions Green energy Greenland Greenwich Village Greg MacPherson Gregory Peck Greg Sargent Grove Press Guantanamo Guinness Book of World Records H.G. Wells hank williams Harbour Publishing Hard Case Crime Hard Rain Productions Harold Meyerson HarperCollins Harry Belafonte Harry Jaffe Harry Truman Harvey Pekar Harvey Wang Heavy Crude Video Helen Radkey Hell on Wheels Henning Mankell Henry Hudson Bridge heresies Herman Graf Hey Ocean! Hey Rosetta Hidden Pony Hidden Pony Records Highline Ballroom Hillary Clinton Hill Country Hillman Foundation hiring practices historic preservation Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy hoboes hockey Hollywood Homelessness horses Horst Faas Houghton Mifflin Harcourt House of Mirth Hubris Hudson River Huffington Post humor Humphrey Bogart Hungary Hurricane Sandy ICP Idle No More Igor Volsky Imaginary Cities Impact Inauguration 2013 income inequality Independent Book Blogger Awards independent bookstores independent publishing industrial design Inferno Ingmar Bergman In the Night Kitchen Investigative reporting Ion Trewin Iowa Caucuses Ira A. Robbins Iran Ira Nonkin Iraq Iraq War Irish Isi Metzstein Israel J.J. Goldberg J. Michael Orenduff J.R.R. Tolkien Jack Hoffman Jack Holland Jack Lew Jack Reacher Jacob Lawrence Jalopy Theatre Jamell Bouie Jamelle Bouie James Hidgon James Kunen James Lasdun Jame Stewart Jami Attenberg Jane Friedman Jane Isay Janet Robinson Janny Scott Japan Jason Ashlock Jay Rosen Jay Smith jazz Jeannette Winterson Jeep Jeff Barth for Congess Jeff Gerth Jeff Kinney Jeff Newelt Jeffrey Dahmer Jeffrey Deaver Jelly Roll Morton Jennifer Homans Jenny Allen Jeremy Fisher Jeremy Warner Jian Ghomeshi Jian Gomeshi Jill Barber Jim Holt Jim Romenesko Jim Shepard Jim Tully job layoffs Joe's Pub Joe Conason Joe Gunther Joe Jackson Joel C. Turner Joel Plaskett Joel Turner Joe Regal John Cohen John D. MacDonald John Davis John Dean John Ford John Hartnett John Huston John James Audubon John K. Samson John Le Carre John Leonard John Leventhal John Maynard Keynes John McCain John Ossenmacher John Sayles Jonah Lehrer Jonathan Bernstein Jonathan Chait Jonathan Cohn Jonathan D. Moreno Jonathan Franzen Jonathan Krohn Jon Krakauer Jon Ronson Jon Roson Joseph McCarthy Josh Marshall Josh Ritter JP Hoe Jr. Judd Legum Judge David Sentelle Judge Roger Hunt Judith Butler Julia Child Julie Gold K'Naan Karkwa Karl Rove Karoli Kat Edmonson Katharine Weymouth Katherine Boo Katherine Bradford Kathleen Edwards Kathleen Sharp Katie Hafner Kay Ohara Keith Olbermann Keith Thomson Keith Wallman Kem Nunn Kenneth Starr Kent State Ken Ward Kenya Keystone Excel Keystone Pipeline Kickstarter Kids in the Hall Kindertransport kindness kinship KLH Knight Foundation Knitting Factory Kobo Kodansha Kodansha America Kodansha Globe Komen Foundation Kool 100 FM Kris Doubledee Kristen Gilligan Vlahos Kurt Eichenwald Kurt Mattingly Kurt Opsahl Kyle Brennan Kyle Gallup La Cave Lance Mannion Lance Weller languages Lawrence Ellsworth Lawrence O'Donnell Lawrence Wright lay-offs Leadbelly Leanne Shapton Lebron James Lebron Stinson LeftBankArtBlog Lehman Brothers Lemar Koethe lending right Leonard Cohen Leslie Fratkin Leslie Gore Letters of Note Lev Grossman Levon Helm Lewis Dvorkin Libboo libraries Library Voices Liese Mayer Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act linguistics LinkedIn Lisa Christiansen literary agents literary awards littering Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge live jazz live music Local Hero Longreads Louis Armstrong Louisa Waber Louis Moreau Gottschalk Louis Riel Louis Roule Lou Reed Lower East Side Tenement Museum Lt. Gen. Roméo Dallaire Ltd. Lu Burke Lucas Wittmann Lucy Wainwright Roche Lynd Ward Lyons Press M.J. Rose MAD Mae West Magellan Media Maggie Roche Manchester Union-Leader Manhattan Manitoba ManitobaMusic.com maple syrup Marc Berger Marc Glassman Margaret Atwood Marina Warner Mark Guarino Mark Helprin Mark Hosenball Mark Owen Mark Twain Marsh Law Martha Moran Mary Jo Bang Mary Norris Mary Pickford mass transit Matt Barber Matthew Barber Matthew Yglesias Matt Mays Matt Taibbi Maurice Sendak Mavis Staples May 4 Mayor Bloomberg McSweeney's Media, Blogging, Internet Media Connect Media error media errors Meet Your Google Neighbor Meir Javendafar Men's health Mercury Lounge Mercuy Ink Metric Metro Theater Metuchen M for Montreal Michael Bell Michael Bloomberg Michael Chabon Michael Connelly Michael Enright Michael Goldfarb Michael Grunwald Michael Jacobs Michael Kenney Michael Lloyd Michael Mann Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger Michael Tomasky Michelle Bachman Michelle Obama Michel Vrana Mickey Cohen middle class Midnight Ramble Mike Dash Mike Shatzkin Mikhail Prokorov Miles Davis militias Miracle 3 Misogyny Mitchell Leisen Mitt Romney MJ Rosenberg modernism Mohsin Hamid MOMocrats MOna's Bar Mona's Hot Four Mona Eltahawy Mona Eltahway Mondoweiss Montreal Mormonism Mormons Mother Jones Mountain Meadows Mountain of Names Movable Type Management Movember Mr. Steve Wise Mr. Stress MSNBC Mt. Washington Hotel MTA Muhammad Ali Mull Multiple Sclerosis Murray Energy Murray Waas music mysteries Naomi Meyer NASA Natchez Trace Nathan Cummings Foundation National Book Awards National Book Critics Circle National Book Foundation National Critics Book Circle National Review Navy Seals NBA NBCC Neil Gunn Neil Hope Neil Young Neoconservativism net neutrality Nevada 2012 Senate Race New America Foundation New Directions Publishing New Hampshire New Inquiry New Jersey New Republic New School Graduate Writing Program News Corp newspapers Newsweek/Daily Beast Newtown New Year's 2013 New York City & Bicycling New York City parks New York City Parks Dept. New York Daily News New Yorker New York Post New York Times New Zealand NFL Nicholson Baker Nick Lowe Nick Webb Nigel Nicolson Nixonian No Easy Day NOIR Magazine Nora Ephron Norman Corwin Norte Maar North Beach Novartis NRA NXNE NY1 NY Observer NYRB Classics NYU NY Underscore offshore investments Ohbijou Ohio Olympics ombudsman online abuse Online identities Open Culture Open Road Integrated Media Open Road Media opera Osama Bin Laden Out of the Past Over Fifty and Out of Work Overlook Press Oxford University Palestine Pam Geller Panorama City Papa Joe Jones Paper Bag Records Parody PassKontrol Pat Buchanan Pat Garofalo Patricia Neal Patrick Fitzgerald Patrick Watson Patti Smith Paula Broadwell Paul Elie Paul Hoynes Paul Krugman Paul Robeson Paul Ryan Paul Strand PBS PBS NewsHour peace pediatric cancer PEN PEN American Center Penguin PEN Literary Awards Penn Station PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature Personal Democracy Forum Pete Hamill Peter Beinart Peter Canby Peter Elkas Peter Evans Peter Jackson Petermann Glacier Peter S. Goodman Peter Stampfel Peter Winston Peter Workman Philip Kerr Philip Turner Book Productions Philip Turner Book Prouctions LLC Philip Weiss philology photographic forgeries photography photojournalism Picador Pierre Berton plagiarism Planetary Group Planned Parenthood Plants & Animals Plants and Animals Plum Line Poets & Writers Political Animals political skills Politico politics Portage& Main Pot Thief mysteries POT THIEF mystery series Powell's Books poynter.org President Obama press ethics Prime Minister Stephen Harper Prince Edward Island Princeton Architectural Press Pro Publica ProPublica PTSD Public Assembly Public Domain Review public health Publishers Group West PublishersMarketplace.com Publishers Weekly Publishing for President Obama Publishing Perspectives Pulitzer Prize PW Comics World Queen's Gambit Quill & Quire Rabbi Marshall Meyer Rachel Maddow Rachel Sklar Raconteur Books radio Radio City Music Hall Radio Iowa Rage Against the Machine Rah Rah Ralph Vaughan Williams Ransom Center rats Ray Bradbury Ray Chapman Ray Harryhausen Raymond Bonner recess appointments record stores ReDigi Regret the Error regrettheerror.com religion religious intolerance Republican convention Richard Ben Cramer Richard Engel Richard Ford Richard Gerard Kennedy Richard Nash Richard Pyle Richey Piiparinen Rick Danko Rick Ungar Riddley Walker Ride Rishi Dhir Riverside Park Robbie Robertson Robert Caro Robert Creamer Robert Gray Robert Henry Adams Robert Luskin Robert Mitchum Robert Moses Robert Wiersema Rob Sheffield rock n' roll Rock Shop Rockwood Hall Rockwood Music Hall Rolling Stone Romano-Archives Romare Bearden Romare Bearden Foundation Roméo Dallaire Ron Suskind Rosanne Cash Roscoe Bartlett Rose Cousins Ross King Royal City Band Royal Pacific Motor Inn Rudy Giuliani Rupert Murdoch Russell Hoban Russia Rust Belt Chic Ruth Ann Steinhagen Ruth Gruber Rwanda Ryan Reilly S.J. Perelman Sabrina Eaton Sally Kohn samizdat literature Samuel Freedman Sam Zell Sandy Hook San Francisco Sankaty High Yield Asset Investors Sarah Silverman Sarah Weinman Scholastic Writing Awards science Scooter Libby Scotland Scott Turow Scott Young SCTV secondhand records Senator Sherrod Brown Sensata September 22 Seán Collins Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet Sheldon Adelson Shelf Awareness Shelf Awarenss Shelley Berkley Sherman Alexie Shotgun Jimmie Shred Kelly Siberia Sidney Hillman Foundation Sidney Lumet silent film Silver Bitela Agency Simon & Schuster Simon Wiesenthal Sketchbook Project skunks Skyhorse Publishing Slate slavery Sloan Small Demons Smithsonian Smithsonian Magazine snowstorms social networks Soledad O'Brien Sonny Mehta SOPA Speakerfile speech and developmental impairment St. Louis Post Dispatch Stan Bevington Statue of Liberty Steinway Pianos Stephen Harper stereo speakers Sterling Publishing Steve Conte Steve Jobs Steve Sebelius Steve Wynn stop motion animation Stopmotionsolo StorefrontBushwick Studio at Webster Hall sturgeon subway tunnel construction sugar Suite for Calliope Superman Superstorm Sandy Supreme Court Susan Cahalan Susan MacDougal Susan McDougal Susan Swain suspense novels sustainability Suzzy Roche SXSW Sylvia Day Sylvia Shiff Turner Ta-Nehisi Coates Taegan Goddard Tamas Dobozy Tara Grescoe Tauchnitz Press taxes tax returns TCM teaching Teddy Kumpel Tere Tereba Terminal 5 Terre Roche Terry Francona The Atlantic The Baby Thief The Band The Barber's Conundrum The Black Angels The Canary Sang But Couldn't Fly The Crisis of Zionism the Danks The Double Game The Drongos The Godfather The Golden Gate The Great Gray Bridge The Great Recession The Great Schlep The Hobbit The Little Red Lighthouse The Living Room THEM The Magnificent Sevens The Mantle The Matinee The Men Who Stare at Goats The New Yorker The New York Times Theodoric Meyer The Onion The Pack A.D. The Pimps of Joytime the Plum Line The Politics of Truth The Power Broker The Roches The Sadies The Takeaway The Visitor The Weakerthans The Well ThinkProgress Think Progress Third places Thomas Durant Thomas Edison Thomas Jefferson Three Years Ago Today Thurgood Marshall time time-keeping Tim Holt Todd Akin Tolkien Tom Morello Tom Reiss Tom Watson Tom Wilson Tony Hillerman Tony Judt tools Tools of Change Toronto Toronto nightlife Tosca Cafe TPM Tracks on Tracks trains Travis McGee Treasure of the Sierra Madre trees Tribune Media Company Trouser Press truth tuberculosis tumblr TuneIn Radio Turk Pipkin Turtle Diary Twitter Two Coats of Paint Tyler Drumheller U.S. State Department U.S. unemployment rate unconference Undercover Books undersea life Under the Banner of Heaven Underwear bomber Union Square Press United Healthcare upper west side Urban Life Urban Life & New York City Urban Life & New York City urban wildlife US Armed Forces used ebooks US Treasury Library Valerie Plame Valobox Vanguard Press Verizon veterans Vietnam War Vikram Seth Village Voice Vince Foster vinyl LPs Virginia Virginia Quarterly Review Virginia Woolf Vish Khanna VJ Day Vladimir Putin Vol. 1 Brooklyn Voter ID voters Voting rights Voting Rights Act Voynich manuscript W.C. Fields W.N.P. Barbellion Walker & Company Wall St. Journal Walter Huston Walter Tevis Walt Whitman Washingtonian Washington Monthly Washington Post Washington Times Watkins Glen 1973 Weakerthans wealth We Are the City Wendell Potter Wendy Weil WGBH whistleblowers Whitehorse Wilco Will Eisner William Blake William Styron Willie Nelson Will Schwalbe Will Storr Winnipeg winter WNYC Woody Guthrie Workman Publishing World Book Night World Radio Day World Trade Center WWII Yale Yankee Stadium Yep Roc Records Yukon Blonde Yuval Diskin Zach Gray Zadie Smith Zerlina Maxwell Zippy the Pinhead Zola Books zyzzva