(Photograph, circa 1978; used by permission of artist Jenny Lynn.)

David Shields, J.D. Salinger, and the book "How literature saved my life"

A new biography/oral history is about to be published about J.D. Salinger;  I'm looking forward to reading it.  The book, which been getting a great deal of attention, in advance of its publication (September 3rd), is co-written by David Shields and Shane Salerno. Salerno is also the director of a documentary about Salinger, which will be opening in theatres September 6th (and will air on PBS in 2014).  

http://www.amazon.com/Salinger-David-Shields/dp/1476744831/

Shields, who is an old friend from college, has written many other books, including the two non-fiction works The Thing About Life Is That One Day You'll Be Dead (Knopf, 2008), a best-seller, and the much-discussed Reality Hunger (Knopf, 2010).

(Please see a lengthy post about Reality Hunger, which appeared in 2010 on my other blog: 
http://www.andrewleefielding2.blogspot.com/p/books.html.)

Shields's most recent book, prior to Salinger, is the non-fiction work How literature saved my life.  It was released this February (also by Knopf). 

Shields is a terrific writer, and How literature saved my life is a fine book.  While the book is, of course, about literature, it is also very much about the self.  Such as:  the keen awareness of self, in relation to the writing and reading of literature (and the very personal ways texts are read, and responded to);  and the self, as it reads and interprets life beyond the page.

It is intriguing to me that Shields--who in his non-fiction, over time, has written, quite personally, about his life--is now the co-author of a book about J.D. Salinger, who for decades revealed so little about himself, publicly.  

Yet there is this, concerning Salinger, in How literature saved my life:

"When I can't sleep, I get up and pull a book off the shelves.  There are no more than thirty writers I can reliably turn to in this situation, and Salinger is still one of them...What is it in his work that offers such solace at 3:00 A.M. of the soul?  For me, it's how his voice, to a different degree and in a different way in every book, talks back to itself, how it listens to itself talking, comments upon what it hears, and keeps talking.  This self-awareness, this self-reflexivity, is the pleasure and burden of being conscious, and the gift of his work--what makes me less lonely and makes life more livable--lies in its revelation that this isn't a deformation in how I think; this is how human beings think."

http://www.amazon.com/How-Literature-Saved-My-Life/dp/0307961524/

Martin Grams, Jr., "Duffy's Tavern," & the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention

I've written a number of times, in this space, about author and researcher Martin Grams, Jr.  He's written many books about Old-Time Radio shows, and vintage television programs. (One of his best-known books is 2008's The Twilight Zone: Unlocking the Door to a Television Classic.)

Martin has appeared several times on my weekly radio program; one of those appearances was this past week.  It's always a pleasure speaking with him. 

We talked about his forthcoming book about the well-known radio program Duffy's Tavern (which also aired, briefly, on television); the book will be released later this year. 

We also discussed the upcoming "Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention," which is overseen by Martin and his wife Michelle.  

The convention is in its eighth year, and will take place from September 19-21, in Hunt Valley, Maryland.

www.midatlanticnostalgiaconvention.com  

Here, too, is the link for Martin's website:  

www.martingrams.com 
 

"Walk Right In," "The Rooftop Singers," Bill Svanoe, and the Freedom Riders

This is a 1960s video (of a television performance), featuring one of the songs I enjoyed most in childhood. It remains a favorite song, today.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hpPuFnq85A

The song, "Walk Right In," was recorded in 1962 by The Rooftop Singers, and was a number one hit in early 1963. The song had originally been written in 1929 by the blues musician Gus Cannon (who released a recording the same year, with a jug band he led). The Rooftop Singers was formed in 1962, in order to record a new version of the song.

The performers in the video (left to right) are Bill Svanoe, Lynne Taylor, and Erik Darling. 

And here is the Wikipedia page about the group: 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rooftop_Singers 

Here, too, are pictures of Bill Svanoe, from 1961 (before the forming of The Rooftop Singers), as well as a more recent picture.  He was part of the very brave and heroic 1960s Freedom Riders movement and he was arrested and jailed as a result.  The pictures appeared on Oprah Winfrey's website in 2011, as part of a "Then and Now" feature about the Freedom Riders; Ms. Winfrey also honored the Freedom Riders in a 2011 broadcast. (Please scroll down, after clicking on the link, to see the pictures of Mr. Svanoe.)

http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/Freedom-Riders-Portraits/25 

The feature on Ms. Winfrey's website was derived from a 2008 book about the Freedom Riders, Breach of Peace.  The book is by photographer and author Eric Etheridge:

http://www.amazon.com/Breach-Peace-Portraits-Mississippi-Freedom/dp/B0085SKPNQ/

Lastly, this is the link for the Wikipedia page about the Freedom Riders:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_Riders

Rocky

This is a picture of Rocky, taken years ago, when I lived in Charlottesville, Virginia. I found Rocky in 1996, at the Charlottesville-Albemarle County SPCA. When he died, a year ago yesterday, he was sixteen. I loved him dearly, and miss him very much.

George Scott (1944-2013)

He was a superb ballplayer, and always seemed like a very nice and genuine guy.

I loved watching him when he played for the Red Sox (in particular, during their 1967 "Impossible Dream" season).

http://www.sportingnews.com/mlb/story/2013-07-29/george-scott-dies-death-red-sox-brewers

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/30/sports/baseball/george-scott-slugger-who-boomed-taters-in-fenway-dies-at-69.html?ref=obituaries

Another Cat Power video

Previously, in this space, I have posted videos of performances by the singer and songwriter Chan Marshall, also known as Cat Power.  

I've loved a number of her performances that I have seen, on video.  Her soulful and poetic voice has taken me aback, repeatedly.

Here is another video, which is of a 2006 concert for the television program "Austin City Limits."

As is often the case with YouTube videos I enjoy, I have watched this video many times--or, more precisely, have watched, a number of times, the first three songs.  The three songs are from her 2006 CD "The Greatest," and I previously posted different live versions of the first two songs, "The Greatest," and "Living Proof." The third song is "Lived In Bars." 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Bcj0gYPQKo