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Tag Archives: Politics & Prose Bookstore

Our Carceral State

22 Tuesday Sep 2015

Posted by Richard in Articles & Books of Interest, The Outer Loop

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"Letter to My Son", "The Black Family in the Age of Mass Incarceration", "The Case for Reparations", Politics & Prose Bookstore, Sixth and I Historic Synagogue, Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Atlantic Magazine

I had to look up the word in the title above, but it is quite appropriate.

It is a word that Ta-Nehisi Coates uses frequently in his most recent and lengthy article, The Black Family in the Age of Mass Incarceration in the October 2015 issue of The Atlantic.

This article has certainly expanded my thinking and my understanding about something that is happening in our country but that rarely makes the news.

I am reprinting first the Atlantic’s Editor’s Note that introduces the article and will give you a sense of what will follow if you invest time in reading the Coates’ piece.

(Also, at the end of this Editor’s Note, there is information about two free tickets to see and hear Ta-Nehisi Coates in Washington, DC  Oct. 14th.)

Editor’s Note

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“The Sympathizer” – A Brilliant First Novel

09 Saturday May 2015

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

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"Academy Street". Mary Costello, "All the Light Between Us", "The Son", "The Sympathizer", Politics & Prose Bookstore, Pulitizer Prize for Fiction, Viet Thanh Nguyen

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Every so often, usually when I’m feeling particularly guilty about overly enriching Amazon by purchasing ‘Kindle’ books, I go to Washington’s independent bookstore, Politics and Prose, to buy a couple of hardback books.

Usually, I look for Mark, the head book buyer, I think, and ask him what are the two best books he’s read in the last couple of months. He rarely steers me wrong. (Because of suggestions he made, for example, I read All the Light Between Us and also The Son, shortly after each was published. The former recently won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for fiction and the latter was one of the finalists for the Pulitzer in 2014.)

About 10 days ago I was in the store, saw Mark, and asked my usual question. He immediately went and got The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen and read me the opening page. Then he found a copy of Mary Costello’s Academy Street and said, “Also, here’s a little gem that hasn’t been reviewed yet, but I loved it.” (See my earlier post, Mary Costello – A New Voice.)

I read, actually consumed, The Sympathizer first and wanted to write about it, but I noticed the author was coming to Politics & Prose for an author talk and decided to wait until I saw and heard him in person. That happened Wednesday night.

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Mary Costello – A New Voice

03 Sunday May 2015

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

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"Academy Street", "Brooklyn", "Stoner", Colm Toibin, Irish fiction, John Williams, Mary Costello, MillersTime Favorite Reads, Politics & Prose Bookstore

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Rather than wait until the December posting of favorite reads, let me draw your attention to an author and a book I recently found delightful — Mary Costello’s Academy Street.

This first novel is quite short, 146 pages, but somehow this Irish writer has managed to pack a full life into the story of Tess, an Irish woman who comes to live and to stay in America after spending the first part of her life in Ireland.

Initially, Academy Street reminded me of a favorite read of a few years ago, Colm Toibin’s Brooklyn, also a story of an Irish immigrant (female) who comes to America.

But in the short time it took me to read Mary Costello’s lovely gem, I thought of another favorite, John Williams’ Stoner, also a portrait of a person’s whole life. Both Williams and Costello seem to ask the question of the value of their main character’s entire life.

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Books & Reading: Alive and Well

01 Monday Sep 2014

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

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Books, Claire Messud, E.L. Doctorow, Ishmael Beah, Library of Congress National Book Festival, National Book Festival, Politics & Prose Bookstore, Reading

BOOKFAIR 17551409420710

(Nikki Kahn/The Washington Post photo)

From what I saw and experienced on Saturday at the Washington Convention Center, books and reading are alive and well, at least in the DC area.

The Library of Congress’ National Book Festival, first started in 2001 and held on the Mall until this year, moved inside, and all indications are that it was a terrific move.

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If You Love Books…

28 Thursday Aug 2014

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

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14th Annual LIbrary of Congress National Book Festival, National Book Festival, Politics & Prose Bookstore, Washington Convention Center

poster_enlarge…and if you are in or near Washington, DC this Labor Day weekend, you’re in for a treat.

The National Book Festival will take place this Saturday, August 30th, from 10 am – 10 pm, though doors open at 9 am.

And it’s all free.

Since it first began in 2001, it has been held on the Mall, but this year it has moved indoors to the Washington Convention Center.

The list of activities is impressive and includes more than 100 authors, book signings, lectures, panel discussions, activities for children, and the opportunity to meet some of your favorite writers.

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“You Might as Well Be a Mensch”

06 Thursday Dec 2012

Posted by Richard in Escapes and Pleasures

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""The Tummy Triology", "About Alice", "Deciding the Next Decider", "Dogfight", "Family Man", "Messages from My Father", "Quite Enough of Calvin Trillin", "Remembering Denny", Calvin Trillin, Politics & Prose Bookstore

Having the good fortune to live in the same city where the independent bookstore Politics & Prose is located, I stopped in last night to see and hear one of my favorite authors, humorist Calvin Trillin.

NYTimes photo

Trillin was in town to promote his latest book, Dogfight, a slim volume of his ‘deadline’ poetry (doggeralls, so to speak) about the 2012 Presidential campaign. This book is a sequel to his 2008 Deciding the Next Decider.

Lamenting that only one party had a primary fight and that he had already used up his Obama rhymes in 2008, he told the assembled (and aging) audience that he liked ‘iambic candidates,’ such as Ross Perot, John McCain, Chris Dodd, and Bob Dole. He read from his new book, mostly poking fun at Mitt Romney and the string of Republican candidates who ‘challenged’ him. He also admitted he once told Hilliary Clinton she had a bad name and was “insufficiently iambic.”  He claimed Hilliary took that as a great complement.

Mixed in with his ‘poetry’ in Dogfight are perhaps a half dozen “Pauses for Prose,” most of which I think are probably better than his poems.  In fact, generally I think his prose is much better than his verse.

But Trillin has long been a hero of mine, especially since he campaigned for making spaghetti carbonara our national dish and also admitted he didn’t like turkey and always “goes for Chinese” on Thanksgiving.

Trillin was born (1935) and grew up in Kansas City and has written for most of his life for The Nation and The New Yorker magazines. He has somehow maintained, retained, Midwestern cultural and regional values despite his living in Greenwich Village for more than 40 years. The title of this post, “You Might as Well Be a Mensch,” is his often quoted line of the advice his Kansas City father gave him.

If you don’t know Calvin Trillin and if you enjoy a dry sense of humor, mixed with self-deprecation and writings about family (specifically his two daughters, Sarah and Abigail and his wife Alice), food, and travel, you have some fun ahead.

You could start with any of these:

*About Alice

*Messages from My Father

*Family Man

*Remembering Denny

*The Tummy Trilogy (“American Fried,” “Alice, Let’s Eat,” and “Third Helpings”)

*Travels with Alice

*Quite Enough of Calvin Trillin (40 Years of Funny Stuff)

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