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Home , Marlon Brando

October 2009 | Vol. VIII No. 2

One Civilized Reader Is Worth a Thousand Boneheads

Dissecting Frogs: The Rise of Music The Center for the Humanities Jazz arose as a powerfully original musical The difference between appreciating the comedic Advisory Board expression in early America. It be- timing of a thrown pie or slap to the head, and 2009–2010 came the dominant form of popular dance music intellectually connecting to a joke that makes you Nancy Berg in this country and even globally until roughly laugh depends on one’s awareness of structure, the Associate Professor of Asian and Near mid-century. From the late 1940s on, however, jazz symbolic grammar that informs humor rituals as Eastern Languages and Literatures Ken Botnick transformed itself from “popular” commercial music if they were a linguistic system. Similarly, know- Associate Professor of Art into marginalized “art” music. ing the social, musicological, Gene Dobbs Bradford Executive Director The validity of the arguments and historical context of a Jazz St. Louis regarding the “life” and so- piece of music or an entire Lingchei (Letty) Chen Associate Professor of Modern Chinese called “death” of jazz is the genre helps us understand Language and Literature theme of the current Andrew the creative genius behind Elizabeth Childs Associate Professor and Chair of W. Mellon Foundation Sawyer it, how a particular musician Department of Art History and Archaeology Seminar at Washington manipulated musical structure Mary-Jean Cowell University’s Center for the and captured the feeling of his Associate Professor of Performing Arts Phyllis Grossman Humanities: “How Deep is time, but it does not explain Retired Financial Executive the Ocean: The Rise and Fall the way that some music ma- Michael A. Kahn of Jazz.” The seminar includes nipulates our emotions. Think, Author and Partner Bryan Cave LLP Washington University faculty for example, of the way that Chris King and students as well as teach- military marches or national Editorial Director The St. Louis American Newspaper ers, writers, academics and anthems stir us emotionally, or Olivia Lahs-Gonzales Director musicians from across the the way a Vivaldi concerto in Sheldon Art Galleries country. The seminar started a large cathedral can trans- Paula Lupkin rd Assistant Professor of Architecture September 3 and will contin- port you from your seat on a Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts ue until May 2010, so there is hard wooden bench to a state Erin McGlothlin Associate Professor of German still time to attend (see http:// that is beyond weariness and Steven Meyer cenhum.artsci.wustl.edu). Morton published “Jelly Roll Blues” in discomfort. With music, how- Associate Professor of English 1915, the first jazz work in print. ever, even music with lyrics, Joe Pollack I have always appreciated the Film and Theater Critic for KWMU, understanding this persistence Writer history of music, but I used to Anne Posega feel that analyzing music was like analyzing humor of structure and design is only Head of Special Collections, Olin Library and that both could be compared to dissecting a one of the differences between appreciating and Qiu Xiaolong emotionally connecting. Novelist and Poet frog. It did not seem to be a very interesting exercise Henry Schvey and required, a priori, the death of the frog. I was There are numerous explanations of how and Professor of Drama Wang Ning at least partially mistaken, however. An analysis why music became integral to human life. Music Professor of English, Tsinghua University of a performance by The Three Stooges, where the in the form of birdcalls and other animals’ vocal- James Wertsch Marshall S. Snow Professor of Arts and comedic emphasis is on fast physical action and izations, or of moving wind and water would have Sciences ridiculous situations, might kill the frog, but un- been familiar to our pre-human ancestors, and they Director of International and Area Studies Ex Officio derstanding the social context of a joke often makes probably copied and built on the sounds. From Zurab Karumidze the initial laughter a deeper intellectual experience. an evolutionary perspective, however, birdsong is Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia Edward S. Macias Provost & Exec VC for Academic Affairs Gary S. Wihl Dean of Arts & Sciences visit our blog site at http://cenhum.artsci.wustl.edu/pubs/blog.htm editor’s notes continued

property of the flute is missing one end and cannot be human brain, or played. Recent excavations at the early perhaps it was Neolithic site of Jiahu, located in Henan cobbled together province, China, however, have yielded from bits of pre- six complete bone flutes 7,000 to 9,000 existing machin- years old, which seem to be the earliest ery and then complete, playable, multi-note musical fine-tuned, or was instruments yet known. These flutes are a mutation that made from wing bones of red-crowned transformed peo- cranes and have from five to eight holes. ple’s perceptions (You can see and listen to them at http:// of the world. In www.bnl.gov/bnlweb/pubaf/pr/1999/bn- any case, it has lpr092299.html.) Tonal analyses reveal Bone flutes (7,000 to 9,000 years old) found in China. subsequently that the seven holes correspond to a tone been exploited by scale similar to the eight-note analogous, not homologous, to human evolution and made functional. People scale, suggesting that Jiahu flutists could song (our common ancestor, a Paleozoic may respond to music because many play more than single notes: They could reptile, did not have the vocal structure natural sounds stir up human emotions have produced what we would recognize to sing). Thus, the human ability for for perfectly good reasons. Think, for ex- as music. vocal learning has evolved indepen- ample, of the fear experienced at the clap Today we seem to have an infinite dently. Instrumental sound generation of thunder preceding a storm or the roar playlist of musical offerings. A few is rare among animals and appears to be of a lion if you are alone on the savan- clicks of the mouse command sounds limited to purely rhythmical elements nah, the relaxing feeling at the sound of of 9,000 year old Neolithic flutes. A pounded out on a chest or drummed on gently running water, or the protective few more clicks and we can hear the the ground or a resonating tree trunk emotions stirred by the crying of a child. Original Dixieland Jazz Band’s 1917 by our closest cousins, the African apes Sexually selected attributes commonly recording of “Livery Stable Blues,” the (chimpanzees, bonobos, and gorillas). rely on such pre-existing perceptual first jazz recording ever released; or a Thus, instrumental music in the form of biases. Thus, although we have no sure 1920s piece of classic jazz, “Song from a drumming among our closest primate way to know, music could have been Cotton Field” by Bessie Brown; or Duke relatives might be the source of the hu- built on emotions that originally arose in Ellington’s 1941 swing style “Take the man ability for drumming that is found response to natural sounds, but human A Train,” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ in the musical cultures of virtually all cognitive evolution has taken this origin Jazz). In fact, the internet gives us access human societies. and expanded it a hundredfold. to a virtual history of recorded music, Music may have been an emergent There are some things we do know. and cheap electronic storage allows us to Although it is possible that instrumental store so much music that it would take Make a Gift to the music among humans is much older, months to hear it all. Yet, despite the the archaeological record we do have gigabytes of music on our i-Pods and Center for the Humanities begins with the discovery of a bone our ability to cast a musical net across oin other donors and supporters flute approximately 37,000 years old. the wide sea of recordings, we seem to to ensure that the Center for the The delicate flute, with five finger holes return to familiar tunes time after time, JHumanities can continue to fulfill apparently carved by stone tools, is the songs that speak to our emotional its mission. Help us continue to made from the wing bone of a vulture. centers. And the question remains: why make the humanities a part of public This flute might have provided the does certain music resonate with us like life and yours. Paleolithic version of a Vivaldi concerto a string quartet in a cathedral or a flute Send your check, payable to in a cathedral. Imagine experiencing in a cave? This is the Washington University, to: skillful playing of such a flute (perhaps frog that I would The Center for the Humanities accompanied by drumming on a hol- rather not dissect. c/o Shannon McAvoy Grass low piece of wood, or on stalactites and Washington University in St. Louis stalagmites) in a cave whose acoustical Campus Box 1202 Jian Leng One Brookings Drive properties would magnify the sound, St. Louis, MO 63130-4899 and it is easy to appreciate how powerful Associate Director early music could be. Unfortunately, the Center for the Humanities book of the month by Gerald Early

Review of should be taught. The Method did for : A Life acting what supply-side economics did By Shawn Levy for political ideology: it energized the Harmony Books, 2009, 490 pages with craft by creating a partisan schism--you index, bibliography, notes, and photos either loved it or hated it, embraced it as the new light or denounced it the Somebody: The Reckless Life and way many “traditional” actors like Remarkable Career of Marlon Brando Raymond Massey did as fraudulent and By Stefan Kanfer nonsensical. It changed acting forever, Knopf, 2008, 350 pages with index, emphasizing seizing a role from within, bibliography, and photos intense psychological identification with 1. The Method and its Madness a character, naturalness, and a certain I learned everything I’ve learned about sort of creative spontaneity, catching a acting at the Actors Studio. moment as if an actor were in some sense --Paul Newman emotionally channeling the immediacy of a Chet Baker or a Jackson Pollock. Marlon’s going to class to learn the Method These new Method actors included was like sending a tiger to jungle school. and , the -- on Marlon Brando twin tragedies: Dean, star of East of Eden learning the Method at and the near-mythic youth film Rebel for Social Research Without a Cause, died in September 1955 It is a well-known fact about film act- at the age of 24 from injuries sustained Americans, jazz, cosmopolitan Jews, and ing in the United States that the advent in a head-on crash in his Porsche; and the counter-culture of the post-World of the brought a new breed of ac- Clift, star of A Place in (the film War II era, was, as Elaine Stritch said, tor and a new style of male acting before version of Dreiser’s An American Trage- like a burning tiger set loose in his ele- the public. Popular actors of the 1930s dy), From Here to Eternity, and Red River, ment, a kind of paradigmatic Norman and 1940s such as Errol Flynn (my nearly killed in an auto accident in May Mailer-esque White Negro in search boyhood favorite), , 1956, the result of his having had too of kicks and the anti-bourgeois life. If Jimmy Stewart, , Spencer much to drink. , whom anyone became the poster boy for the Tracy, , , and Clift had been visiting, ran immedi- Method, it was Brando, who was tre- all knew their craft but ately to the scene and saved him from mendously admired, worshipped even, tended to approach their characters from choking to death on his smashed teeth. and fearfully ridiculed for his style of the outside in. They had their process, His gorgeous face ruined, repaired but acting (and speaking). Brando inspired their mannerisms, their bag of tricks, not entirely restored by plastic surgery, a generation of actors whether or not their stylized exactitude in creating a Clift, despite appearing in such notable they formally studied the Method: Burt character. They may have delighted you post-accident films as Suddenly, Last Reynolds, , Sal Mineo, Al as a viewer once you got to know them, Summer, , Wild River, Pacino, , Clint East- but they never surprised you. and Judgment at Nuremberg, was never wood, Steve McQueen, . Then came the Method, something to be the actor or presence that he had Newman was never a perfect fit for the of a misnomer, as it was not simply one been before, ravaged by alcoholism and Method, never the genius student like technique or one way of learning to act. drugs until his merciful death in July Brando, never “the natural,” a respected The High Temple for the Method was 1966 at the age of 45. (Some in Holly- and admired actor but never the trail- the Actors Studio in New York founded wood referred to it as the longest suicide blazing influence that Brando was. But by (I saw Kazan act in the in history.) And then there were the Newman was, more than Brando, a 1941 film Blues in the Night, where he two survivors, the giants of their time, believer, and he certainly learned, if not played a jazz musician; it was fortunate the two actors most associated with the quite how to inhabit a part to its full- for him that he became a director), Method and clearly most successful with ness, to interrogate a role to death. New- , and , it: Paul Newman and Marlon Brando. man kept his looks and physique longer which had grown out of the Group Despite Brando’s compulsive overeating and overall appeared in better movies Theater, using techniques associated and Newman’s near alcoholism, both than Brando. One man was undone by with Konstantin Stanislavsky. The most lived a long time, well beyond their his excesses, the other disciplined by his famous teachers of the Method were prime as actors. limitations. One played Charlie Parker and , although Brando, who came to New York and to the other’s Miles Davis. they did not agree about how actors immediately fell in love with African book of the month continuedcontinued

steal the personalities of other people to acting. “I didn’t have greasepaint in my be effective,” Paul Newman once said. blood,” Newman said years later. “I was But many, if not most, people are, in just running away from the family retail some lesser or larger degree, strangers to business and from merchandising. I just themselves, trying to find some hook to couldn’t find any romance in it. Acting hang an identity on, in varying measures was a happy alternative to a way of life of desperation: a political ideology, a that meant nothing to me.” Brando was skin color, a family heritage, a religion, a failure in school: too lazy to excel at a career, a crime, a nationality, a cause, sports or with his studies. His mother’s a set of mannerisms, a set of possessions, alcoholism did not help matters. Brando something to save us from the void of had a below-average IQ of 90, which was the meaningless. Perhaps we are so used to explain his disruptive behav- fascinated by successful actors because ior. His father sent Marlon to military they are able to do something we wish school, and the son washed out there as we could: pretend to be something other he had at other schools. The only thing than what we are or pretend to be some- Marlon seemed to have a remote interest thing in order, in fact, to be something in was acting. So, after being rejected at all. Maybe actors, through their craft, for military service because of a trick give us the meaning of meaninglessness. knee, Marlon was sent, as a last ditch “Everybody is an actor,” Marlon Brando effort, to New York to learn acting at the 2. “I just want you to know who I am” said on more than one occasion, “You New School for Social Research, a den Last night I went to see A Dry White spend your whole day acting. Everybody for the Method. Brando arrived in New Season and I don’t care if you are five has suffered through moments where York in 1943; Newman in 1952. By hundred pounds or fifty pounds. You are a you’re thinking one thing and feeling the time Newman arrived, Brando was fucking genius. one thing and not showing it. . . . Acting already a star in Hollywood, nominated --Actor in a letter to Marlon is just hustling.” Many have felt that for an Academy Award for his incandes- Brando, 1989 Brando was always being disingenuous cent performance in A Streetcar Named In order to be an actor, you really have to when he said this, that his sentiment Desire in 1951; he would win the Oscar be a child. And if that theory is correct, related more to his personal discom- for his performance in then it follows that the more childish you fort at the thought of being an actor, the following year. The men were only are, the better actor you are. If I’m a re- of thinking it a worthless profession one year apart in age. ally good actor and I make a tremendous because perhaps he, a worthless person, After an apprenticeship in live televi- amount of money—from which I have to was doing it. And it seemed the only sion and on stage, Newman quickly pay the federal government—then what thing he could do well. caught up to Brando in Hollywood: you want me to be is an accountant. And Both Newman and Brando were born his breakthrough film was Somebody if I’m an accountant, I’m a responsible Midwesterners: Newman in Cleveland Up There Likes Me (1956), a biopic of human being. I’m mature. If I’m mature, Heights, Ohio; Brando in Omaha, middleweight fighter and urban ethnic I can’t be a very good actor, which means I . Newman’s father owned a bad boy Graziano; he was nomi- can’t make any money! successful sporting goods store. New- nated for Oscars for Cat on a Hot Tin --Paul Newman to an IRS agent about man himself tried to be an athlete in Roof (1959), The Hustler (1962), a truly why he had problems with his tax records. school but was never good enough. iconic performance and one of the most The agent accepted his reasoning as a legiti- Maybe this was a lingering obsession layered and complex films about a sport mate explanation. that could explain why Newman became or a game ever made, and Hud (1964), a serious racecar driver in his middle one of the finest films of the . It In your heart of hearts, you know perfectly age. Brando’s father was a philandering is striking how, after On the Waterfront, well that movie stars aren’t artists. sales executive. Neither father was close Brando’s career went steadily downhill --Marlon Brando, 1978, in Lawrence or affectionate with his son. Newman and he did not star in any films between Grobel’s Conversations with Marlon and Brando, in turn, had problems with 1955 and 1964 that equaled the best of Brando being fathers and relating to their own Newman. Indeed, until Brando per- It is commonly believed that actors children; each had a troubled child who formed wondrously in Francis Ford Cop- do not know or don’t like who they are, died as a young adult. Newman had the pola’s in 1972, he had ap- so that is why they go around getting easier childhood; he was a more obedient peared in only three films, highly flawed, paid for pretending to be other son: he attended Kenyon College and since the mid-1950s, that were somewhat people. “My own personality is Yale Drama School. He served in the worthy of his talents: One-Eyed Jacks, so vapid and bland, I have to go navy during World War II. He fell into the only film he directed, in 1961, the announcement ill-fated Mutiny on the in 1962, and Burn in 1969, a Marxist allegory about and capitalism very loosely Join Us for the Eighth Annual suggesting the career of American fili- busterer (English in the film) William Faculty Books Celebration Walker, directed by leftist filmmaker , most famous for The Battle of Algiers, a stunning film that has The Center for the Humanities always warmed the cockles on the hearts announces its eighth annual Faculty of lefties and cineastes. Brando, always Books Celebration, a colloquium to a liberal, much like Newman, had be held Tuesday, November 17, become decidedly more left toward the 2009, at 4:00 p.m. in Graham end of the 1960s, hanging around with Chapel on Washington University’s the Panthers, and Burn rather fit Danforth Campus. Immediately fol- his political sensibilities of the moment. lowing will be a reception and book He and Pontecorvo wound up hating signing in Holmes Lounge, where each other’s guts by the time the film faculty books published in the last wrapped. five years will be displayed. On the whole, Newman was not the This year’s keynote address is pre- better actor, as he himself freely admit- sented by Louis Menand, the Anne ted (he hated being compared to Bran- T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of English at Harvard University. An essayist, do), but he had the better career, played a literary critic, and a distinguished contributor to national journals, Professor more interesting characters, made a Menand is the author of The Metaphysical Club, which won the 2002 Pulitzer greater number of very good films, and Prize in History. His new book, The Marketplace of Ideas: Reform and Resistance made more films that were successful at in the American University, with Henry Louis Gates, Jr., as series editor will be the box office. Newman even handled released in December 2009. food better, launching a company with writer A. E. Hotchner called Newman’s The colloquium will focus on books by scholars from across the disciplines Own that put out everything from salad of the arts and sciences, acknowledging our colleagues’ passion for their dressing to lemonade and has made mil- subjects, celebrating their encounters with the act and art of writing. Two lions for charity. Brando simply stuffed Washington University faculty authors will make presentations about their himself with it. Yet at the end Brando recently published books. was still the bigger legend. When The Washington University Campus Bookstore will display faculty authors’ Brando was bad, he was very bad, but books, all of which will be available for purchase, and the authors who present when he was good, no one could touch will be available to sign their books after the colloquium. Washington Univer- him. sity and the entire St. Louis community are invited to attend. Please call (314) Shawn Levy’s of New- 935-5576 for more information. man and Stefan Kanfer’s biography of Brando are both solid, useful works about two complex men who did not Kanfer is also circumspect in dealing with Sal Mineo, and on it goes. Newman, in enjoy their fame very much and may not Brando’s sex life, staying mostly with the effect, was the pretty boy whore of Hol- have been especially fulfilled by being marriages and the known girlfriends that lywood, something that, Porter claims, actors. Both authors are skilled and Brando had. For every sexual encounter Newman’s father feared would happen to experienced writers about actors and that Brando allegedly had—with man, his son in the acting profession, matching film. The books provide good accounts woman, plant, and inanimate object— Brando’s promiscuity but hiding it behind of the lives—Newman was married for see ’s exploitative Brando the image of the stable man and good many years to actress Joanne Wood- Unzipped (2006). Porter has just pub- husband. Since Newman hid this so well, ward, not his first marriage, but it was lished a new biography that does the same perhaps in the end he really was a better considered a model in Hollywood where thing to Newman—Paul Newman, The actor than Brando. Despite the prurient marriages sometimes do not last as long Man Behind the Baby Blues: His Secret Life sensationalism, Porter’s book tells es- as the run of some unsuccessful movies. Exposed. sentially the same story about Newman’s But both partners were far from perfect; According to Porter, Newman had af- career as Levy’s does. But some sensa- Levy tells of at least one affair that fairs with Robert Stack, James Dean, Ten- tionalism is good, I suppose, to remind Newman had. He may very well have nessee Williams, Montgomery Clift, Mar- us that people like Brando and had more, but Levy spares us all that. ilyn Monroe, , Joan Crawford, Newman are not like you and me. Rachel Calof’s Story: Jewish Homesteader on Border’s Book Club meets to discuss The Is- Events in the Northern Plains, by Rachel Calof. 2pm, 301 land by Victoria Hislop. 7pm, Borders’ Cafe in E. Lockwood Ave., 961-3784. Sunset Hills, 10990 Sunset Hills Plaza, 909- October Monday, October 5 0300. Monday Noon Series: Colleen McKee (UMSL Thursday, October 8 English Dept.), co-editor of Are We Feeling Bet- You are invited to join the HQ Afternoon Book ter Yet? Women’s Encounters with Health Care Discussion Group to discuss The Art of Rac- in America, and Catherine Rankovic (WU Eng- ing in the Rain by Garth Stein. 1:30pm, SLCL- All events are free unless otherwise indicated. lish Dept.) contributor to the anthology, read Headquarters Branch, 1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd., Author events generally followed by signings. from the book and discuss women, depression, 994-3300. All phone numbers have 314 prefix unless oth- and creative writing. 12:15pm, UM-St. Louis, JC Murder of the Month erwise indicated. Penney Conference Center, Room 222. Dis- If you like mysteries, the Club abled accessible, park in Lot C, 516-5699. is the book club for you. This month’s Thursday, October 1 selection is A Catered Affair by Isis Crawford. The Book Bunch selection this month is Tor- 3:30pm, SLCL-Indian Trails Branch, 8400 Del- You are invited to join The Mystery Lovers tilla Curtain by T. C. Boyle. 7pm, SLCL-Grand port Dr., 994-3300. Book Club as they discuss Girl of His Dreams Glaize Branch, 1010 Meramec Station Rd., 994- Devin Johnston by Donna Leon. 10am, SLCL-Headquarters 3300. , whose poetry collection Branch, 1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd., 994-3300. Sources was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle award for poetry in 2008, will read The Trailblazers Book Club will discuss the Tuesday, October 6 from his work. Johnston will be joined by poets book Beach House by Jane Green. 2pm, SL- St. Louis Public Library invites you to join the Michele Glazer and John Estes. 8pm, Schlafly CL-Jamestown Bluffs Branch, 4153 N. Hwy 67, Machacek Book Discussion Group. 10am, Bottleworks, 7260 Southwest Ave., 241-2337. 994-3300. SLPL-Machacek Branch, 6424 Scanlan Ave., Washington University’s Writing Program Authors @ Your Library presents Kimberla 781-2948. invites you to join visiting Hurst Professor and Lawson Roby, who will discuss and sign her Webster Groves Public Library Book Dis- fiction writer, Rikki Ducornet for a lecture on new book, A Deep Dark Secret. 7pm, SLPL- cussion Group will meet to discuss Women the craft of fiction. 8pm, WU Danforth Campus, Julia Davis Branch, 4415 Natural Bridge Ave., with Men, by Richard Ford. 6pm, 301 E. Lock- Hurst Lounge, Duncker Hall, Room 201, 935- 383-3021. wood Avenue, 961-3784. 5190. The inaugural meeting of the Brentwood Sci- You are invited to attend the St. Louis Writers ence Fiction Book Club will meet to discuss Guild’s Open MIC Night. 7pm, Wired Coffee, Friday, October 9 The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell. No reg- 3860 S. Lindbergh. Register to read online: You can expect great company, discussion, istration necessary. 7pm, Brentwood Public Li- www.stlwritersguild.org. and refreshments at the Great Expectations brary, 8765 Eulalie Ave., 963-8630. Left Bank Books invites you to join author Rock Road Book Discussion Group. This Washington University’s Writing Program John Lutz for a discussion about his latest in month’s selection is TBA. 10am, SLCL-Rock invites you to join visiting Hurst Professor and the Frank Quinn series, Urge to Kill. 7pm, LBB, Road Branch, 10267 St. Charles Rock Road, fiction writer,Rikki Ducornet, for a reading from 399 N. Euclid, 367-6731. 994-3300. her work. 8pm, WU Danforth Campus, Hurst Lounge, Duncker Hall, Room 201, 935-5190. Wednesday, October 7 Monday, October 12 Join St. Louis County Library for a discussion Whatever It Takes: Geoffrey Canada’s Quest to Friday, October 2 about The House on Mango Street by Sandra Change Harlem and America by Paul Tough is The Missouri History Museum invites you to Cisneros. 10:30am, SLCL-Thornhill Branch, a portrayal of Geoffrey Canada and the children a book signing and spoken word event with jes- 12863 Willowyck Dr., 994-3300. and parents who are struggling to better their sica Care moore, poet and author of God Is lives and the impact of the Harlem Children’s Washington University Assembly Series Not An American. Purchase tickets in advance with Zone. Left Bank Books, 399 N. Euclid, 367- Elliot Stein Lecture in Ethics for $10 at www.mohistory.org, $15 at the door. the welcomes 6731. Harold Ford Jr. Books will be available for purchase. 6pm, Mis- , the former Democratic Con- souri History Museum in Forest Park, 746-4599. gressman from Tennessee who lost a close Tuesday, October 13 senatorial bid in 2006 and now chairs the Dem- Saturday, October 3 ocratic Leadership Council, is a vice president Grand Glaize Library Book Discussion at Merrill Lynch, and teaches public policy at Group will discuss The Color of Water by St. Louis Writers Guild is proud to present Vanderbilt University. 4pm, WU Danforth Cam- James McBride. 2pm, SLCL-Grand Glaize “Get the Right Gun for Your Murder: A Firearms pus, Graham Chapel, 935-4620. Branch, 1010 Meramec Station Rd., 994-3300. Primer for Writers,” a workshop presented by The Tuesday Night Writers’ Critique Group Tom Applewhite You are invited to the 42nd Annual St. Louis . SLWG members free, $5 for will meet to read and critique each others’ work. non-members. Please register in advance at Literary Award honoring Salman Rushdie. Book sale and signing at 4:30pm. Award Pre- Writers of all levels of experience are invited www.stlwritersguild.org 10am, Kirkwood Com- to join us. For more info contact Susan: 9p4a- munity Center, 111 S. Geyer. sentation and Conversation with Salman Rush- die 5:30pm. Busch Student Center, St. Louis [email protected] 7pm, B&N Crestwood, You are invited to join author, Pat Bubash, who University campus. Please register on line: 9618 Watson Rd. Successful Sec- will be signing her new book, www.stlliterary.com or call 977-3145. Brentwood Public Library Book Club invites ond Marriages Main Street Books . 1pm, , 307 you to join a discussion of the book by Julia S. Main St., St. Charles, MO. 636-949-0105. Left Bank Books is pleased to present Jamie Ford, the author of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter Child, My Life in . The book club is free Webster Groves Public Library Book and Sweet. 7pm, LBB, 399 N. Euclid, 367-6731. and open to the public. 7pm, Brentwood Public Discussion Group will meet to discuss Library, 8765 Eulalie Ave., 963-8630. st. louis literary calendar

Authors @ Your Library presents Keisha Ervin, who will sign and discuss her new book, Monday, October 19 Wednesday, October 21 Gunz & Roses. 7pm, SLPL-Carpenter Branch, Monday Noon Series: Daniel L. Rust (UMSL Cliff Cave Book Discussion Group. Newcom- 3309 S. Grand Blvd., 772-6586. Center for Transportation Studies) discusses ers welcome! 2pm, SLCL-Cliff Cave Branch, his book Flying Across America: The Airline 5430 Telegraph Road, 994-3300. Passenger Experience Wednesday, October 14 12:15pm, UM-St. Louis, Sachs Afternoon Book Discussion Group. JC Penney Conference Center, Room 222. Dis- The Bookies Book Discussion Group invites 2pm, SLCL-Samuel C. Sachs Branch, 16400 abled accessible, park in Lot C, 516-5699. you to a discussion on the book Where God was Burkhardt Pl., 994-3300. Thornbirds Born by Bruce Fieler. 2pm, SLCL-Oak Bend Join the for a lively discussion Trailblazers After Dark will meet to discuss Cold Sassy Tree Branch, 842 S. Holmes Ave., 994-3300. about by Olive Ann Burns. Relic by Douglas Preston. 7pm, SLCL-James- You are invited to join the Boones Bookies 2pm, SLCL-Thornhill Branch, 12863 Willowyck town Bluffs Branch, 4153 N. Hwy 67, 994-3300. Discussion Group. 2pm, SLCL-Daniel Boone Dr., 994-3300. Urban Lit Discussion Group will meet to dis- Branch, 300 Clarkson Rd., 994-3300. ¡Leamos! Spanish Book Discussion Group cuss Just too Good to be True by E. Lyn Harris. National Book Award winning author of Three will discuss Prision verde by Ramon Amaya- 7pm, SLPL–Carpenter Branch, 3309 S. Grand Junes, Julia Glass will read from and sign her Amador. 7pm, SLPL–Carpenter Branch, 3309 Blvd., 772-6586. latest novel, I See You Everywhere. This is an S. Grand Blvd., 772-6586. The Wednesday Night Book Discussion on-stage interview with KMOX’s Debbie Mon- Left Bank Books and the Ethical Society wel- Group invites you to join the discussion of terrey. 7pm, SLCL-Headquarters Branch, 1640 come Deepak Chopra to discuss his new book, the riveting tale The Story of Edgar Sawtelle S. Lindbergh Blvd., 994-3300. Reinventing the Body, Resurrecting the Soul. by David Wroblewski. 7pm, SLCL-Cliff Cave March by Geraldine Brooks is the selection this Book purchase required from LBB to attend Branch, 5430 Telegraph Rd., 994-3300. month. 7pm, SLCL-Mid-County Branch, 7821 the event. 7pm, Ethical Society, 9001 Clayton Join the Evening Book Discussion Group for Maryland Ave., 994-3300. Road, 367-6731. a discussion. Visitors welcome; open member- Fontbonne University’s Writer’s Reading River Styx’s popular reading series continues ship. 7:30pm, SLCL-Oak Bend Branch, 842 S. Series hosts MacArthur Award winner Eleanor its 35th season with three poets: Kathleen Holmes Ave., 994-3300. Rand Wilner, author of six books of poetry, in- Driskell, Jeanie Thompson, and Gardner Mc- cluding The Girl with Bees in Her Hair and Re- Fall. Admission is $5, $4 for seniors, students, Thursday, October 22 versing the Spell: New and Selected Poems. and members. 7:30 pm, Duff’s Restaurant, 392 You are invited to attend the St. Louis County 8pm, Fontbonne University Library, the Lewis N. Euclid, 533-4541. Library’s Grand Glaize Library Book Discus- Room, 889-4551. sion Group to discuss The Other Side of the Tuesday, October 20 Bridge by Mary Lawson. 2pm, SLCL-Grand Thursday, October 15 St. Louis Public Library invites you to join the Glaize Branch, 1010 Meramec Station Rd., Washington University Assembly Series in Machacek Book Discussion Group. 10am, 994-3300. conjunction with the Center for Academic In- SLPL-Machacek Branch, 6424 Scanlan Ave., St. Louis Public Library invites you to join the tegrity Conference welcomes David Calla- 781-2948. Central Book Discussion Group. The selec- han. The author of The Moral Center and The St. Louis Public Library invites you to discuss tion for October is Lace Reader by Brunonia Cheating Culture believes Americans have lost Andrew Davidson’s, The Gargoyle. 6:45pm, Barry. 4pm, SLPL-Central Library, 1301 Olive their moral compass in search of success at any SLPL-Kingshighway Branch, 2260 S. Vande- St., 539-0396. cost. 4pm, WU Danforth Campus, Graham Cha- venter Ave., 771-5450. pel, 935-4620. St. Louis Public Library Book Discussion Prairie Commons Adult Book Club selection Group invites you to join them to discuss Mud- Saturday, October 17 is The Many Lives and Secret Sorrows of Jo- bound: A Novel by Hillary Jordan. No advance sephine B. Stop by the circulation desk to pick registration is required, and new members are Mystery Lover’s Book Club Join the to dis- up your copy. 7pm, SLCL- Prairie Commons always welcome! 7pm, SLPL-Schlafly Branch, Grave Surprise cuss by Charlaine Harris. 10am, Branch, 915 Utz Ln., 994-3300. 225 N. Euclid Ave., 367-4120. SLPL-Carondelet Branch, 6800 Michigan Ave., 752-9224. The Tuesday Night Writers’ Critique Group Richard Newman, editor of River Styx will will meet to read and critique each others’ work. read from his newest poetry collection, Domes- St. Louis Public Library invites you to read and Writers of all levels of experience are invited tic Fugues. Books will be available for purchase SL- discuss African American titles. 12:30pm, to join us. For more info contact Susan: 9p4a- through Subterranean Books. 7:30pm, Dres- PL-Julia Davis Branch , 4415 Natural Bridge [email protected] 7pm, B&N Crestwood, sel’s Pub, 419 N. Euclid, 533-4541. Ave., call 383-3021 for current selection. 9618 Watson Rd. As the Page Turns Books Discussion Group Book Journeys invites you to join as they dis- Washington University’s Writing Program invites you to join them for a discussion of Into The Devil in the White City cuss by author Erik invites you to a lecture on the craft of poetry the Wild by Jon Krakauer. For further informa- Larson. 2pm, SLCL-Indian Trails Branch, 8400 featuring visiting Hurst Professor, poet Claudia tion, please pick up a list of our future reads at Delport Dr., 994-3300. Rankine. 8pm, WU Danforth Campus, Hurst the Weber Road front desk. 7pm, SLCL-Weber MORWA presents: “Write Like You Mean It: Lounge, Duncker Hall, Room 201, 935-5190. Road Branch, 4444 Weber Rd., 994-3300. Being a Full time Writer Without Writing Full St. Louis Writers Guild presents Loud Mouth Authors @ Your Library presents Keven Jenna Peterson Time” featuring , best selling Open MIC Night, a live performance for writers Kious, Henry Herbst and Don Roussin, au- Avon author. Practical advice and tips on how to and guests who are 18+ years. Register to read thors of the St. Louis Brews, the first compre- recognize writing blocks and, even more impor- online: www.stlouiswritersguild.org. 8pm, The hensive book on the history of brewing in St. tant, how to overcome them. 11am, B&N Crest- Mack, 4615 Macklind Ave. Louis. 7pm, SLPL-Schlafly Branch, 225 North wood, 9618 Watson Rd., fee charged, www. Euclid Ave., 367-4120. morwa.org. st. louis literary calendar continued

Financial assistance for this project has been provided Washington University’s Writing Program by the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency, and the invites you to join Regional Arts Commission. poets Monica de la Torre and Mark Bibbins, who will read from their work. 8pm, WU Danforth Campus, Hurst Lounge, Duncker Hall, Room 201, 935-5190. Friday, October 23 Non-Profit Org. You are invited to join author Marion Moore Hill while she U.S. Postage signs her delightful historical mystery, Deadly Design, which PAID has a Lewis & Clark and Thomas Jefferson storyline. 2pm, The Center for the Humanities St. Louis, MO Main Street Books , 307 S. Main St., St. Charles, MO, 636- Campus Box 1071 Permit No. 2535 949-0105. Old McMillan Hall, Rm S101 Washington University’s Assembly Series with the Spen- One Brookings Drive cer T. Olin Fellows Lecture Urvashi Vaid presents ,”Beyond St. Louis, MO 63130-4899 the Wedding Ring: LGBT Activism in the Age of Obama.” The prominent activist, lawyer and author of Virtual Equality has de- Phone: (314) 935-5576 voted her career to fostering equal rights for the Lesbian, Gay, email: [email protected] Bisexual and Transgendered communities. 4pm, WU Danforth http://cenhum.artsci.wustl.edu Campus, Graham Chapel, 935-4620. The Ethical Society and Left Bank Books invite you to join Eoin Colfer for a book signing of his new book, And Another Thing. The event is free; books for signing must be purchased at LBB to receive a ticket. 7pm, Ethical Society, 9001 Clayton Rd., 367-6731. Saturday, October 24 As part of Read St. Louis the St. Louis County and City Pub- lic Libraries are pleased to invite you to an author visit with Patricia McKissack as she discusses her new book, Stitchin’ and Pullin.’ 2pm, SLPL-Schlafly Branch, 225 N. Euclid Ave., 367-4120. Andy Williams will talk, sing a few songs and sign his book, Moon River and Me, presented by the Ethical Society and Left Bank Books. Book purchase required from LBB to attend Notices the event. 7pm, Ethical Society, 9001 Clayton Road. 367-6731. The Big Read in St. Louis will focus on The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. Activities begin on October 10 with the Big Read Festival through Sunday, October 25 February 2010. The Big Read is an initiative of the National Endowment The BookClub will hold its 405th discussion on The # 1 Ladies for the Arts designed to restore reading to the center of American culture. Detective Agency by Alexander McCall. For more information, The Big Read is presented by Centene Corporation and produced by Cultural venue and time, email, [email protected] http://www.klin- Festivals, 863-0278; email: [email protected]; website: www.bigread. edinst.com or call 636-451-3232. net/index.htm You are invited to a book signing with the author of Between St. Louis Writers Guild, a cutting edge literary organization, has a lecture Me and the River, Carrie Host. 1pm, Main Street Books, 307 every other month starting in January, on the third Thursday from 7-8pm at S. Main St., St. Charles, MO, 636-949-0105. Barnes & Noble Book Store, 8871 Ladue Road, Ladue, MO. Lectures are free. For more information, contact the Guild President, Rebecca Carron, at Thursday, October 29 314-974-2395 or at [email protected]. Also, check The St. Louis Washington University’s Assembly Series and the Chimes Writers Guild website at www.stlwritersguild.org Junior Honorary are pleased to present Francis G. Slay. St. Louis Writers Guild has a monthly workshop on the first Saturday from Under Mayor Slay’s leadership, St. Louis has made progress 10am-12noon at the Kirkwood Community Center, 111 S. Geyer, Kirkwood, in reducing urban social ills, but still faces many challenges, MO. Workshop Fee is $5 unless you are a member. If you become a member especially in education, a topic he will focus on in this informal at the Workshop, $5 will be deducted from your membership cost. For more discussion. 5:30pm, WU Danforth Campus, Danforth Univer- information, contact the Guild President, Rebecca Carron, at 974-2395 or at sity Center, Tisch Commons, 935-4620. [email protected]. Also, check The St. Louis Writers Guild website Washington University’s Writing Program invites you to a at www.stlwritersguild.org reading with Claudia Rankine. 8pm, WU Danforth Campus, Hurst Lounge, Duncker Hall, Room 201, 935-5190. Abbreviations STL: Saint Louis; B&N: Barnes & Noble; LBB: Left Bank Books; SLCL: St. Saturday, October 31 Louis County Library; SLPL: St. Louis Public Library; SCCCL: St. Charles City Buder Branch Book Discussion Group will discuss Middle- County Library; UCPL: University City Public Library, WU: Washington Univer- sex by Jeffrey Eugenides. 2pm, SLPL-Buder Branch, 4401 sity, WGPL: Webster Groves Public Library. Hampton Ave., 352-2900. Check the online calendar at cenhum.artsci.wustl.edu for more events and additional details. To advertise, send event details to [email protected], fax 935-4889, or call 935-5576.