Of Golightly and Mazursky
By Mark Peikert
Film writer Sam Wasson has made a name for himself with books that shed new light on familiar subjects. After chronicling the films of director Blake Edwards in A Splurch in the Kisser, Wasson narrowed his sights to a single Edwards film: Breakfast at Tiffany’s. The result was last summer’s buzziest book, the New York Times bestselling Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and the Dawn of the Modern Woman.
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Teaching by the Book
Some local students are learning the story behind the books.
Behind the Book, based on the Upper West Side, is a nonprofit that brings local authors and illustrators to underserved classrooms throughout the five boroughs. The eight-year-old organization’s goal is motivating kids, Pre-K to 12th grade, to read and write.
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The Summer of Cash
By Mark Peikert
Any discussion of Rosanne Cash these days must include some reference to her lively, busy Twitter page, which details everything from the new shoes she bought to the things she worries about at three in the morning. This being Cash, however, her 3 a.m. fears aren’t the usual insomniac’s. Instead of mortality, she wondered on Twitter “What if there’s a sprinkler & it goes off when I’m sleeping & my red hair color gets on the pillow & someone thinks it’s blood.” Cash saves her dark nights of the soul for her music.
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Upper West Side as Muse
Even though Laurie Graff has lived on the Upper East Side and Los Angeles, the only place she has ever called home is the Upper West Side.
That is where she began her acting career, and where she authored and set parts of her three novels, The Shiksa Syndrome, Looking for Mr. Goodfrog and You Have to Kiss a Lot of Frogs, which will be reissued next year.
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Upper West Side Scribblers on the Roof
The name of the new literary series came to him in his sleep.
Melvin Jules Bukiet woke up near midnight more than a decade ago with the concept and name “Scribblers on the Roof” in his head.
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Reading Upper West Side
For the sidebars, please go to:
Upper West Side as Muse
Upper West Side Scribblers on the Roof
Why the neighborhood continues to inspire authors, and some of the great reads (old and new) that are set just outside your door
By Beth Mellow
The Green family as portrayed in Katharine Weber’s The Little Women are a creative and intellectual bunch living in a sprawling and somewhat messy Upper West Side apartment. Mom is a professor and dad is an inventor. All three sisters engage in artistic pursuits including music, art and writing. When the family is shaken by infidelity, the two younger sisters decide to leave home and follow their oldest sibling to New Haven, where she’s beginning her junior year at Yale University.
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Peaks and Valleys of Pioneering Female Journalist
By Ashley Welch
Upper West Side author Annette Blaugrund did not always see herself as a writer. With a PhD in art history from Columbia University, she worked as director of the National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts and as a curator at both the New-York Historical Society and the Brooklyn Museum.
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Cavett, Still Going Strong & Still Laid Back
Upper West Sider on fame and his first apartment
Dick Cavett made his career out of asking the right questions, but these days he has a lot to say about his own life and experiences, and people are listening.
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Author’s Silk Road “Song”
Upper East Side author Mingmei Yip is a busy woman. In addition to being a celebrated writer whose third novel, Song of the Silk Road, was recently released, Yip is a master calligrapher and is classically trained on the Qin, a traditional Chinese instrument, which she plays in concert several times a year.
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Summer Guide: Books
Put your tawdry beach reads back on the shelf—these reading series will keep your summer wordy, nerdy and hot.
By Staff
KGB’s Fantastic Fiction
Speculate about the mysteries of life and science over cheap beer while you listen to good fiction. A mix of veteran and up-and-coming writers of speculative fiction (science fiction, fantasy and horror) read excerpts and short stories once every month for this free event. This summer, highlights include Glen Hirshberg and Sarah Langan June 15 and, for the July 21 reading, Katherine Vaz and Geoff Ryman. Third Wednesdays, KGB Bar, 85 E. 4th St. (betw. 2nd Ave. & Bowery), 212-505-3360; 7, Free.
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