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New Video: Abram Himelstein and The Neighborhood Story Project |
I can't imagine a better way to start The Katrina Tapes here at AuthorViews than with longtime New Orleans Bookfair organizer Abram Himelstein.
Abram has been involved with the Bookfair since it began in 2001. More importantly, he is co-director of the Neighborhood Story Project (NSP), one of the most ingenious and successful high school writing programs I have ever encountered. Through the NSP, high school students use interviews and photography to collect the stories of their neighborhoods. Words and art are then edited, polished, and assembled into quality paperback books.
The five books that have resulted from this project are extraordinary. They have become bestsellers in local bookstores. Student authors have found themselves on the receiving end of media attention (NPR) and $1000 advances against book royalties. What a fabulous way to teach writing, journalism, publishing, and business -- all while capturing the oral history of a community.
Our 2-minute video with Abram was shot live at the 2005 New Orleans Bookfair and contains ambient trumpet as a stamp of authenticity. I think you'll enjoy this video and I hope you'll check out the Neighborhood Story Project web site for great inspiration.
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New Video: The Katrina Tapes Preview -- Saint Aug |
Beginning next week, AuthorViews will start releasing "The Katrina Tapes" -- a series of interviews filmed at the New Orleans Bookfair in October, 2005.
The Bookfair was the first major post-K cultural event in the city, coming just 2 weeks after the mandatory evacuation was lifted and residents were invited back home (or invited back homeless, as the case often was). This is a startling collection of first-hand impressions and we look forward to bringing them to you.
We're starting with this very short video of St. Augustine Church -- the oldest African-American Catholic Church in America. In the aftermath of Katrina, the Archdiocese of New Orleans decided to close "Saint Aug" -- a decision that has met with an outpouring of local, national, and international support for this landmark church.
This video marks another landmark: AuthorViews intern David Kaplan will be graduating from Tulane University next week. David was our first digital video intern. In the past few months he has sampled every aspect of filmmaking for the web. He did the camera work on this piece, along with much of the editing and titling.
Our video of Saint Aug is really more of a snapshot than a story. Several of us here at the New Orleans office have been involved in the campaign to save Saint Aug. We are pleased to note that the Archdiocese has given Saint Aug a reprieve to increase membership and save the church. We'll keep you posted.
You can also enjoy a radio documentary on Saint Augustine produced by AuthorViews' own George Ingmire at neworleansnarratives.com.
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What Is New Orleans? Politics Unusual! |
In most of the U.S.A., it's politics-as-usual, with elections boiling down to a choice between a Democratic candidate or a Republican candidate, and the outcome was probably decided by the primary election for the dominant political party in your area. But New Orleans practices politics-un-usual, as most of the world surely knows by now. Our elections are European Style: an open primary that resembles freestyle mud-wrestling. We probably have a higher percentage of candidates indicted before they win the election than any city in America. As far as I know, only two of the dozens of candidates for Mayor of New Orleans have done hard time.
I like New Orleans elections for the sheer spectacle. Politics down here can readily be enjoyed with food, music, and tasty alcoholic beverages. On Wednesday at the downtown after-work free rock concert (what, your city doesn't have a free Wednesday night rock concert?), all the candidates were schmoozing for votes. I scored a Kimberly Williamson Butler t-shirt -- a.k.a. "Kimba" -- one of the two candidates for Mayor bragging about having done time, and also the Clerk of Court responsible for administering Saturday's primary election. Gotta love Nawlins!
Everyone here is trying to take this election very seriously. But I would like to remind people in the rest of the world -- and especially right here in New Orleans -- that we already have the leaders we're going to get, and their names are not on any ballot. We have people who saved their neighbors' lives. We have people who offered to gut any house in Chalmette for free. We have Catholics, Baptists, Episcopalians, Buddhists, Jews, Voodoos -- even Rosicrucians -- who have opened schools, cleaned-out temples, and rebuilt neighborhoods. We have business owners staying open despite expenses twice their sales while they wait in hopes of landing one of those mythical SBA loans.
Everything good that has happened in New Orleans since Katrina has happened in spite of the politicians, not because of them. The election won't change that. The leaders have already been chosen. They are already leading. The figureheads are to follow. So lighten up, people, don't take it so seriously. It's only the government; better to think of these elections as cheap entertainment than anything that will have a significant impact on the day-to-day life of the citizens of this fine metropolis.
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New Book: Billy, Alfred, and General Motors |
We are pleased to release an excerpt today from the new book, Billy, Alfred, and General Motors, a business history about the origins of the automotive industry and the largest company in the world.
General Motors -- as well as Ford -- is in big trouble today as their share of the automotive market has fallen. Should they merge? They almost did, in 1908, when GM founder Billy Durant brought Henry Ford and other auto makers to a meeting with J.P. Morgan and Co. financiers.
The excerpt we have picks up the thread at that point, and chronicles what history will record as one of the most awesome collections of talent ever assembled in one room -- all of them wondering whether they're about to get rich or get scalped!
Billy, Alfred, and General Motors is written by National Book Award nominee, William Pelfrey, a veteran freelance journalist and one-time GM insider. Pelfrey poured through corporate archives and private papers to recreate the events at this meeting and the fascinating race to the top of the auto industry.
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New Video: Ina Hillebrandt and Stories from the Heart |
Today we are pleased to bring you Ina Hillebrandt's latest 2-minute video.
Last time, Ina told us about her book, "Pawprints." This time, Ina shares two editions of Stories from the Heart with us. These stories are excerpts from memoirs written for classes that Ina teaches through her web site or in person.
You can find more information about Ina Hillebrandt's literacy programs, writing clubs, and memoir-writing clubs at her web site, InasPawprints.com. But first, take a look at this short clip about Stories from the Heart.
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New Video: Molly Bruce Jacobs and Secret Girl |
We are very pleased to release an expanded installation at AuthorViews today for Molly Bruce "Brucie" Jacobs' new book, Secret Girl, a memoir from St. Martin's Press.
Secret Girl tells how Brucie Jacobs came to discover she had a "mentally retarded" sister who had been institutionalized since birth, and how Brucie came to know this sister and bond with her in the last years of her secret sister's life.
In addition to Brucie's 2-minute video, shot after closing time at the Virginia Festival of the Book, St. Martin's has given us permission to run an excerpt from the book -- the scene in which Brucie first hears about the Secret Girl.
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New Video: Frank S. Joseph and To Love Mercy |
Today we are pleased to present veteran journalist Frank S. Joseph, who is having a great time promoting his new novel, To Love Mercy.
To Love Mercy is an adventure story of two boys from parallel cultures (one African-American, one Jewish) as they crisscross the city of Chicago in 1948. Frank Joseph put quite a bit of research into recreating both the City and the attitudes of residents from 50 years ago.
If you missed Frank Joseph on his recent tour in Chicago, you can catch him at the Book Expo in Washington, D.C., May 17-20 or back in Chicago June 21-22. Or listen to his interview with The Chicago Tribune's Rick Kogan on WGN Radio, available as a podcast at Frank's web site.
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New Book: Bill Bonner, Addison Wiggin, and Empire of Debt |
Today's book is Empire of Debt, by Bill Bonner and Addison Wiggin, the team behind the enormously popular contrarian financial newsletter, The Daily Reckoning.
The authors predict a dramatic economic crisis for the U.S. when the country's over-stimulated economy gets the hangover from so much debt-fueled consumption.
We do not have a video for this book. Rather, we are offering an excerpt called "An Absurd Balance" that administers an upbraiding to both liberals and conservatives for their ridiculous overstatements of U.S. economic prowess. "Every business day puts America $2 billion further beholden to its mostly-Asian creditors," say Bonner & Wiggins. The excerpt is a classic reckoning.
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New Video: Dr. Stanley Wolf and Microchip Manufacturing |
We are delighted to present for you today a two-minute video on one of the most extraordinary books I have ever seen: Microchip Manufacturing, by Dr. Stanley Wolf.
Microchip Manufacturing is a step-by-step guide to producing the computer chips that are built into everything nowadays from credit cards to smart clothing. The book is an incredible publishing achievement, with full-color illustrations on every page, most of which were created by the author of the text, Dr. Stanley Wolf.
Along with the two-minute video for this book, we have permission to share an excerpt with you. The excerpt covers how to set-up and run a "Wafer Fab" -- a factory for building computer chips! It's a PDF file -- not HTML -- so you'll have to download it to view the gorgeous illustrations.
Microchip Manufacturing is really a book on practical nanotechnology. It may be over the head of many readers, but the book is the sort of "labor of love" that we enjoy featuring here at AuthorViews.
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New Video: TVS and Two Fingers perform "Scissors" |
Today we have a new first for AuthorViews -- our first music video!
TVS and Two Fingers is a performance troupe out of Fort Collins, Colorado, who take their zany brand of musicianship into schools to educate and entertain. We shot this video while recording interviews with two Fort Collins authors, the incomparable Pat Hartman and Tim Van Schmidt (a.k.a. TVS).
This video features a poem called Scissors and it's one of the shortest cuts on our site. Yes, we'll probably never make the cut for MTV, but it's a quick clip so check it out.
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New Video: Steven Boone and A Heart Traced in Sand |
There is no doubt that this was the most difficult interview to film in the AuthorViews summer tour 2005. I remember how hard it was for me to retain my composure and continue to ask Steven Boone to open his wounded heart for us to see. This brief clip -- just a few seconds, really -- feels like an eternity, which is, in fact, its destination.
A Heart Traced in Sand is the story of a teenage girl with an incandescent spirit and a father who is forced to watch and learn as her body is stolen by cancer. Even as her form betrays her, Naomi nurtures a "warrior spirit." We can all benefit from watching with her father as Naomi's story unfolds.
At the beginning of Easter week, Steven's loss and Naomi's triumph are vivid reminders of the poignancy of the cycle of life. We are privileged to share this vision with you.
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New Video: George Ingmire and Happy Birthday Mom! |
We're back from Spring Break today, a little later than expected but rich with video.
AuthorViews filmed interviews at the IAOC Conference in Valley Forge, PA, at the Virginia Festival of the Book in Charlottesville, and at the Tennessee Williams Festival here in New Orleans. We'll start rolling out that new video next week.
But first, we have a special treat for you today: home video of AuthorViews' own New Media Manager, George Ingmire, wishing his Mom a happy birthday!
We have already profiled George Ingmire here on AuthorViews, but now he has a new project and web site -- New Orleans Narratives -- where you'll find radio documentaries George has produced.
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New Video: Laryssa and Nick Nechay and Invisible Friend |
We have an extraordinary 2-minute video for you today about an extraordinary visitor to our world -- an Invisible Friend.
Psychotherapist Laryssa Nechay and her son, Nick Nechay, share the true story of a family that was visited by a benevolent spirit lacking corporeal form. The family hid the news of this visitor for many years before revealing their secret to Laryssa and Nick.
In the book, Invisible Friend, Laryssa and Nick condense the teachings of this loving guide from transcripts recorded by "Henry and Emma" -- the couple with whom the spirit communed.
Please join us for a 2-minute video you will not soon forget.
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