April 20, 2023Pulitzers are announcedPulitzer Prize Winners FictionGeraldine BrooksMarch Imperial Reckoning: The Untold Story of Britain’s Gulag in Kenya American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer
Filed under e-Notes by Mary.
OPENING FRIDAY, APRIL 21, AT CINEMA VILLAGE IN MANHATTAN…
Long-time Carroll Gardens resident Susannah Ludwig produced STOLEN, a documentary that brings to light the fascinating story behind the largest museum heist in American history. STOLEN won the audience award at the 2005 Sarasota Film Festival & the best documentary award at the New York Avignon Film Festival. Ms. Ludwig has worked on several other critically acclaimed films, as well as six behind-the-scenes documentaries for American Movie Classics and the Independent Film Channel. She is also a member of the adjunct faculty at Long Island University where she teaches documentary film production.
In 1990, in the early morning hours after St. Patrick’s day, thieves disguised as policemen gained access into Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner museum and successfully executed the largest art heist in modern history. Among the thirteen priceless works stolen was Vermeer’s “The Concert” one of only 35 of the masters surviving works. To date, not a single work has been recovered. STOLEN is a full exploration of this unusual crime and the fascinating, disparate characters involved: from the 19th century Grand Dame Isabella Gardner to the 17th century Dutch masters to a 21st century terrorist organization with a penchant for stealing Vermeers. At the heart of the film, is the unlikely hero Harold Smith, the renowned art detective. STOLEN follows Mr. Smith as he pursues the mystery of the stolen works. Despite his lifetime battle with skin cancer, the cunning and witty Smith has made this case his personal obsession, working with what hope remains. With Mr. Smith as a guide STOLEN journeys into the mysterious and surreal world of stolen art and examines the many possibilities as to where the art might be. Interwoven with Smith’s investigation are noted contemporary authors discussing the power of Vermeer’s work, as well as collector Isabella Stewart Gardner’s turn-of-the-century correspondence (read by Blythe Danner) with her advisor Bernard Berenson (read by Campbell Scott.) These subplots give the film a larger context and help illuminate just what the world has lost. Directed by Rebecca Dreyfus, produced by Susannah Ludwig. For more information: www.stolenthefilm.com To read more about Vermeer & the art world: Fiction: Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier Girl in Hyacinth Blue by Susan Vreeland The Music Lesson by Katherine Weber Chasing Vermeer & The Wright 3 by Blue Balliett (for middle readers) Non-fiction: Rescue Artist by Edward Dolnick Irish Game by Matthew Hart Art of the Steal by Christopher Mason Portrait of Dr. Gachet by Cynthia Saltzman Vermeer in Bosnia by Lawrence Weschler
Filed under e-Notes by Mary.
April 13, 2023The Skin Between UsWe were excited and proud this morning as we unpacked cartons of former BookCourt staff member Kym Ragusa’s lyrical and compelling book, The Skin Between Us: A Memoir of Race, Beauty, and Belonging. Kym has written a moving remembrance of growing up in two battling Harlem communities of the ’70s: the West Harlem of her African American mother and the East Harlem of her Sicilian American father. Finding richness in her mixed heritage and a place for herself in the process, Kym’s childhood centered around her two grandmothers. As they provided the loving core of her upbringing, Kym gave these two strong women a common bond which enabled them to overcome their prejudices.
If you enjoyed The Color of Water by James McBride, Paula Fox’s memoir of her outsider childhood, Borrowed Finery, or Martha Southgate’s novel about three generations of African American women finding their connections to each other, Third Girl From the Left, you must read The Skin Between Us.
We are thrilled that Kym will be reading at BookCourt from The Skin Between Us on Friday, May 5th at 8pm.
Please join us then!
-Mary
April 9, 2023***Past Literary Events At BookCourt***2006 08/15: JENNIFER EGAN - The Keep 08/09: SHAHRAM SHIVA - Hush 08/08: JAMI ATTENBERG - Instant Love 08/03: RAE MEADOWS - Calling Out 07/20: SCOTT SNYDER - Voodoo Heart 07/19: ED HALTER - From Sun Tzu to Xbox 07/18: PAULS TOUTONGHI - Red Weather 06/27: GARY SHTEYNGART - Absurdistan 06/26: ROBERT SULLIVAN - Cross Country 06/25: ELEANOR WINTERS - 1-2-3 Calligraphy 06/22: DAPHNE KALOTAY - Calamity & Other Stories 06/21: JUDITH LAMANNA RIVETTE - Chasing Hillary 06/14: AYUN HALLIDAY - Dirty Sugar Cookies 06/13: ANDREAS KILLEN - 1973 Nervous Breakdown 06/11: J.T. PETTY - Clemency Pogue: The Hobgoblin Proxy 06/08: DANIEL EHRENHAFT - Drawing A Blank 06/07: HEATHER BRYANT, SARAH GAMBITO, STACEY LUFTIC, JENNIFER L. SHOTZ - Tied In Knots 06/04: JAY HOPLER - Green Squall / KIMBERLY JOHNSON - Leviathan With A Hook 06/01: LAUREN MECHLING & LAURA MOSER - All Q, No A: More Tales Of A 10th-Grade Social Climber 05/31: SHEILA KOHLER - Cracks 05/24: PAUL MALMONT - The Chinatown Death Cloud Peril 05/23: SEAN WILSEY, MATT WEILAND, BILL FINNEGAN, TOM VANDERBILT - The Thinking Fan’s Guide To The World Cup 05/18: ALYSSA SHAFFER, REBECCA SKLOOT, TRICIA O’BRIEN, ROBIN TROY - Woman’s Best Friend 05/17: SARAH MANGUSO - Siste Viator 05/15: MAUD CASEY - Genealogy / DARCEY STEINKE - Milk 05/11: ELIZABETH STROUT - Abide With Me 05/10: ELLEN DREYER - The Glowstone 05/05: KYM RAGUSA - The Skin Between Us 05/04: TOM NAGORSKI - Miracles On The Water 05/3: JOHN MAILER - The Big Empty 05/02: CATHY BURNS - It Hit Me Like A Ton Of Bricks 04/26: AYUN HALLIDAY, SARA WOSTER, ANDREA RICHESIN - The May Queen 04/25: RACHAEL WEINGARTEN - Hello Gorgeous 04/21: PETER MARESCA (Presentation) - Windsor McCay’s Little Nemo In Slumberland 04/11: ARTHUR BRADFORD & VARIOUS CONTRIBUTORS - Before 04/06: J. EDWARD CHAMBERLIN - Horse 03/30: JANE PARKERTON - Where You Go I Shall 03/22: RICHARD LEVINE - Language Full Of War And Song 03/17: BOB SWACKER & LESLIE JENKINS - Irish New York 03/16: EMILY BARTON - Brookland 03/11: KEVIN KING - All The Stars Came Out That Night 03/09: EVERETTE IASON - Artrage 03/05: TAD HILLS - Duck & Goose 03/03: GESHE KELSANG GYATSO - Mahamudra Tantra 03/02: STEPHEN WRIGHT - Amalgamation Polka 02/22: DAVID SHUCH - The Charm Carver 02/21: ROBERT HERSHON - Calls From The Outside World 02/16: JAY MCINERNEY - The Good Life 02/15: KAREN PROPP & VARIOUS CONTRIBUTORS - Why I’m Still Married 02/14: RONNE HARTFIELD - Another Way Home 02/08: SAMANTHA HUNT - The Seas 02/07: CLIFFORD CONNOR - A People’s History Of Science 02/06: JONATHAN AMES - I Love You More Than You Know 2005 12/29: SIMONE FELICE - Hail Mary Full Of Holes 12/14: KELLY RONCI - Kids Crochet 12/01: ROBERT SULLIVAN - How Not To Get Rich 11/30: PAULA FOX - The Coldest Winter 11/29: JOHN ESPOSITO - Fire In The Grove 11/22: YITZHAK BUXBAUM - The Light & Fire Of The Baal Shem Tov 11/16: PATTY GROSSMAN - Brian In Three Seasons 11/15: HELLA WINSTON - Unchosen 10/27: ANGELA FOUNTAS - Waking Up America 10/25: JONATHAN LETHEM & JOEL AGEE - James Agee’s Brooklyn Is 10/20: STEVE HINDY & TOM POTTER - Beer School 10/19: BENJAMIN KUNKEL - Indecision 10/06: JOANN ECKSTUT - The Color Palette Primer 10/05: PAUL BERMAN - The Power And The Idealists 10/04: VICTORIA VINTON - The Jungle Law 09/30: ROBERT DUNN - Soul Cavalcade 09/28: BRET EASTON ELLIS - Lunar Park 09/22: MARGARET CUSACK - Picture Your World In Applique 09/21: BOB MCGEE - The Greatest Ballpark Ever 09/14: MAGDA SALVESEN - Artists’ Estates 09/08: MARTHA SOUTHGATE - Third Girl From The Left 09/07: MARSHA MEHRAN - Pomegranate Soup 09/06: JIM FUSILLI - Hard Hard City 08/23: LINDA CATEURA - Voices Of American Muslims 08/13: ELIZABETH ROYTE - Garbage Land 08/09: M. CHRIS FABRICANT - Busted 08/04: SEAN WILSEY - Oh The Glory OF It All 08/04: CURTIS SITTENFELD - Prep 08/02: 6X - Nina Malkin 07/27: LISA DAVIS - Belly 07/26: JONATHAN RAYMOND - Half Life 07/25: ADRIENNE SHARP - First Love 07/07: JAMES FREY - My Friend Leonard 07/06: OWEN KING - We’re All In This Together 05/05: YONA ZELDIS MCDONOUGH - In Dahlia’s Wake 05/04: WESLEY STACE - Misfortune 04/28: PETER KAMINSKY - Pig Perfect 04/21: ANNA MOCKLER - Burning Salt 04/13: BETH TEITELL - From Here To Maternity 04/12: RENEE STEINKE - Holy Skirts 04/07: DENNIS NURKSE - Burnt Island 04/06: SAMANTHA HUNT - The Seas 04/05: GARY MEX GLAZNER - How To Make A living As A Poet 03/31: ANTONINO D’AMBROSIO - Let Fury Have The Hour
Filed under Events by Zack.
April 6, 2023Death in BelmontSebastian Junger’s new book , A Death in Belmont , made me wonder why he didn’t write it before A Perfect Storm. It also brought back to me the haunting time in Boston of the early sixties. I grew up in the Boston area in the sixties and I remember the fear magnified by the news at the time. A Death in Belmont is about the Junger family and their connection with Albert DeSalvo. It’s a fascinating exploration into the mind of the serial killer and the nature of upbring on one’s life. Junger’s writing is as seamless as it was in A Perfect Storm and I expect this book to be read by many. It’s due to be published later this month. - Henry |
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