Abstract: Summary: "A lyrical autobiography in essays from a celebrated author, honoring outlier artists and other heroes and villains who inspired him. In this collection of ten essays, Jerome Charyn takes readers on a tour through the New York of his youth and into the curious, probing mind of a great writer, crafting a love letter to the colorful places, people, and books--some famous, some forgotten--that have nourished him over his long and prolific literary career. Whether Charyn is writing about baseball or his relationship with his Jewish immigrant father, paying tribute to goddesses of the silver screen or the comic shops of the South Bronx, his writing sings beyond the silence intrinsic to the act of art making and the overwhelming passage of time"-- Provided by publisher.
Content Notes: Introduction: Silence & Song -- The sadness of Saul -- Ellis: an autobiography -- Haunch paunch and jowl -- Isaac Babel -- Inside the hornet's head -- Faces on the wall -- Mr. Feathers -- Black Diamond -- Portrait of the young artist as an anteater in the Bronx -- Letter from Mogilev.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (pages 269-271).