Category — Site Authors

After a long, exhausting week, I decided to treat myself to a manicure. I was nearly falling asleep in the chair as Julie, the Korean woman at Benny’s Salon, painted my nails. We did some innocent chitchatting and we each tried to make small talk. It was smooth sailing, so I decided to mention that I have a Korean friend in college.  Julie’s eyes immediately lit up; she was practically glowing.  I was struck by the pride she felt for her heritage, her native language, and the intrinsic culture inherent in the two. Julie spent the next few minutes telling me all about the origins and the deeper meanings many Korean names. I doubt she was just doing that because she loves the sound of her own voice. I think I was just the first person to allow her to open up and share something personal.

As a customer, I felt much more comfortable once we had established some sort of interpersonal connection. Julie was not just the manicurist; she was a wholesome person with a passion for her background. Soon after our little chat came Julie’s offer to fix my nails if I ever I needed. She was careful to add, “for honesty—not for business.” I guess being nice comes with an added bonus.

Two things caught my eye about this particular sign located in the Union Square 14th Street Subway Station:

1. Look at the date.
2. It is impossible to read the full sign without being:
   a) in a subway car, at which point it doesn’t matter.
   b) standing on the third rail, at which point the rats (and/or the poison) won’t be what is going to kill you

It’s not often that I have the opportunity to hear a celebrated novelist and screenwriter speak, so I was particularly looking forward to attending Richard Price’s talk last Tuesday.  Relatively unfamiliar with Price’s work, as I was going into the night I was expecting an organized, laid out and serious talk; what we got however was anything but.

At first, I thought that describing his style (at least in public forum) as laid-back or nonchalant would be a criticism or an injustice to his writing ability. Yet as I gave it further thought, I came upon the realization that his blasé demeanor isn’t something to ignore but instead an important part of his personality to understand. It is that same disposition that is likely to credit for his successful works, which often times center around character interactions and dialogue from average people. Whereas many writers of his level of success may be inclined to raise themselves in status among the normal folk, Price seemingly refused to do so. Why? Possibly its because so much of his achievement comes from chronicling the normal, the average, and the less than fortunate, or maybe its just because Price is a little bit normal himself.

Either way, his material makes for great reading (as showcased by his reading selection that night), and I hope to find the time to read one of his novels in the weeks, or months to come.

Richard Price has a natural ability to capture and entertain an audience. Utilizing media ranging from paper to screen he knows what a character needs to say, what a narrator needs to share and how best to keep a crowed transfixed. This ability clearly translates from his oratory skills. Price is fundamentally a storyteller and hasn’t lost the ability to share a captivating story with an open audience.

He held true to his “story teller” title this past Tuesday, as he shared with us not just snippets of Lush Life and a preview of a work in progress on Harlem but also dozens of personal interactions he had with people all over New York City (and Jersey). Price is not by any means show offish- in fact his appeal is subtle. He shares stories of familiar major and minor interactions between people but he does so from a dryly-amusing voice, including vividly minute details that make the story more personal.

Price’s decision to depart from screenplays and return to print is encouraging for he long ago proved his skill in seemingly every creative vehicle. I haven’t read Lush Life but as is often the case, his performance reading made me want to. Furthermore the peek of his work on Harlem sounded hysterical. His talk certainly gained him a bundle of new readers, and allowed him to further establish himself in the Baruch College community as a great writer and a likely equally good teacher. I look forward to reading his works, and perhaps more so to seeing what he comes up with next.

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As I walked down Allen Street on my way back to the Ludlow dorms, I couldn’t help but look up.  I’d never really thought to do so before, until Richard Price, dressed in a yellow and black gingham button down, jeans, and comfy loafers, said that was the place to look and where one could see the history of the Lower East Side.  Having watched a Lush Life promotional video beforehand in which Price describes how it used to be the red light district where “truck drivers would come by and see some, you know, Jewish lady in a bathrobe and they’d go inside the tenements” and the street developed in order to “shed light” on the area, made it so much more interesting just to stop and look.

In the rooms of the dorms, there are floor to ceiling windows in which one could see up and down Delancey Street from the Williamsburg Bridge to the left and a few streets to the right; and with Price’s descriptions I try and imagine what the crime filled streets, the dirtinesss, the poor.  I imagine the ghosts he describes that suffered and his description: “the Lower East Side is vast and shallow; you could scoop up [history] with a teaspoon.”   His knowledge and observations of the LES were related to us in such a fascinating way; I think it was in part because he didn’t talk down to us and he was at ease with what he decided about the neighborhood.  He was just so laidback and engaging that made his presentation so much more exciting.  In contrast to his laidback character, it was amusing to hear his process in deciding to write about the LES: “And I’m an OCD writer, you know, so I had to find out how people in 1912 wiped their butts and if they used napkins and if they used napkins what kind they used…”

He was such a quotable yet unpretentious character and made the whole room laugh when he wanted to.  But this comedic quality didn’t show in his demeanor; he delivered his statements so matter-of-factly.  From his explanations that “the smell of cappuccino…kills a neighborhood” and that he pretends he’s James Joyce at times to his cultural descriptions about the stereotypes associated with different parts of America, one can tell that he is just genuine and so attuned to the world around him.  After spending so much time describing the LES and his history there, this is my favorite quote of the evening:  “And now I want to write a book about Harlem…because I’m black obviously.  Just like I’m an Orthodox Jewish Dominican.”

Living in New York City, I never realized just how culturally diverse it is compared to other parts of America.  I grew up with it, and it was never a big deal or something I actively noticed.  Last weekend, my friend who emigrated from Korea to America, starting in California then moving to New York, visited me because she was on break from the University of Notre Dame in Indiana.

She didn’t fit in with the Korean club because they claimed she was Korean-American, and not “Korean” enough.  She was telling me about a girl from Kansas who had never met an Asian before she met my friend.  She explained that it was like moving from one bubble to another, where there are different norms and stereotypes associated by race and cultural identity.

When I was eight, I went with my family a Chinatown bus tour that ended in Tennessee.  The restaurant complex we stopped at included a large Chinese restaurant where everyone on the bus flocked.  However, my Americanized family, who didn’t want to wait in long lines went to a local diner, where we were stared by the other customers and the waitress.  The waitress was polite enough, but they stared as we ordered and ate our home fries and pancakes.  My brother and I were young and didn’t realize it, but our parents rushed us in eating our food.

My friend’s visit reminded me of the one time I went to the “South” and it made me wonder people’s perspectives from middle America or anywhere away from cities and ports.  It interests me to hear how their perceptions are formed because now I feel like I’ve taken for granted the immigrant culture of New York.

The Turkey with an attitude has been a recurring joke every fall. Once the leaves begin to change colors this Turkey comes out from the closet and graces my family with beady eyes and bad attitude. As you can see this particular Turkey chooses to wear it’s wattle over it’s beak instead of letting it hang out like a good Turkey. He refuses to be part of the mainstream poultry culture, therefore he is labeled a threat. His antisocial behavior must be reformed, but, oh boy, is this Turkey stubborn.

As I was going up in the elevator of the library building, a man stepped in who looked vaguely familiar. I realized that he was Richard Price from the videos we had watched earlier in class and I whispered this excitedly to my friend. I stole a glance at him and was not too impressed. He looked very serious and aloof as he leaned against the back wall of the elevator with his arms crossed. He did not look excited to be at Baruch and I feared a boring and dispassionate lecture ahead. However, when Richard Price got up on stage my impression almost immediately changed as he cracked the first of many hilarious jokes to come. Richard Price did not laugh, or even smile, at his own jokes, which made them so much more effective. He was funny without particularly trying to be. When he started to read from Lush Life, I was surprised at how engaged he was in the reading. He delivered the lines of the characters perfectly and the way he read them helped me catch on to humor that I had not noticed when reading Lush Life on my own. Price was just as passionate and engaging in his second reading about a prophetess preaching to God, revealing his talent for role-playing. During the talkback session, Richard Price answered the questions in a very straightforward manner. He did not try to “spice up” his method of capturing the voices of the characters in Lush Life but rather answered the questions about how he researched for the book by simply saying, “I just hung out with the cops.” Though this answer did not seem to please some people who kept bringing up the topic of his research, I think this was yet another impressive aspect of Richard Price, as someone who can capture the essence of a certain group of people in his writing just by “hanging out” with them.

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Today is a Monday. It’s the first time I’m sitting in my Business 1000 Honors class and I’m nervous and anxious. I decide to take a seat in the second row of the lecture room, and to my great surprise my new friends decide to come and join me. After a few words were exchanged between my friends and I, the aged professor of the course decides to approach us because we were making such a loud ruckus. Attempting to join our conversation, the professor takes a moment to take in what everyone was talking about. Since it took us awhile to realize the professor was eavesdropping, we continue our conservation about what type of music we liked to listen to. Just when I was about to share my musical tastes, the professor decides to jump in at that exact moment.

“So you’re talking about music ey? What about that rapper 50 cents?”

I began to cackle at my professor’s “cultural” mistake even though my friends had more control of their actions. My professor immediately gave me a malicious look and left to start the lecture. My laughter quickly faded as I realized that I’ve gotten on the professor’s bad side. However, I still thought it was funny he said 50 cents instead of 50 Cent when mentioning the rapper. This was due to the huge gap in age and “culture” between the professor and me. I brushed off the whole incident and went along with my day, but I couldn’t help to giggle every time my friends would mention this encounter.

A man walks in with a plain look on his face, plain pair of shoes, plain pair of pants, and a Hawaiian shirt walks to the front of the room. He puckers up, as he gets ready to read his story. Richard Price is a peculiar man who stands out from the crowd and he does so extremely well. He began the evening with a short read from his book Lush Life, but not before cracking several jokes that result in a riotous burst of laughter from the crowd-this would be one of many.

Richard Price spoke with such eloquence and dictation that many other people lack in their reading. He spoke with a rhythm that represented a drumbeat; every word and noise that he made had a certain flow to it. Richard Price rarely stopped to catch his breath, so as to not to detract from his rhythmic speech. He also is able to bring life to the characters because he knows who the characters are and he knows what kind of persona each one takes on.

The best part of the evening was after his reading. As the questions formed and bombarded Richard Price, he responded with witty remarks, interjecting humor whenever possible. During the question period of the night I noticed Price’s wit when he made several social commentaries as he answered a question. At one point he commented on New Jersey cops stating that all you needed to do was buy them a drink and they will probably shoot someone for you. Price used humor and even a little bit of sarcasm to answer the question in an entertaining way; however, most profound was the way he comments on the morality of New Jersey cops.

The night was a success and not as dull as I had imagined it to be. I had the idea that authors were people who revolved their lives around their novels, Price proved me wrong tonight. The way he engaged the audience in his reading and the level of depth he put in his research showed me another side of writing. Writing is much more than a skill; it is a trade that involves knowledge from various fields.