I was excited to have the opportunity to preview Nelson George‘s latest book “City Kid” a memoir. I’ve recently began following his career more closely after learning about his involvement with Chris Rock‘s documentary “Good Hair” that won an award at Sundance. In this post, I’ve written a review of “City Kid” and am also including an interview between Nelson George and I in podcast format for you. Reading about and speaking to other writers is always a unique experience. It’s almost like turning the camera on the camera man. Nelson gave me a great interview but not without a few surprises and push back to keep me on my toes. “City Kid” is worth adding to your reading list. This post along with my others regarding this book should give you a introduction to Nelson George and what to expect as you read his memoir. I would love to hear from any of you who have picked up the book as well as any of you who have read or watched any of Nelson’s other works.
City Kid- A Review
In “City Kid,” Nelson writes of his life where “family and art intersect” as he describes in the Introduction. Ever present throughout is the influence of music on his life from the early days listening to his mother’s Motorola hi-fi to his writing career. Quick to refer to his family unit through often, and perhaps over, cited statistics on Black American families and broken homes, Nelson was no exception. He grew up in the Tilden projects in Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. His mother Arizona (nicknamed “Doll”) worked hard to make ends meet and his father, Nelson Elmer George was largely absent through Nelson’s life after being lured into the counterculture looming in New York City at the time. Nelson had one sibling, his sister Andrea who was a rebellious soul which extended to their relationship as brother and sister. It took Andrea cheating death when contracting and living with HIV to ultimately lead to a reconciliation amongst the siblings. The reconciliation occurred as a moment of truth as Andrea began to talk about her life with HIV. Nelson wrote and directed a screenplay based on Andrea’s life the was released through HBO Films entitled “Life Support.”
On the surface, I’d say “City Kid” is a “man book,” but there were elements that I was fond of and could identify with as a writer and music lover. Ladies, you can skim the parts about Nelson’s love for comic books, sports, and tales of man adolescence; however, there are still threads integral to his memoir that you’ll enjoy. For example, Nelson’s affection for his mother and longing for male role models are endearing and bring you closer to the man behind the mirror.
For aspiring and established writers, you’ll enjoy and likely identify with Nelson’s lifeblood as a writer. An avid reader from the time of his youth, Nelson shares that he was particularly fond of Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald. Actually, one of the highlights of this memoir is the fantastic library of must read books interwoven throughout. I have generated quite a list in my notebook that maybe I’ll publish at a later time.
Perhaps the most poignant part of this book is the education you get from reading about the evolution of popular black music as it parallels then intersects with Nelson’s life. Oh, to be a fly on the wall in Brooklyn during the rise of hip hop and a bit of a “Harlem Renaissance” that occurred during Nelson’s twenties as the Ft. Greene neighborhood became a mecca for artists like now famous Spike Lee and Chris Rock.
My only criticism of “City Kid” is related to the style. What makes a book a great read for me is being able to get that contact high from just holding the book in your hands, inhaling every word. I had a hard time doing that completely with “City Kid.” I attribute it to Nelson’s largely journalistic style narrative of his own life that left me perched at a safe distance from Nelson’s authentic self. Personally, it’s most exciting to finish a memoir feeling that I really got to connect to the person in a way that would not have happened otherwise. I feel like I could recite Nelson’s life, but I don’t know his life.
If you’re interested in picking up a copy of “City Kid” I would suggest you check out the links I provided for you below the interview.
Interview with Nelson George about “City Kid”
Here’s the interview I conducted with Nelson George on April 9, 2009, a week after the release of “City Kid.” This is my first whirl at editing and posting a podcast, so bear with me and certainly let me know if you have any suggestions, feedback, or are experiencing technical difficulties. For you corporate types, this is my “development opportunity.”
*NOTE* actual interview ends at 19:56 (gotta work out why the dead air on the end, sorry).
Here are a few additional resources that are either mentioned during the interview or would be useful to you.
I just finished reading City Kid by Nelson George and am so excited to bring you more posts on both with my soon to be posted review and even more exciting upcoming interview with Nelson George. So just to wet your appetite, I’m including a few more links and videos and such as well as channels to purchase City Kid online.
The below video is a must preview before reading Nelson George‘s City Kid. I’m looking at it after, but I like to read in a vacuum, unadulterated so I can look at the work with essentially a virgin’s eyes. Maybe it’s a silly practice that I’ll eventually abandon, but it’s kind of my learning/absorbing/analytical ritual.
A mini-doc of Nelson George’s upcoming book release: “City Kid: A Writer’s Memoir of Ghetto Life and Post-Soul Succes” (April 2009, Viking).
“1989 the number another summer (get down)
Sound of the funky drummer
Music hittin’ your heart cause I know you got sould
(Brothers and sisters hey)
Listen if you’re missin’ y’all
Swingin’ while I’m singin’
Givin’ whatcha gettin’
Knowin’ what I know
While the Black bands sweatin’
And the rhythm rhymes rollin’
Got to give us what we want
Gotta give us what we need”
~Fight The Power (Public Enemy)
I was amazed to read about Do The Right Thing celebrating 20 years. Man! I’m getting old. 1989 was a remarkable summer for me and one of my defining moments was seeing Do The Right Thing at the theater that used to be in downtown Baltimore by the Harbor (my times have changed). I was in high school doing a summer science program at Morgan State. It was the best summer of my life and led to me attending Morgan State for college several years later.
I turned black to that movie. The consciousness was on in full effect. I also fell in love with the works of Spike Lee. My first African medallion was one that said Fight The Power. I had a Do The Right Thing t-shirt that I sported with then trendy biker shorts. X-Clan tapes in my Walkman. I was ready for the revolution! LOL
The movie is a classic! Who could forget Radio Raheem, the sexy ice cube cooldown scene with Mookie and Tina “Thank God for the left nipple. Thank God for the right nipple…”, Sal’s pizzeria, Sweet Dick Willie, I could go on and on.
Last week, at the Walter Reade Theater in New York City, director Spike Lee and members of the cast and crew relived memories of the critically acclaimed film during a discussion held by ImageNation Cinema Foundation.
In attendance were Rosie Perez, John Turturro, John Savage, Monty Ross, Ernest Dickerson, Frankie Faison, Richard Edson, Malcolm Lee, Roger Guenveur Smith, Malinda Williams and husband D-Nice, and Dennis White.
The event kicked off with Chuck D of Public Enemy, who performed the hit song ‘Fight The Power,’ followed by a screening and then a Q and A with Spike and the cast…
What fond memories does Spike Lee’s “Do The Right Thing” conjure up for you?
What was your favorite scene from “Do The Right Thing”
Just talking about it makes me want to dig out my cassette tape for the soundtrack. “W-L-O-V-E FM 108…” Yes, cassette tape. Perhaps I should consider getting it on cd or as you MP3 junkies do- download it. I lived to that soundtrack for a long time. A great listen if you never heard it and are a fan of the movie.
Here are some throwback videos for your trip down Memory Lane…
Can’t Stand The Heat (Steel Pulse)
- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - -
Scene with Mookie (Spike Lee) and Pino (John Turtorro) about blackness. Man! This has applicability right now, today! Watch…
One of my sisters forwarded this to me and I thought I’d post it. Spike doesn’t break it down to anything super deep, but I playfully like his rationale. If I were him, that’s all the logic I’d need.
…btw, I officially turned “black” after seeing Do The Right Thing during the summer of 1989 (I’m assuming ’89 as I recall the words to that Public Enemy song). Memories… I saw it with some friends down at the movie theater that used to be in downtown Baltimore, nearish to Harborplace. I know it’s long since been shut down…Seriously though, that movie was definitely a defining moment for me.
Check out the short interview below…
Spike Lee: Hillary, ‘Massuh Clinton’ ‘would lie on a stack of Bibles’
What do you think of Obama?
I’m riding my man Obama. I think he’s a visionary. Actually, Barack told me the first date he took Michelle to was Do the Right Thing. I said, “Thank God I made it. Otherwise you would have taken her to Soul Man. Michelle would have been like, ‘What’s wrong with this brother?’?”
Does this mean you’re down on the Clintons?
The Clintons, man, they would lie on a stack of Bibles. Snipers? That’s not misspeaking; that’s some pure bulls***. I voted for Clinton twice, but that’s over with. These old black politicians say, “Ooh, Massuh Clinton was good to us, massuh hired a lot of us, massuh was good!” Hoo! Charlie Rangel, David Dinkins—they have to understand this is a new day. People ain’t feelin’ that stuff. It’s like a tide, and the people who get in the way are just gonna get swept out into the ocean.
(Update 3/14: changed post title, i always thought it sounded retarded…
This continues to be my favorite blog to read. Field Negro is a good mix of social commentary, politics, and current events. Lately, it’s been mostly politics but that’s what’s hot in current events. Field’s posts are cleverly written and he holds onto to his underlying theme, field vs. house negro, consistently through his blog. Affrodite [that's me talking about me in the 3rd person] happily gives some afro props when afro props are due. Don’t count on consistency in my blog. I’m way too scatter brained for that. You get my mind for the moment and I sign-off. Hopefully, you are occasionally entertained, pissed, or somewhere in between.)
I’ve been reading the Field Negro blog and, so far, I’m loving it. The author is a Philly based blogger, and you know I got love for Philly as a former area resident.
If you consider yourself the Afrocentric conscious type, then this blog speaks to your soul. I feel like Huey from the Boondocks or just plain ole me in the late 80s/early 90s. Oh ya, I was sportin’ African medallions, going to Freedom School on Saturday mornings and learning Swahili when they were trying to make that the official language of African-Americans, inhaling every Spike Lee joint that ever was released, hanging out with 5 percenters (until they made me feel subordinate as a woman), wearing Kente cloth wraps in my hair and cowry shell necklaces on my neck (that was redundant…duh!), going to Afram in Baltimore every year and any other festival with vendors, checking out every activist who came to campus to speak…You name it, my fist was in the air and I was ’bout it-’bout it! I did everything except make it to the Motherland…because it’s so damn expensive from the US. That hurdle was crossed last year with my trip to Kenya (props to my next eldest sis for getting me on board with that)
I still think I have a bit of that non-conformist/activist spirit in me and this blog speaks to my soul.
50% of your donation (less Pay Pal fees) will go to Emerge Global charity (http://emergeglobal.org/). The other 50% funds the sweat equity I put into my work for your enjoyment. My hope is that one day I will be able to donate 100% to charity.
I was excited to have the opportunity to preview Nelson George‘s latest book “City Kid” a memoir. I’ve recently began following his career more closely after learning about his involvement with Chris Rock‘s documentary “Good Hair” that won an award at Sundance. In this post, I’ve written a review of “City Kid” and am also including an interview between Nelson George and I in podcast format for you. Reading about and speaking to other writers is always a unique experience. It’s almost like turning the camera on the camera man. Nelson gave me a great interview but not without a few surprises and push back to keep me on my toes. “City Kid” is worth adding to your reading list. This post along with my others regarding this book should give you a introduction to Nelson George and what to expect as you read his memoir. I would love to hear from any of you who have picked up the book as well as any of you who have read or watched any of Nelson’s other works.
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