An impressive, fitting tribute to an iconoclastic bookseller.
A distinguished assortment of publishers, booksellers, and First Amendment advocates celebrate the life of an acclaimed bookseller.
As the owner of Denver’s Tattered Cover for more than four decades, Joyce Meskis was instrumental in growing one of the largest independent bookstores in the United States. As an up-and-coming author, publisher, and eventual founder of Rivertowns Books, Weber, the editor of this collection, first met Meskis during a “pilgrimage” to her famed store and subsequently befriended the iconic entrepreneur, marketing genius, industry advocate, and “courageous defender of freedom of expression.” Fittingly, following Meskis’ 2022 death, Weber planned this book as not only a celebration of her distinguished career but also as an homage to the causes closest to her heart. Thus, while many of the essays are written by some of her best friends, who draw on personal anecdotes and memories of Meskis, other essays barely mention her name. Divided into three parts, the book’s first section (“The Ideal Bookseller”) includes deeply personal reflections on Meskis from fellow Denver entrepreneur (and current U.S. senator from Colorado) John Hickenlooper and from Matthew Miller, one of Meskis’ longtime employees and business partners, who emphasizes Meskis’ simple goal of putting “as many books in the hands of as many people as possible.” This section also features broader essays on the value of booksellers to the cultural vibrancy of local communities. The book’s second section (“The Business of Books”) focuses on insider accounts of the industry with essays that explore the nuts and bolts of publishing and marketing (an essay by Chuck Robinson, the former president of the American Booksellers Association, surveys the history of bookstores since the 1980s). The book’s final section (“Fights Worth Fighting”) highlights the political cause dearest to Meskis’ heart and the driver of her public activism: “Defending Our Freedom to Read.” The section begins with an essay written by Meskis herself that was originally published in the Denver Law Review offering her firsthand account of Tattered Cover v. Thornton, a monumental 2002 legal decision that established the principle that law enforcement officials do not have the right to access sales records of a bookstore without just cause. Additional essays include a historical overview of freedom of speech and censorship campaigns dating to the 1920s by Christopher Finan, former executive director of the National Coalition Against Censorship, and a reflective legal essay on freedom of speech by First Amendment lawyer Steven Zansberg, who worked closely with Meskis as president of the Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition. This book not only does an admirable job of commemorating the life and causes of Meskis but also provides keen insights into the past, present, and future of the industry in which she worked. Most impressive is the collection’s striking lineup of contributors, which includes some of the leading voices in the publishing and bookselling communities as well as prominent free speech activists. Given the breadth of expertise the book draws upon, it is a testament to the editor’s skill that the essays prove consistently engaging and approachable. Those inside the book business will find a valuable analysis of their trade, while those on the outside will gain an accessible introduction to the industry.
An impressive, fitting tribute to an iconoclastic bookseller.Pub Date: May 7, 2024
ISBN: 9781953943316
Page Count: 252
Publisher: Rivertowns Books
Review Posted Online: March 21, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.
A former New York City dancer reflects on her zesty heyday in the 1970s.
Discovered on a Manhattan street in 2020 and introduced on Stanton’s Humans of New York Instagram page, Johnson, then 76, shares her dynamic history as a “fiercely independent” Black burlesque dancer who used the stage name Tanqueray and became a celebrated fixture in midtown adult theaters. “I was the only black girl making white girl money,” she boasts, telling a vibrant story about sex and struggle in a bygone era. Frank and unapologetic, Johnson vividly captures aspects of her former life as a stage seductress shimmying to blues tracks during 18-minute sets or sewing lingerie for plus-sized dancers. Though her work was far from the Broadway shows she dreamed about, it eventually became all about the nightly hustle to simply survive. Her anecdotes are humorous, heartfelt, and supremely captivating, recounted with the passion of a true survivor and the acerbic wit of a weathered, street-wise New Yorker. She shares stories of growing up in an abusive household in Albany in the 1940s, a teenage pregnancy, and prison time for robbery as nonchalantly as she recalls selling rhinestone G-strings to prostitutes to make them sparkle in the headlights of passing cars. Complemented by an array of revealing personal photographs, the narrative alternates between heartfelt nostalgia about the seedier side of Manhattan’s go-go scene and funny quips about her unconventional stage performances. Encounters with a variety of hardworking dancers, drag queens, and pimps, plus an account of the complexities of a first love with a drug-addled hustler, fill out the memoir with personality and candor. With a narrative assist from Stanton, the result is a consistently titillating and often moving story of human struggle as well as an insider glimpse into the days when Times Square was considered the Big Apple’s gloriously unpolished underbelly. The book also includes Yee’s lush watercolor illustrations.
A blissfully vicarious, heartfelt glimpse into the life of a Manhattan burlesque dancer.Pub Date: July 12, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-27827-2
Page Count: 192
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2022
A juicy story with some truly crazy moments, yet Anderson's good heart shines through.
The iconic model tells the story of her eventful life.
According to the acknowledgments, this memoir started as "a fifty-page poem and then grew into hundreds of pages of…more poetry." Readers will be glad that Anderson eventually turned to writing prose, since the well-told anecdotes and memorable character sketches are what make it a page-turner. The poetry (more accurately described as italicized notes-to-self with line breaks) remains strewn liberally through the pages, often summarizing the takeaway or the emotional impact of the events described: "I was / and still am / an exceptionally / easy target. / And, / I'm proud of that." This way of expressing herself is part of who she is, formed partly by her passion for Anaïs Nin and other writers; she is a serious maven of literature and the arts. The narrative gets off to a good start with Anderson’s nostalgic memories of her childhood in coastal Vancouver, raised by very young, very wild, and not very competent parents. Here and throughout the book, the author displays a remarkable lack of anger. She has faced abuse and mistreatment of many kinds over the decades, but she touches on the most appalling passages lightly—though not so lightly you don't feel the torment of the media attention on the events leading up to her divorce from Tommy Lee. Her trip to the pages of Playboy, which involved an escape from a violent fiance and sneaking across the border, is one of many jaw-dropping stories. In one interesting passage, Julian Assange's mother counsels Anderson to desexualize her image in order to be taken more seriously as an activist. She decided that “it was too late to turn back now”—that sexy is an inalienable part of who she is. Throughout her account of this kooky, messed-up, enviable, and often thrilling life, her humility (her sons "are true miracles, considering the gene pool") never fails her.
A juicy story with some truly crazy moments, yet Anderson's good heart shines through.Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2023
ISBN: 9780063226562
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Dey Street/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2023
SEEN & HEARD
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