One of the many advantages of living in a walkable neighborhood such as the CWE is the ability to decide to head out to an event at the last minute and get in. Over a three-day period in early May we walked over to Left Bank Books for several author events. On May 1 we heard W. U. professor Edward McPherson discuss The History of the Future, a book of essays on a variety of topics including private streets, racism and the St. Louis World’s Fair. On Tuesday, May 2, Yale law professor James Forman, Jr., above right, was at Left Bank Books to read passages from his timely book, Locking Up Our Own, Crime & Punishment in Black America.
During his introduction, Forman mentioned that his stepfather was surprised to hear that he would be appearing at Left Bank Books and that the bookstore was still around. He remembered the shop as the only place he could find a wide selection of newspapers in the 70s. Curious then about Forman’s family, I later discovered that the author is the son of the late James Forman, Sr. who was active in the Civil Rights Movement as a leader of SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) and the Black Panther Party. His mother is the daughter of the late British author and journalist Jessica Mitford. Interesting lineage.
Shown in the photograph with Forman is investigator Brendan Wells, left, who works for Federal Defenders, Eastern District of Missouri. Forman singled out his friend Wells as “one of the best investigators around.” When Forman was a public defender in D.C., he said that he and his fellow lawyers competed to get Wells to work on their cases.
During a conversation with Wells while we were waiting to get our copies of the book signed, he said he moved here because his wife got a job in St. Louis. When I asked he how he feels about the move, he repeated a familiar refrain: “It’s so friendly here.” Then he added: “People welcome me into their homes in some of the toughest areas of St. Louis.”
As we walked home each of those evenings we repeated another familiar refrain: We’re so lucky to live here.
At The Vino Gallery:
Just in time for warmer weather, Alex Head, proprietor of The Vino Gallery, 4701 McPherson, made a superb recommendation for a light summertime red that everyone I’ve shared it with has loved. G.D. Vajra Langhe Rosso from Italy is priced at a reasonable $15.
And finally, spotted on Euclid: Evidence that it has been a really rainy spring.