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The Weekly Blague

The Margaret Mead of Porn

A few days ago I sent the uncorrected proofs for Beaver Street: A History of Modern Pornography, which Headpress is scheduled to publish in the UK in October, to four “characters” in the book, former coworkers who knew they were in it, but had never seen it. Below is the response of the character I call “Pamela Katz,” an editor and filmmaker who once dated the late Ruben Sturman, whom the government considered the most prolific pornographer in America. Let’s call this the first review:

I’ve just completed Beaver Street, and as you could guess, I could not put it down. Can not determine WHY this was not bought in USA because there is nothing like it...no comprehensive history of modern porn, especially The Golden Age, which we were so fortunate to experience. I used to call you Nosy Rosey. Did not know you were a diarist. But noted you were always asking “why” and were just (to me) nosy. You were like a visiting anthropologist, like Margaret Mead observing the Samoans. But you were in the thick of it, not just observing, which is what makes the book work. (As you call it an investigative memoir.) Perfect mix of personal experience, research, reporting, and conclusions.

Did I ever tell you that Traci Lords lived with Greg Brown and Walter Gernert (the Dark Brothers)? She was so into the porn lifestyle. It’s like I had totally forgotten how outrageous my life had been. I remember, as if it were yesterday, Ruben Sturman telling me (while seated on a banquette at a fancy French restaurant) how some book/video store didn’t pay him his cut and he’d had to firebomb it. Telling me that like any other guy chats about “my day at the office,” remembering having the diner next to us overhear all this. Remembering how very candid he was and how uncomfortably paranoid his candidness made me feel. Insanity, all of it. Remembering doing a photo shoot on Baltimore’s Block. Sex with a stripper. Owner put a loaded gun to my head. Remembered fighting with the Teamster’s Union over equipment rental for Raw Talent. So many stories...point is, I wish I had kept a diary. Because it was all pretty incredible compared to my life in porn now. The Eighties were insane.

Anyone reading the book will also be surprised how many female pornographers were working. You not only captured the past, you offered an overview of a huge, pervasive industry people know little about. You nailed it! Read More 
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Mis Diarios en Español

The Spanish Beatles site 10, Mathew Street just ran a little piece about "Transcriptions from the Universe," my article in Headpress Journal 2.2 that discusses my own diaries at the time I began writing Nowhere Man.

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John Lennon's Diaries

Headpress Journal 2.2

An excerpt from my new piece on John Lennon's diaries, "Transcriptions from the Universe," has just been published in the online edition of Headpress 2.2. You can read it here. The complete 28-page article will soon be available in the printed edition of the journal. Stay tuned for more details.

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BBC Interview

My BBC radio 5 interview on Mark David Chapman's parole hearing is now archived for a day. Please click here to listen. My segment comes about one hour into the show. Read More 
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Live on BBC 5 Tonight

I'll be on BBC Radio 5 tonight at about 9:00 New York time, on a show called Up All Night with Rhod Sharp, talking about Mark David Chapman's parole hearing. To listen live click here.
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Official “Beaver Street” Author's Photo

Photo © Marcia Resnick

Two months ago, the photographer Marcia Resnick shot the picture you see here and on my home page. This will be the official Beaver Street author's photo. (If the author's photo is here can the cover be far behind?) I'm very happy to have had the opportunity to work with a photographer as talented as Marcia, and I'm delighted with this artful shot. If you're not familiar with Marcia's work, please check out her website. It's a treat to look at. And please stay tuned for more news as the publication of Beaver Street draws ever closer.

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