Hill Rag

THE LITERARY HILL

A Compendium of Readers, Writers, Books, & Events

by: Karen Lyon

Meet the Press

Washington Post journalist Gene Weingarten recently outed himself as a Hill resident when he wrote a column about the lost-and-found dog at Hayden’s liquor. In an e-mail interview, the humorist revealed that he and his wife “hightailed it for the city” in 2001 as soon as their youngest graduated from a Bethesda high school. A city guy who grew up in the South Bronx, he declares Capitol Hill to be “the best neighborhood we've ever lived in.” Among its attractions: “it’s beautiful; there’s a real sense of community; we are within walking distance of virtually all services (including Phil, the auto mechanic); our house is ancient and exactly suited to our needs and tastes; we've experienced no crime; there is constant, vibrant street traffic, and anytime I get too complacent there is the scream of fire engines to remind me things can always get worse.”

The neighborhood also provides fodder for Weingarten’s columns. “The Hill is a source of humor because it is a source of people,” he says. In addition to the runaway dog story, “I once wrote a column about a loud, drunken four-in-the-morning party held by the group-home renters next door. I once wrote about Grover Norquist, the conservative activist who lived a few houses away. I've written several times about my filthy ancient dog and my filthy ancient crappy 1991 Mazda 323 that's always parked in the neighborhood. I've just this minute started on a column about you.”

Rick Zimmerman, former Washington bureau chief for the Cleveland Plain Dealer and author of “Call Me Mike” (2004), received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree last month from his alma mater, Wittenberg University, in Springfield, Ohio. Later this year, the local resident will publish a memoir, “Plain Dealing: Ohio Politics and Journalism Viewed from the Press Gallery.” Stay tuned.

Author, Author!

The 22nd annual Larry Neal Writer’s Awards ceremony was held May 13 at the Folger Shakespeare Library. Sponsored by the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities—and named for its first Executive Director—the awards are given in youth, teen, and adult categories to local writers of fiction, essays, dramatic writing, and poetry. For more information, visit http://dcarts.dc.gov.

Mark Buddington may not be the only minister to have his own blog, but he is certainly one of the few to hold services in a movie theater. Pastor of the National Community Church, he leads his youthful flock (“80% twenty-something, 80% single,” he notes) in services at the Union Station cinema. Now the busy pastor has written a book, “ID: The True You,” in which he suggests that identity problems arise from asking what you can do for God instead of what God has done for you. “The book really comes out of my own metamorphosis,” he explains. “[It] is about finding our identity in the God who designed us in the first place.” While the book’s audience is primarily young people “trying to figure out who they are,” Buddington says it also holds “a general appeal to anybody who is re-evaluating their life and themselves.” It is available at amazon.com or through www.theaterchurch.com.

A New Leaf

Feet ache from standing in line at house tours? Take a load off by turning instead to “The Majesty of Capitol Hill” by Thomas B. Grooms. Packed with photographs by Taylor J. Lednum, this gorgeous volume gives you a peek inside some of the most beautiful homes on the Hill. It is available at Riverby Books, Trover, and the Capitol Hill Restoration Society.

“I wrote this out of a deep love and appreciation for the Hill, its history, its architecture, and most of all its people and sense of community,” says Grooms, who has owned a house here since 1969. Arranged chronologically from Federal and Greek Revival to early 20th-century architectural styles, the book showcases a variety of houses, including the Frederick Douglass House, the boyhood home of Charles Lindbergh, and a carriage house tucked into an alley behind Eleventh Street. Grooms selected houses that either revealed “something unique, interesting, and surprising about the house and/or the owners, past or present, [or] provided insight and understanding of the diversity and breadth of the Hill.”

“The greatest challenge for me,” offers Lednum, “was accurately capturing the personalities of the owners that were reflected in the interiors of the homes.” Several of his photographs include family pets, for example, which “transformed a merely stylish interior into something more personal and unique.” Grooms adds that the whole process was a revelation to him. “I realize how much I took for granted,” he says. “Every conversation with a homeowner added another layer to life on the Hill.” He came to realize that each house offers something special. “Wouldn’t it be exciting,” he imagines, “to spend a night at the Spratt House thinking about Thomas Jefferson riding by on his way to the Marine Commandant’s house?”

A more recent chapter of D.C. history is envisioned in “The Bonus Army: An American Epic,” by Paul Dickson and Thomas Allen. In the summer of 1932, more than 45,000 World War I veterans marched on Washington to demand that the government make good on its promise of a wartime cash bonus. The Bonus Army March turned into a two-month stand-off. Both sides dug in—the veterans quite literally, in shantytowns that sprung up to house them—and the Washington bureaucrats, who regarded the protestors as radicals controlled by Communist agitators. Hear the authors discuss this significant event in American history, which eventually led to passage of the G.I. Bill, in the Madison Building of the Library of Congress on Wednesday, June 22, at noon. Free.

Second Look Books

We asked Paul Cymrot of Riverby Books to tell us about a book that he enjoyed rereading. He turned to an old favorite, “The Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck.

It is common these days to read a novel that is crying out to be made into a movie. Plotlines intertwine and conversations dangle portentously, in ways immediately familiar to the modern reader—who is usually a modern movie watcher as well. This cinematic formula is so prevalent—perhaps even pervasive—in recent fiction, that it is easy to forget that it is a relatively modern invention.

Published in 1939, Steinbeck’s epic “The Grapes of Wrath” is the oldest novel I have read where the grip of this cinematic style of storytelling shows so clearly. His tale of the Joad family’s trip across the country practically leaps from the page to the screen. Chapters alternate between long, closely observed narratives of the family’s trials and tribulations, and short, soft-focus summaries in which the characters are reduced to forms and types, mere outlines of the persistent Joads. I can’t help but ‘picture’ these shadow-chapters projected onto the screen at the Uptown theatre where the broad western landscapes glow in projected sunlight and Aaron Copeland has written the score.

Prose styles evolve. Our efforts to convey stories are incessant. And every author has had to address the challenge of bringing the reader along into the next day or even the next chapter. Was Steinbeck intentionally cinematic? Was he the first great writer to seize on the opportunity to borrow from the movies, to utilize a new shorthand that he knew would be familiar to his readers? It is pleasant to look back 65 years at a great novel and see something worth wondering about. The Joad family’s steady plod west: now playing, permanently, on pages near you.

Trover Top Five

1. “Congress at Your Fingertips 109th Congress 1st Session 2005”
Once again, this field guide to our local lawmakers vetoes the competition.

2. “My Life So Far” by Jane Fonda
The actress and activist reflects on her career, her marriages, and her 67-year journey toward self-fulfillment.

3. “The World Is Flat” by Thomas Friedman
The New York Times columnist examines how the lowering of trade and political barriers and the digital revolution have “flattened” the globe.

4. “R is for Ricochet” by Sue Grafton
When detective Kinsey Millhone agrees to help a wealthy octogenarian keep his newly-paroled daughter out of trouble, she gets nothing but.

5. “Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini
This debut novel tells the story of two boyhood friends whose lives are changed by the political turmoil in their native Afghanistan.

The Club Scene

The Northeast branch of the D.C. Public Library hosts the Capitol Hill Mystery Book Club the first Monday of every month at 6:30 p.m. In June, the group will discuss “Partners in Crime” by J.A. Jance, a veteran mystery writer who brings together her two best-known creations—Arizona Sheriff Joanna Brady and Seattle homicide detective JP. Beaumont—to solve the murder of a corporate whistle-blower.

At the Southeast branch library, the Capitol Hill Book Club talks about a nonfiction book every third Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. The June title will be “On Bullshit” by Harry G. Frankfurt, in which the Princeton University professor considers the nuances of this provocative topic and concludes that it’s all in the intention of the perpetrator.

Coming Next Month

Katy Kelly talks about her new book, “Lucy Rose: Big on Plans,” due out in mid-June. Don’t miss the author’s take on our favorite Capitol Hill kid. Also, learn more about “Holla’ Back,” a teen reading summer program at the Northeast Neighborhood Library that offers prizes for reading and reviewing books.

----------------------------------
[Resource sidebar]

DC PUBLIC LIBRARIES
www.dclibrary.org
Northeast Neighborhood Library
330 7th Street, NE, 202.698.3320
Southeast Neighborhood Library
403 7th Street, SE, 202.698.3377

FOLGER SHAKESPEARE LIBRARY
201 East Capitol St., SE
www.folger.edu, 202.544.4600
Box Office: 202.544.7077

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
www.loc.gov
202.707.5221

RIVERBY BOOKS
417 East Capitol St., SE
www.riverby.com, 202.543.4342

TROVER SHOP
221 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE
www.trover.com, 202.547.2665

If you know of a book, author, or event that reflects “The Literary Hill,” please write to Karen Lyon c/o The Hill Rag or e-mail her at hillwriters@yahoo.com.


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THE LITERARY HILL
A Compendium of Readers, Writers, Books, & Events
by: Karen Lyon
Meet the Press Washington Post journalist Gene Weingarten recently outed himself as a Hill resident when he wrote a column about the lost-and-found dog at Hayden’s liquor. In an e-mail interview, the humorist revealed that he and his wife “hightailed it for the city” in 2001 as soon as their youngest graduated from a Bethesda high school. A city guy who grew up in the South Bronx, he declares Capitol Hill to be “the best neighborhood we've ever lived in.” Among its attractions: “it’s beautiful; there’s a real sense of community; we are within walking distance of virtually all services (including Phil, the auto mechanic); our house is ancient and exactly suited to our needs and tastes; we've experienced no crime; there is constant, vibrant street traffic, and anytime I get too complacent there is the scream of fire engines to remind me things can always get worse.” The neighborhood also provides fodder for Weingarten’s columns. “The Hill is a source of humor because it is a source of people,” he says. In addition to the runaway dog story, “I once wrote a column about a loud, drunken four-in-the-morning party held by the group-home renters next door. I once wrote about Grover Norquist, the conservative activist who lived a few houses away. I've written several times about my filthy ancient dog and my filthy ancient crappy 1991 Mazda 323 that's always parked in the neighborhood. I've just this minute started on a column about you.” Rick Zimmerman, former Washington bureau chief for the Cleveland Plain Dealer and author of “Call Me Mike” (2004), received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree last month from his alma mater, Wittenberg University, in Springfield, Ohio. Later this year, the local resident will publish a memoir, “Plain Dealing: Ohio Politics and Journalism Viewed from the Press Gallery.” Stay tuned. Author, Author! The 22nd annual Larry Neal Writer’s Awards ceremony was held May 13 at the Folger Shakespeare Library. Sponsored by the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities—and named for its first Executive Director—the awards are given in youth, teen, and adult categories to local writers of fiction, essays, dramatic writing, and poetry. For more information, visit http://dcarts.dc.gov. Mark Buddington may not be the only minister to have his own blog, but he is certainly one of the few to hold services in a movie theater. Pastor of the National Community Church, he leads his youthful flock (“80% twenty-something, 80% single,” he notes) in services at the Union Station cinema. Now the busy pastor has written a book, “ID: The True You,” in which he suggests that identity problems arise from asking what you can do for God instead of what God has done for you. “The book really comes out of my own metamorphosis,” he explains. “[It] is about finding our identity in the God who designed us in the first place.” While the book’s audience is primarily young people “trying to figure out who they are,” Buddington says it also holds “a general appeal to anybody who is re-evaluating their life and themselves.” It is available at amazon.com or through www.theaterchurch.com. A New Leaf Feet ache from standing in line at house tours? Take a load off by turning instead to “The Majesty of Capitol Hill” by Thomas B. Grooms. Packed with photographs by Taylor J. Lednum, this gorgeous volume gives you a peek inside some of the most beautiful homes on the Hill. It is available at Riverby Books, Trover, and the Capitol Hill Restoration Society. “I wrote this out of a deep love and appreciation for the Hill, its history, its architecture, and most of all its people and sense of community,” says Grooms, who has owned a house here since 1969. Arranged chronologically from Federal and Greek Revival to early 20th-century architectural styles, the book showcases a variety of houses, including the Frederick Douglass House, the boyhood home of Charles Lindbergh, and a carriage house tucked into an alley behind Eleventh Street. Grooms selected houses that either revealed “something unique, interesting, and surprising about the house and/or the owners, past or present, [or] provided insight and understanding of the diversity and breadth of the Hill.” “The greatest challenge for me,” offers Lednum, “was accurately capturing the personalities of the owners that were reflected in the interiors of the homes.” Several of his photographs include family pets, for example, which “transformed a merely stylish interior into something more personal and unique.” Grooms adds that the whole process was a revelation to him. “I realize how much I took for granted,” he says. “Every conversation with a homeowner added another layer to life on the Hill.” He came to realize that each house offers something special. “Wouldn’t it be exciting,” he imagines, “to spend a night at the Spratt House thinking about Thomas Jefferson riding by on his way to the Marine Commandant’s house?” A more recent chapter of D.C. history is envisioned in “The Bonus Army: An American Epic,” by Paul Dickson and Thomas Allen. In the summer of 1932, more than 45,000 World War I veterans marched on Washington to demand that the government make good on its promise of a wartime cash bonus. The Bonus Army March turned into a two-month stand-off. Both sides dug in—the veterans quite literally, in shantytowns that sprung up to house them—and the Washington bureaucrats, who regarded the protestors as radicals controlled by Communist agitators. Hear the authors discuss this significant event in American history, which eventually led to passage of the G.I. Bill, in the Madison Building of the Library of Congress on Wednesday, June 22, at noon. Free. Second Look Books We asked Paul Cymrot of Riverby Books to tell us about a book that he enjoyed rereading. He turned to an old favorite, “The Grapes of Wrath” by John Steinbeck. It is common these days to read a novel that is crying out to be made into a movie. Plotlines intertwine and conversations dangle portentously, in ways immediately familiar to the modern reader—who is usually a modern movie watcher as well. This cinematic formula is so prevalent—perhaps even pervasive—in recent fiction, that it is easy to forget that it is a relatively modern invention. Published in 1939, Steinbeck’s epic “The Grapes of Wrath” is the oldest novel I have read where the grip of this cinematic style of storytelling shows so clearly. His tale of the Joad family’s trip across the country practically leaps from the page to the screen. Chapters alternate between long, closely observed narratives of the family’s trials and tribulations, and short, soft-focus summaries in which the characters are reduced to forms and types, mere outlines of the persistent Joads. I can’t help but ‘picture’ these shadow-chapters projected onto the screen at the Uptown theatre where the broad western landscapes glow in projected sunlight and Aaron Copeland has written the score. Prose styles evolve. Our efforts to convey stories are incessant. And every author has had to address the challenge of bringing the reader along into the next day or even the next chapter. Was Steinbeck intentionally cinematic? Was he the first great writer to seize on the opportunity to borrow from the movies, to utilize a new shorthand that he knew would be familiar to his readers? It is pleasant to look back 65 years at a great novel and see something worth wondering about. The Joad family’s steady plod west: now playing, permanently, on pages near you. Trover Top Five 1. “Congress at Your Fingertips 109th Congress 1st Session 2005” Once again, this field guide to our local lawmakers vetoes the competition. 2. “My Life So Far” by Jane Fonda The actress and activist reflects on her career, her marriages, and her 67-year journey toward self-fulfillment. 3. “The World Is Flat” by Thomas Friedman The New York Times columnist examines how the lowering of trade and political barriers and the digital revolution have “flattened” the globe. 4. “R is for Ricochet” by Sue Grafton When detective Kinsey Millhone agrees to help a wealthy octogenarian keep his newly-paroled daughter out of trouble, she gets nothing but. 5. “Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini This debut novel tells the story of two boyhood friends whose lives are changed by the political turmoil in their native Afghanistan. The Club Scene The Northeast branch of the D.C. Public Library hosts the Capitol Hill Mystery Book Club the first Monday of every month at 6:30 p.m. In June, the group will discuss “Partners in Crime” by J.A. Jance, a veteran mystery writer who brings together her two best-known creations—Arizona Sheriff Joanna Brady and Seattle homicide detective JP. Beaumont—to solve the murder of a corporate whistle-blower. At the Southeast branch library, the Capitol Hill Book Club talks about a nonfiction book every third Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. The June title will be “On Bullshit” by Harry G. Frankfurt, in which the Princeton University professor considers the nuances of this provocative topic and concludes that it’s all in the intention of the perpetrator. Coming Next Month Katy Kelly talks about her new book, “Lucy Rose: Big on Plans,” due out in mid-June. Don’t miss the author’s take on our favorite Capitol Hill kid. Also, learn more about “Holla’ Back,” a teen reading summer program at the Northeast Neighborhood Library that offers prizes for reading and reviewing books. ---------------------------------- [Resource sidebar] DC PUBLIC LIBRARIES www.dclibrary.org Northeast Neighborhood Library 330 7th Street, NE, 202.698.3320 Southeast Neighborhood Library 403 7th Street, SE, 202.698.3377 FOLGER SHAKESPEARE LIBRARY 201 East Capitol St., SE www.folger.edu, 202.544.4600 Box Office: 202.544.7077 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS www.loc.gov 202.707.5221 RIVERBY BOOKS 417 East Capitol St., SE www.riverby.com, 202.543.4342 TROVER SHOP 221 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE www.trover.com, 202.547.2665 If you know of a book, author, or event that reflects “The Literary Hill,” please write to Karen Lyon c/o The Hill Rag or e-mail her at hillwriters@yahoo.com.