When everyone in Philadelphia starting reading Steve Lopez’s The Soloist — which follows Lopez, a reporter for the L.A. Times, and Nathaniel Ayers, a homeless man who had once attended the prestigious Julliard — we at Green Line decided to jump on the bandwagon. We circulated copies of the book around each of the shops for patrons to read and held weekly discussion at our Powelton Village shop with a local librarian.
The companion film chosen for the book, Julian Schnabel’s Basquiat (1996), was screened here twice — and borrowed from Oliver down at the video store on 42nd. Each screening was followed by thought provoking discussion, with topics ranging from what makes art art to David Bowie’s excellent performance as Andy Warhol.
All in all, we were inspired by the story Lopez felt compelled to tell and loved being able to bring the community together to discuss and enjoy it. We look
forward to working with the library and mayor’s office again next year and can’t wait to see which book the choose.
Find more info on Steve Lopez and One Book, One Philadelphia at www.library.phila.gov/.
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