Harlem!

Went to the Harlem Bookfair this weekend. . .was bummed b/c we missed Amir Baraka who was reading as part of the open air poetry stage. They basically closed of W135St. between 5th and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd. The streets were filled with a variety of publishers, art, clothing tents, and food. I ended up buying 0 books (how lame am I?); however I did end up with a cool Curtis Mayfield t-shirt, a couple of other shirts and this great jazz print by Harlem artist Brian Collier. . .we met up with my pal Bibbi and ate at an awesome soul food joint right off of 135th. We ended up at a birthday party for a friend at the Faison Firehouse Theatre--owned by George Faison, a legend in Harlem dance and theatre circles. He won a Tony award for choreographing THE WIZ--amazing, down-to-earth cat. Ended up spending the night in Harlem. . .outstanding time!!!

There is this great and viceral energy flowing through the streets of Harlem, even at 3, 4 or 9 in the morning--it's very kinetic. I was a little disoriented by the vibe--actually more like overwhelmed. The real sad part is how Columbia has bought so much Harlem real-estate and has begun to gentrify the area. When will people learn they can become part of the community without destroying the pre-existing culture? I guess it's just the urban extension of Manifest Destiny (just ask any Native American).

more later. . .

today's soundtrack:
pj harvey-dry; REM-fable of the reconstruction; razorlight-up all night; soloman burke-don't give up on me; al green-let's stay together; pavement-wowwie zowie; snow patrol-final straw; spoon-girls can tell; beth orton-trailer park