You are currently browsing the stories about the “Uncategorized” neighborhood.
February 4, 2002 ARTS ONLINE New York City has twice as many stories now. Everyone has a tale to tell, but since Sept. 11 everyone here can also describe the personal impact of that day's epochal events. Thomas Beller, a New York novelist and editor, presents nearly 200 of these real-life accounts on his Web site, Mr. Beller's Neighborhood. The [...]
Late last year the 78-year-old filmmaker and archivist Jonas Mekas debuted his new diary film. The title, awkward but precise, is, "As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty." Its running time is around five hours, so it can only play once in an evening. On the first night of its run, Mekas held a little [...]
I do not generally travel by limousine. When the long sleek cars drive by in the mad tangle of traffic I peer curiously at the tinted windows with the rest of the masses, hoping for an elusive glimpse of fame and wealth, Madonna going to the Grammy’s perhaps, or Bono on his way to his Upper East Side apartment. They [...]
Walking through the backyard to get to the basketball courts, to work out by myself at 6:00am, like I do everyday. It was kind of misty outside and the grass was wet and the benches and ground were slippery. I had on basketball shorts, Orlando sweatshirt, and my ball kicks dribbling the rock through the backyard on the wet floor. [...]
American Airlines flight 574 bound for the Dominican Republic came apart in the air and crashed to the ground in Far Rockaway. Many of the firefighter's who had lost their lives in the WTC collapse lived in Far Rockaway. This happened at about 9:15 in the morning. Far Rock is 17 miles from my apartment‹too far to hear the crash, [...]
Two articles about the site that appeared in the paper of record. December 3, 2000 CITY LORE; A Web Site Reverberates With the Din of Urban Life By JIM O'GRADY I SEE it as a bizarre, sprawling narrative connected to the city.'' The speaker, Thomas Beller, 35, paced his apartment on West 11th Street, a book-crammed Zeus' brow from which [...]
Rome T&L (The Draft) 1. The Widow would not speak to us. At first it seemed like it was simply a matter of scheduling. But day after day our request to meet with him was declined. The Widow’s name was Roberto Mannoni. He was called “The Widow,” because of his devotion to the memory of Frederico Fellini, for whom he [...]
Park-Lit kicks off Friday the 13th. HOWEVER! This THURSDAY, June 12th, 8pm, please join us for the Neighborhood Reading Series, at Happy Ending. This month, neighborhood writers Julie Metz and Patrick Gallagher will read from their work. Come enjoy a cool beverage with us at Happy Ending, 302 Broome St., on the Lower East Side, between Forsyth and Eldridge. (212) [...]
This short story was originally published in Epoch Magazine, and appears in Seduction Theory: Stories (W.W. Norton, 1995) ** It all began as a conflict between Gray's Papaya and Taco Rico, who had peacefully existed side by side for years, on the corner of 72nd Street and Broadway. Gray's Papaya sold various tropical juices which were supposed to make you [...]
When you buy a secondhand coat, you never really know what you’re getting into. The lining was a little ripped but something about this vintage coat spoke to me, though I couldn’t tell you what. This coat, with its uncelebrated designer, I found at Legacy on Thompson Street in SoHo. It is fitted on top, cinched at the waist, before [...]
Story sent to Mr.Beller at Sat Oct 22 01:17:24 2005 ----------------------------------------- Name: Christian Lewis E-mail: christianlew@gmail.com ----------------------------------------- Where it happened: Lower Manhattan at large ---- When it happened: Fall 2004 ---- What happened: The Mountain of Manhattan by Christian Lewis It turns out Earth is flat. And there’s a mountain in Manhattan. I found out last fall when I moved [...]
Connect with readers all over the world interested in New York, and to people all over New York interested in reading. Inquiries at: mail@mrbellersneighborhood.com
"Before and After: Stories From New York vividly captures the fissure of a place suddenly and utterly transformed... It's hard to imagine a more appropriate or more moving collection of voices." --San Francisco Chronicle This is a book of true stories about New York, written, for the most part, by the people for whom the city is the stage set [...]
I haven't been on a bus with a toilet since I was fourteen and my parents took me to the Catskills that one memorable summer I learned how to French kiss from Flossie. Ah, Flossie, whose real name was Florence, how that name comes up still mixing memories with desire. She was the sixteen-year-old daughter of the owners of the [...]
Newer Entries »
