Surviving in Southwark
In early 1984, shortly after I joined the staff of the Philadelphia Inquirer, my editor asked me to take on a special project. He wanted me to write about public housing, from the inside out. For the next nine months, I was detached from my regular duties on the New Jersey staff to focus on this single story. Shortly after “Surviving at Southwark” was published in the Nov. 11, 1984, issue of the Inquirer Magazine, Temple University contacted me about possibly teaching a course in public housing. The story won the National Society of Professional Journalist’s award for best magazine story of the year.
A bleak day. Bad boys… in a burned-out lobby in the projects … Walls black as soot in this hideaway good for craps games, deep talk … a place to catch your breath, smoke some grass, recall collisions with the cops.
The Prince Who would be King
I resisted at first when my editors at the Los Angeles Times approached me about writing a profile of Will Smith. I’d wanted to write seriously about film since I was an undergraduate. I’d taken every film course that I could – film theory, film history, film criticism, film analysis, screenwriting, French film, Italian film, surrealist film, German film. Later, I took more film courses while on a fellowship at the University of Michigan.
For nearly my entire adult life, I’d longed to spend my days in serious contemplation of art. The Times, having given me what I recognized as the best job in the world, allowed me to do this. But now they wanted me to write about Will Smith, the Fresh Prince, the rapper-turned-sitcom-star-turned-movie-actor who now seemed perched to take his career to the next level.
I wanted to say no. My editors wanted me to say yes. So I did the story. I’m glad that I did. I became fascinated by Smith during the research phase and quickly started to look forward to spending time with him. I’m fascinated by him still. I’m also fascinated by his son Jaden, whom I met that November morn when Jada briefly joined us at their breakfast table, infant in tow.
Smith, though huge, had not yet staked a claim to the title of Biggest Star in the World. He and Jade made it clear, however, that this was their goal for him.
I think the story still holds up.
Maya Angelou – The Heart of a Storyteller
Maya Angelou directed her first film when she was 70. It was, she told me, the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. Meeting her was a treat. I’d been familiar with Maya Angelou since grade school when I first heard about her memoir, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.
She’s a special person, and this was a one-of-a-kind encounter.
