Paying It Forward: You Donated to Me, I Bought Teachout’s “Pops”

You win, art-lings!

I still have to write my paid piece, but three donations had already hit my PayPal account by early this morning, so I’m going to have to keep my promise and keep on blogging. You’ve already had my post for today, but I have several things in mind for later this week.

Flush with your contributions, I headed to my local Borders bookstore, looking for Terry Teachout‘s newly published Pops: A Life of Louis Armstrong.

I was hoping to find it here:

But alas, it was in an obscure corner, where the “non-best” biographies are stashed. What are they thinking?

That’s two small steps for Louis Armstrong, three giant steps for Neil Armstrong, his alphabetical neighbor. (Wait a minute! Shouldn’t Louis come first, before “First Man” Neil? Where’s a librarian when we really need one?)

Now there’s just one copy left of Louis. I could probably have wangled a free tome from my esteemed ArtsJournal blogging colleague, but I wanted to pay it forward!

I haven’t begun to read it yet, but while thumbing through, I chanced upon a juicy part—the description of Satchmo‘s anger that after having played a pioneering role in breaking down racial barriers, he came to be perceived by some (notably fellow trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie) as an Uncle Tom.

One thing I do know from the get-go: Terry is an exhaustive researcher and a graceful, lucid writer.

And one other thing that I know: My warmest thanks go out to CultureGrrl Repeat Donors 85 and 86 (from Paris and Boston) and New CultureGrrl Donor 87, from Winnetka, IL.

Did I say PARIS? Paris, FRANCE?!? Finally!

How about we close out 2009 with at least 100 clicks on my “Donate” button? Did I mention, art-lings, that my Big Birthday is coming? (Why do I keep reminding myself about that?)

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