Crossing the BLVD: Strangers, Neighbors, Aliens in a New America [Hardcover]

Warren Lehrer (Author), Judith Sloan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 4, 2003

A kaleidoscopic view of new immigrants and refugees living in Queens, New York—the most ethnically diverse locality in the United States.

For three years, Warren Lehrer and Judith Sloan traveled the world by trekking the streets of their home borough. This book (and its companion audio CD) documents the people they encountered along the way. First person narratives are illuminated by strikingly direct photographic portraits of the subjects alongside the objects of their worlds. Lehrer's postmodern, Talmudic design juxtaposes the multiple perspectives of these new Americans, now thrown together as neighbors, classmates, coworkers, enemies, and friends. They reflect on the good, the ugly and the unexpected in their stories of crossing oceans, borders, wars, economic hardship, and cultural divides. These soulful narratives are put in context by the authors' personal and historical observations. The voices, images and sounds collected here form a portrait of a paradoxical and ever-shifting America. 500 color illustrations.

Clothbound book includes an audio CD where speech becomes music and music becomes speech. The nineteen tracks feature original music compositions by Scott Johnson, original text-based audio compositions by Judith Sloan and Warren Lehrer, and recordings of Crossing the BLVD musicians including Gogol Bordello.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

New York's undersung borough of Queens, home to the new Ellis Island (the city's airports), may be the most diverse county in the country today, and documentarians Lehrer and Sloan have innovatively brought it to life. First-person narratives that sometimes intertwine several voices (some were broadcast on the public radio program The Next Big Thing) are matched by a bold and colorful layout: large portraits, long-view landscapes, multiple typefaces (sometimes within the same paragraph) and inset graphics or asides. The stories are grouped in five lower-case sections: "contemporary pilgrims," "asylum seekers," "family ties," "neighborhood tales" and "unlikely coexistences" (Ping-Pong players, a high school, a punk-gypsy cabaret band). The language can be poetic; a Congolese asylum-seeker declares, "Wackenhut is a for-profit business they are making from the sorrow of detainees." Two Egyptian restaurateurs, brothers, lament gentrification: "You really killed yourself with the atmosphere you created." A Russian emigre expresses disbelief that a call to 911 would actually bring the cops. Some interviewees express melancholy about their move, but they generally agree-an old American story-that opportunities are better for their kids. An accompanying CD (sold separately if you buy the paperback) includes interview excerpts as well as music by the authors and some of their subjects. While some of the texture of Queens is sacrificed-you wouldn't know the library system is the busiest in the country-this book remains an arresting, vividly printed mosaic.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

A fascinating book....Filled with vivid descriptions and very human, powerful, poignant stories. -- Forum, KQED, Michael Krasny, 30 November 2003

An incredible, moving story...Oral history with a twist. -- The World, BBC, Marco Werman, 9 October 2003

Boldly carries the tradition of oral history into the 21st Century. An electrifying collage of voices, faces, and spirits. -- Eve Ensler, author of The Vagina Monologues

Brims over with the energy, heart and spirit that went into creating this important work. -- Dave Isay, documentary radio artist, Ghetto Life 101, The Sunshine Hotel, Witness to an Execution

Brings alive the most polyglot place on the planet....An outstanding book on the new New York! -- John Kuo Wei Tchen, Historian, New York University, co-founder of the Museum of Chinese in the Americas

Explodes the paradigms of oral history and reinterpreti[s] them for our multimedia century... -- Archivist Roundtable of New York: Winner, Innovative Use of Archive Award, 26 June 2003

Fascinating.... this extraordinary volume...provides a glimpse of the new America which is emerging. -- Ron Daniels, Executive Director, Center for Constitutional Rights

One of the best books ever! Thank you for telling these stories. -- Faith Middleton Show, Connecticut Public Radio, Faith Middleton, 17 October 2003

One of the most important stories in New York..the authors know immigrants as individuals. That's the way it should be. -- "The Next Big Thing", WNYC, Dean Ulsher, Producer, 30 October 2003

This stunningly innovative book goes beyond pathos, into the kaleidoscope of experience that defines real immigrant life. -- City Limits, Debbie Nathan, 1 November 2003

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (August 4, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393057372
• ISBN-13: 978-0393057379
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 6.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #310,723 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's about time, November 3, 2003

By 

lisa amato (New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crossing the BLVD: Strangers, Neighbors, Aliens in a New America (Hardcover)

It's about time someone took the time out to celebrate the people that make New York City the beautiful, wonderful place that it is. It's about time someone took the time out to celebrate Queens for the complex, intricate, deeply political, diverse and rich place that it is. It's about time that someone took the time out to illuminate the parts of this town where working people live and congregate and raise their children. This book is a celebration. It is rich with color and culture and compassion. It forces the reader to see immigrants as people, with talent, with kindness in their hearts and with the desire not only to survive but to live. Thank you Judith Sloan and Warren Lehrer!!! You have done a great service to society.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars CROSSING THE WORLD VIA QUEENS, July 27, 2003

By 

"jcs295" (Brooklyn, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crossing the BLVD: Strangers, Neighbors, Aliens in a New America (Hardcover)

Page by page, frame by frame, Crossing the Blvd introduces the reader to the most ethnically diverse locality in the United States, Queens. The lives, images, sounds and stories of new immigrants and refugees resonate profoundly. Each page has a texture that brings to life the incredible stories of strangers who by the end of your reading experience become your neighbors. Reading the book reminded me of a documentary film. The book is a visual experience. The hard cover comes with an audio CD. The soundtrack to the book is an array of amazing compositions that stay with you. EXPERIENCE THIS BOOK! Crossing the BLVD is a testament of our present condition as Americans.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Colorful and heartfelt tribute to a diverse population., May 8, 2005

By 

Monika "equestrienne_23" (Davis, California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crossing the BLVD: Strangers, Neighbors, Aliens in a New America (Paperback)

Queens, in New York City, is the most ethnically diverse community in the country. Over a period of three years, from 1999 to 2002, editors Warren Lehrer and Judith Sloan collected stories from a sampling of the borough's 2 million residents. The result is this book, a much needed tribute to the people, most of them immigrants, who make Queens such a culturally rich locale.

The stories are wide and varied: a Congolese man who fled his country to seek asylum in the United States, only to be detained for nearly two years once he arrived here; an Afghan woman and her mother who were separated from each other for 22 years; a gay Colombian couple forced to flee their home; a pair of Egyptian brothers who opened a cafe and restaurant in Astoria. It's impossible to summarize them all here.

The words of the storytellers are, for the most part, kept intact. Everything is quoted directly, and even the speech mannerisms of those with rough or accented English are preserved, making the book feel just as colorful and diverse as the people featured in it. In a few cases, where the interviewee spoke little or no English at all, the stories are translated from the teller's native language. The editors have included helpful explanatory notes where the storyteller's make reference to events and individuals with which the reader may not be readily familiar.

"Crossing the BLVD" is also a refreshing visual treat. There are numerous photographs, pieces of artwork, maps, and other visuals. Each page has clearly been laid out with loving attention. Font style, size, and placement, along with the placement of the pictures, is carefully balanced to achieve certain effects. The book is just as colorful and full of character as the people whose stories it relates.

This is definitely a book everyone should read. Though nearly 400 pages in length, the text is large and makes for quick reading. But this simplicity is only a cover for the rich, inspiring, and heartfelt stories these people have to share. "Crossing the BLVD" certainly has something to offer any reader.