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Thomas Roma

Giancarlo T. Roma

The Waters of Our Time Paperback – April 22, 2014

by Giancarlo T. Roma (Author), Thomas Roma (Photographer)

4.8 11 ratings

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The second collaboration between father and son Thomas Roma and Giancarlo T. Roma, The Waters of Our Time is a book that could only be done in the latter part of this renowned photographer's career and with the unique contemplation of his watchful son. A retrospective of sorts, the book contains 142 of Roma's photographs spanning most of his career, beginning on the cover with a picture taken from his first roll of film shot in 1972, and a fictional text by Giancarlo T. Roma, written as a first-person narrative recollection in the voice of an older woman who has spent her life in Brooklyn. The written story begins on the book's cover and is interwoven with the photographs, lending a reflective quality to the interplay between them.

In this way, the project is a true collaboration, resembling the making of a movie in reverse, where the pictures function as the script and the text acts as the moving images, coming in response. The title comes from the song "Follow" (written by Jerry Merrick and famously sung by Richie Havens, also a Brooklyn native), whose lyrics are reproduced throughout the book, and serves as kind of a sound track to the story, adding to the cinematic quality.

The Waters of Our Time was conceived as an homage to Roy DeCarava and Langston Hughes' book The Sweet Flypaper of Life published in 1955, a cherished part of the elder Roma's library. The book remains true to Flypaper in terms of design (size, layout, font), but differs greatly in process. Whereas Hughes selected and sequenced DeCarava's photographs before writing the text for Flypaper, Roma selected and sequenced his own photographs first, leaving Giancarlo to write the text in the white space between pictures for The Waters.

Print length

100 pages
Language

English
Publisher

powerHouse Books
Publication date

April 22, 2014
Dimensions

4.75 x 0.4 x 7.13 inches
ISBN-10

9781576876787
ISBN-13

978-1576876787
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"A sweeping and tender retrospective not only of Roma's expansive career, but of Brooklyn, NY, his hometown and source of decades of photographic inspiration."
—TIME Magazine's LightBox

"One of the most beautifully made books of photography I have ever seen."
—Vice

"The book is irrefutably one of the most rewarding reads I’ve ever had in one sitting."
—aCurator

Named one of photo-eye's best photo books of the year.

From the Back Cover

The Waters of Our Time describes, in words and pictures, what the authors have seen and known and felt deeply about the interior and exterior worlds that shape our memory. The elderly woman who narrates the book recalls her life against the backdrop of the houses, storefronts, street corners, and schoolyards of her hometown, Brooklyn. As she attempts to make sense of her choices and experiences, we are shown that as our personal history settles through the filter of time, the things that stay with us and the things we fight to hold on to become all we know of our own life story.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 1576876780
Publisher ‏ : ‎ powerHouse Books (April 22, 2014)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 100 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9781576876787
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1576876787
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 6.2 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.75 x 0.4 x 7.13 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #3,397,071 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #2,258 in Individual Photographer Monographs
- #3,428 in Photo Essays (Books)
- #5,294 in Travel Writing Reference

Customer Reviews:
4.8 11 ratings

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Thomas Roma
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Giancarlo T. Roma
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Giancarlo T. Roma is a writer and the co-author of Show & Tell (2002) and The Waters of Our Time (2014), as well as articles published in Vice, The New York Times, and elsewhere. A graduate of Columbia University in the City of New York with a degree in English and African American Studies, he is an avid chess and guitar player.
Partnering with his grandfather, Lee Friedlander, he runs Haywire Press, which sells Friedlander books, special editions and portfolios from his personal stock, primarily through haywirepress.com. Roma continues to live in his hometown of Brooklyn, New York.
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Matthew Christensen
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Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5

11 global ratings

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Kai McBride

A small but powerful book

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 26, 2014

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The Roma father-son team have followed up on their 2002 collaboration, Show and Tell, with this powerful book of photographs and writing.

Those familiar with Thomas Roma's hometown photographs of Brooklyn will take great pleasure in the number of new gems in this book. We've grown so accustomed to massive coffee table monographs that you might find yourself wishing for larger reproductions of his densely packed photographs, but the size literally draws you closer and gives the whole book a more intimate feel. At this viewing distance, both verso and recto pages can be clearly seen and the 3 or 4 images and snatches of text combine into visual poems.

Giancarlo's fictional story, which starts on the front cover and is broken up into free-verse chunks spread throughout the book, is an older woman's philosophical recollection of the people and places from her life in Brooklyn. The words evoke a world which can be glimpsed in the photographs--although they never directly address them like a caption would. The push and pull between Giancarlo's story and Thomas' photographs is further complicated by the lyrics to the Ritchie Havens song "Follow" which run alongside and provide the title to the book.

The inside front cover, like the liner notes to your favorite album, gives away one of this books secrets, that it was inspired by the Langston Hughes/Roy DeCarava book The Sweet Flypaper of Life. Indeed, a quick google image search (or trip to Mr. Roma's website) will show that the size and design of the first edition of The Sweet Flypaper of Life served as a template for The Waters of Our Time. Though their new book could be seen as an homage to their predecessors, this isn't an album of cover songs, and the Romas have created something new and clearly their own.

All of these elements are masterfully combined in this thin volume, the photographs and text don't merely illustrate each other and the synthesis is ultimately left to the delight of the viewer. So queue up Ritchie Havens and spend some time in The Waters of Our Time. Don't be surprised if you wind up slipping it in your back pocket to take it with you.

3 people found this helpful

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jessica pinkham

Thomas Roma's a top contender for my favorite living artist

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 21, 2014

Verified Purchase

Thomas Roma's a top contender for my favorite living artist, largely due to the surprise factor he packs. I have every single one of his books, and consider myself rather familiar with his work, yet can never, ever come close to guessing what he'll do next. His second collaboration with his son, Giancarlo, may be his most soulful work yet - there's the intimacy, enhanced by the small format of the book (modeled on 'The Sweet Flypaper of Life,' further evidence that the Romas set their bar high) of looking at something like a family album, complicated and made somewhat more abstract by Giancarlo's text, an elderly woman's reflection on her Brooklyn life. That a young man can convincingly inhabit the mind of an elderly woman is no small feat; the combination of Giancarlo's fictional musings, Richie Havens' lyrics, and Thomas' gentle portrait of a life strongly spent in Brooklyn is as potent as any book I've encountered. There's temporal play in here that brought me to tears and made me deeply grateful that the book is small enough to be truly portable - the intent of the format. Roma's the most thoughtful bookmaker I've ever encountered; I gleefully anticipate whatever he puts out next.

2 people found this helpful

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t.ski

Pleasant read and a great way to revisit an old favorite song.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 28, 2014

Verified Purchase

The photographs and text strike a wistful and reflective tone, complementing the original Richie Havens' recording of the song quite well.

One person found this helpful

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jay kedrick

The Waters of Our Time............What a wonderful book

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 29, 2014

Having grown up in Brooklyn in the 60's and 70's, this book caught my eye. It took me back to a place in time that I will always love. The pictures are all so familiar and I liked the candid fly on the wall views. The writing fit so well with each photo and made me earn for my youth. I will treasure this book like a old photo album. I no longer get to Brooklyn and this book means a lot to me. Anyone that lived in Brooklyn during this time will appreciate it. Congratulations for a great piece of work!!!

One person found this helpful

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Jade

A must have

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 28, 2014

Ever pondered the way your life is playing out, or how your memory is telling your story back to you? This book takes you deep into those places that you've glossed over, as well as being a quick and enjoyable read. Not only is the writing thought provoking and insightful, but it pairs wonderfully with the beautiful Brooklyn based photos. Its a real gem of a piece and I'd recommend adding it to any bookshelf.

One person found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

Oliver Burgold

A small but important book....

Reviewed in Germany 🇩🇪 on June 14, 2014

Verified Purchase

You will love this small volume, if you want to look at the perfect amalgamate between photography and poetry. But there is even more: a whole part of NY through the ages comes alive before your inner eye...what more could we ask from a book so little?... Treat yourself to one, it's worth it!

Henry Trumble

Classic

Reviewed in Germany 🇩🇪 on June 11, 2014

Verified Purchase

A classic and original story from a Master of Photography. A personal and moving story woven from years of interesting work.

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