Books with author Cynthia Cain

In December 2010, the National Portrait Gallery in Washington made headlines when it responded to protests from the Catholic League by voluntarily censoring an excerpt of David Wojnarowicz's A Fire in My Belly from its show on American portraiture. Why a work of art could stir such emotions is at the heart of Cynthia Carr's Fire in the Belly, the first biography of a beleaguered art-world figure who became one of the most important voices of his generation. Wojnarowicz emerged from a Dickensian childhood that included orphanages, abusive and absent parents, and a life of hustling on the street. He first found acclaim in New York's East Village, a neighborhood noted in the 1970s and '80s for its abandoned buildings, junkies, and burgeoning art scene. Along with Keith Haring, Nan Goldin, and Jean-Michel Basquiat, Wojnarowicz helped redefine art for the times. As uptown art collectors looked downtown for the next big thing, this community of cultural outsiders was suddenly thrust into the national spotlight. The ensuing culture war, the neighborhood's gentrification, and the AIDS crisis then devastated the East Village scene. Wojnarowicz died of AIDS in 1992 at the age of thirty-seven. Carr's brilliant biography traces the untold story of a controversial and seminal figure at a pivotal moment in American culture.

There is a town that is similar to a few other small time places in the US. It's a countryside oasis for both its longterm citizens with roots spanning over generation after generation and urbanites transplanting quickly with their lifelong dreams of "country life" or raising backyard chickens. On the cusp of suburban development, different ideals, values, and experiences come into play.Meet the colorful townsfolk of Crescent as they face off amidst a global pandemic. A retired veteran squares off with a bear in his backyard. Two Mexican restaurants compete on the same street. A young woman from town is lost at sea. A man meditates with a gun in hand every day on his front porch. These are just a few neighbors residing in Crescent, VA .Laugh along to the idiosyncrasies of every day living, unusual circumstances, dreams, fitting in to a new place, and everyone having to get along despite their opposing beliefs.