Lee Stringer

In "Like Shaking Hands with God," two distinguished writers--separated by age, race, upbringing, and education, but sharing common goals and aspirations--talk about the place where the lives they lead meet the art they practice. That these two writers happened to be Kurt Vonnegut and Lee Stringer made it a historic celebration.The setting was a bookstore in New York City, the date Thursday, October 1, 1998. Before a crowd of several hundred, Vonnegut and Stinger took up the challenge of writing books that would make a difference and the concomitant challenge of living from day to day. As Vonnegut said afterward, "It was a magical evening."A book for anyone interested in why the simple act of writing things down can be more important than the amount of memory in our computers.Kurt Vonnegut (1922-2007) was among the few grandmasters of twentieth-century American letters, one without whom the very term American literature would mean much less than it does now. Vonnegut's other books from Seven Stories Press include "God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian" and the national hardcover and paperback bestseller "A Man Without a Country."Lee Stringer is the author of the acclaimed "Grand Central Winter: Stories from the Street," which chronicled his twelve years of homelessness in New York City. A former editor and columnist of "Street News," his is also the author of "Sleepaway School: A Memoir." He is at work on the forthcoming "White People: Stories from the Suburbs."Dan Simon is founder and publisher of Seven Stories Press, co-author of "Run, Run, Run: The Lives of Abbie Hoffman"; translator of Pascal Bonafoux's "Van Gogh: Self Portraits"; and co-editor of three volumes on Nelson Algren: "Nonconformity," the critical edition of "The Man with the Golden Arm"; and "Entrapment and Other Writings" with Brooke Horvath.Ross Klavan is a writer and performer in New York City. His critically acclaimed original screenplay "Tigerland," based on his novel of the same name, was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award.Art Shay is the author of "Chicago's Nelson Algren." His photographs have graced the covers of "Life" and have been included in the museum exhibits around the world.

A "New York Times" Notable BookAs seen in "People "and "USA Today" and featured on "CBS This Morning," CNN, and NPR"Stringer gives us the long view of New York's underbelly, born of pain but delivered with style and heart."--John Jiller, "The New York Times Book Review""Stringer's crisp detail, straight no-chaser wit, and uncompromising frankness are as bracing as his subject is significant."--"Booklist"In the underground tunnels below Grand Central Terminal, Lee Stringer--homeless and drug-addicted over the course of eleven years--found a pencil to run through his crack pipe. One day, he used it to write. Soon, writing became a habit that won over drugs. And before long, Stringer had created one of the most powerful urban memoirs of our time.With humane wisdom and a biting wit, Lee Stringer chronicles the unraveling of his seemingly secure existence running a graphic design company and his odyssey of survival on the streets of New York City. Whether he recounts taking shelter underneath Grand Central by night and collecting cans by day or making a living hawking "Street News" on the subway, Stringer conveys the vitality and complexity of a down-and-out life. Rich with small acts of kindness, humor, and even heroism amid violence and desperation, "Grand Central Winter" offers a touching portrait of our shared humanity.This paperback edition now features four new chapters chronicling events since the original publication of "Grand Central Winter" in 1998.

"In "Sleepaway School," a boy becomes a man. The way Lee Stringer tells it, that is by itself more than enough for an enthralling story."--Kurt Vonnegut, from the foreword"In a riveting memoir, the author of the acclaimed "Grand Central Winter: Stories from the Street" (1998) goes back to his 1960s troubled childhood as a foster kid growing up poor and black in a wealthy white neighborhood in upstate New York. . . . Told in more than 30 connected stories, the eloquent, present-tense narrative has the immediacy of Tobias Wolff's "This Boy's Life." . . . It's an unforgettable coming of age."--Hazel Rochman, "Booklist" (starred review)"Lee Stringer proves that talent travels. In "Sleepaway School," he hones the sharp wit and keen perception that made "Grand Central Winter" so memorable to create a lyrical and deeply moving tribute to a troubled childhood. Most memoirists are well out of gas by their second book; Stringer is taking off and heading for the clouds. He is an authentic original voice."--Peter Blauner, author of "The Intruder" and "The Last Good Day.""The most surprising thing about "Sleepaway School" is that it is not grim. In fact, much of it is lighthearted and free from bitterness. Caverly's voice is appealing, and his innocence and helplessness are convincingly conveyed."--"Rocky Mountain News"Lee Stringer is the author of the acclaimed "Grand Central Winter: Stories from the Street," a "New York Times" Notable Book and "USA Today" Top Ten pick, which has been translated into a dozen languages. He also is the author, with Kurt Vonnegut, of "Like Shaking Hands With God: A Conversation About Writing." He currently serves on three nonprofit boards: Project Renewal in New York City, the Friends of the Mamaroneck Library, and the Youth Shelter Program of Westchester.

There are family-like bonds that can form within the larger human family, when one's own family life has been broken into fragments. Such is the case throughout "Sleepaway School," Lee Stringer's recounting of his years at Hawthorne Cedar Knolls--a school for kids at risk--and the events that led up to them.The clash of being poor and black in an affluent, largely white New York suburb begins to foment pain and rage which erupts, more often than not, when he is at school. One violent episode results in his expulsion from the sixth grade and his subsequent three-year stint at Hawthorne, the "sleepaway school" of the title. What follows is an intensely personal American journey: a universal story of childhood where childhood universals are missing. Excluded at first by his peers, Stringer develops an outsider's eye, enabling him to see some things more deeply from without than from within. Such insight, however, is not enough to assuage the anguish he feels over his isolation. And when this spills out Stringer finds himself in yet another, darker institution.In "Sleepaway School," we experience how a child fashions his life out of the materials given to him, however threadbare. This is a boy-meets-world story, the chronicle of one child's struggle simply to be."Lee Stringer" is the author of the acclaimed "Grand Central Winter: Stories From the Street "(Seven Stories Press, 1998), which chronicled his twelve years of crack addiction and homelessness on the streets of New York City. It has been translated into eighteen languages, and prompted Stringer's appearance on "Oprah "and many other national television shows, newspapers and magazines.