Housing Policies, Human Services, Regional Studies - Northeast & Middle Atlantic U.S., Homelessness, General & Miscellaneous Literary Biography

Grand Central Winter: Stories from the Street

Name: Grand Central Winter: Stories from the Street
Author: Lee Stringer
ISBN: 9781583229187

by Lee Stringer

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Overview

With humane wisdom and a biting wit, Lee Stringer chronicles the unraveling of his seemingly secure existence as a marketing executive, and his odyssey of survival on the streets of New York City. Whether he is portraying "God's corner," as he calls 42nd Street, or his friend Suzi, a hooker and "past-due tourist" whose infant he sometimes baby-sits; 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, Lee 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.

About the Author, Lee Stringer

LEE STRINGER's journey from childhood homelessness in the ’60s, to adult homelessness in the ’80s, to his present career as a writer and lecturer, as told in Sleepaway School and Grand Central Winter, is one of the great odysseys of contemporary American life and letters. Stringer, the only board member of Project Renewal who is also a former patient of the facility, has demonstrated that writers are made, not born. He is the two-time recipient of the Washington Irving Award and, in 2005, a Lannan Foundation Residency. He is a former editor and columnist of Street News. His essays and articles have appeared in a variety of other publications, including The Nation, The New York Times, and Newsday. He lives in Mamaroneck, New York, where he also serves on the board of the Mamaroneck Public Libraries.

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Editorials

Library Journal - BookSmack!

Stringer's 1998 memoir tracking his years of living homeless on New York City's streets garnered high praise. This expanded edition adds 50 pages of additional material and a completely new ending. Mike Rogers, "Classic Returns," Booksmack! 10/7/10