Last Sunday, the Briarcliff Committee for the Arts had its second in a series of authors’ readings. My friends Joe Queenan and Giulia Melucci participated, and I was very pleased to be able to introduce them. Joe from his excellent memoir Closing Time, an often hilarious, more frequently harrowing account of his upbringing in a housing project dominated by an alcoholic, abusive father. Giulia read from her very entertaining I Loved, I Laughed, I Made Spaghetti, her very funny memoir of her romantic entanglements and the food that accompanied them. For a musical interlude, Steve Santiago,also known as Opera Steve, accompanied by Uly Milan on guitar, performed Besame Mucho. We had a capacity crowd of 60, and my friends at Brica did another great job in pulling it off. A very nice event indeed. Thanks to Phyllis Neider for the photos.
