You Call Yourself a Miami-Bred Writer? See Ben Greenman

Former Miami New Times staffer, Palmetto High grad, and current New Yorker editor Ben Greenman will read from his new book, Please Step Back, this Saturday at 5 p.m at Books & Books Coral Gables (265 Aragon Ave.).If you missed our review of the book -- a retrospective of the '60s and '70s...

By P. Scott Cunningham

August 28, 2009

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "19274298",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "17482312",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18711090",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17482310",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18711090",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17482313",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

Former Miami New Times staffer, Palmetto High grad, and current New Yorker editor Ben Greenman will read from his new book, Please Step Back, this Saturday at 5 p.m at Books & Books Coral Gables (265 Aragon Ave.).

If you missed our review of the book -- a retrospective of the '60s and '70s rock scene through the lens of fictional rockstar Rock Foxx -- give it quick read by clicking here.

Even better, read some of Greenman's work while he was a staffer here: proof he was researching this book as early as 1999; a literary deconstruction of a Hialeah Police press release (my favorite); a scarily relevant investigation into county spending habits; holy shit -- remember when people used to do the Ogggggg! chant at Heat games?; a beautiful investigation of Prince's hit "1999"; a hilarious piece about having a high school love interest make a movie about him; a five-minute interview with the Boss; ahh, the innocent days pre-Clinton and Lewinsky; an open letter to Whitney Houston; a review of Scorsese's Cape Fear; a spot-on prediction of Todd Haynes's later career; and an example of the ridiculously thorough knowledge Greenman has of American music history.

If you call yourself a Miami-bred writer, you should be there.

KEEP NEW TIMES FREE... Since we started New Times, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of Miami, and we'd like to keep it that way. Your membership allows us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls. You can support us by joining as a member for as little as $1.