In this poignant story about living and working in New York City, Stan Maron recounts his troubled childhood in a New Jersey beach town in the 1930’s. After his mother’s mysterious death, his father, Jacob, a garment worker with a blazing temper, places Stan in a Brooklyn foster home at the age of ten. Unwanted and
unruly, young Stanley learns to fight, gamble, drink and play pool. He drops out of high school and supports himself by waiting tables, delivering racks of clothing, loading bricks at demolition sites and finally becoming a street peddler. He meets a cast of colorful char-acters and hawking goods on the sidewalks of New York in the 1950’s and ’60’s, when the city supported myriad manufacturing companies. Haunted by the death of his mother, Stan tries to forget the past. But the past will not be forgotten, as he learns in a long journey of discovery and renewal. Price: $15.00 for print book. $5.99 for E-book from Kindle or Nook. Jim Lescault of Key News talks with local author Stan Maron about his book, "New York Hustle: Pool Rooms, School Rooms & Street Corners."
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PRAISE FOR STAN MARON'S GRIPPING MEMOIR!
“…a moving and intense memoir…Maron’s ultimate take-away is poignant: The past is like a cemetery; we can visit if we want or we can abandon it and let the weeds grow. But whatever mysteries lie beneath those headstones, we can’t let them kill our dreams.” Eleanor Bader, Review Fix “Maron’s fascinating, compelling autobiography showcases his smorgasbord of work-related experiences, his union involvement and changing attitudes, providing wonderful insights into the recent past.” Ray Walsh, Lansing State Journal "New York Hustle is not a book you can put down. This memoir by Stan Maron, a New Yorker born in New Jersey and peddling in downtown New York to raise a family and make sense of living, tells how the Big Apple metamorphosed in the old days into one of the most powerful cities of the world, by the toil of working men and women, like the author." Marivir Montebon, OSM Magazine "I did what I could to survive," he says, and so he did, doggedly resourceful, making his way not knowing where he was going but getting there nevertheless; from the very beginning, from babyhood almost, vividly and courageously observant about himself and his own experience, and everyone around him, making his way, the foster home, the hapless schools, the street corners, the precarious jobs, seeing it all and all the people in it as he goes. The way he tells this story is a lesson in good writing and a lesson in courage and self-respect.” David Ferry, 2012 Winner National Book Award for Poetry “Read New York Hustle and become transfixed by the power and eloquence of the prose. From the shores of Asbury Park to the beaches and pool halls of Brooklyn, Stan Maron has written a superior memoir.” Joseph Trigoboff, author of Rumble in Brooklyn. “Stan Maron tells it like it is and like it was to live the hard life of a hustler on the hardest of New York City streets. Hear the truth from the man who knows the score." Peter Benjaminson, author of Mary Wells: The Tumultuous Life of Motown's First Superstar “New York Hustle is a must-read-- compelling, heartfelt, and beautifully written, with its savvy, and at times endearingly naive, depictions of surviving a side of New York not often articulated in fact or fiction.” Judith Chaffee, Associate Professor of Theatre, Boston University, Co-editor of Routledge Companion to Commedia dell'Arte "A bawdy autobiography, honest and heartfelt, filtered through a remarkable memory of growing up on the not-always mean streets of New York City." Dorion Sagan, Writer “The first time I met Stan Maron was in NYC on the Lower East Side at a night club. I was doing comedy. He told me he was my grandfather's cousin and he had seen Lenny Bruce and hung out with Joe Ancis. I was thrilled to have a relative who was so old school hip. Now, I finally get to read the whole story the family kept secret or didn't even know. What a story it is!'” Marc Maron, comedian & author of Attempting Normal. |
Stan Maron is an original New Yorker. Growing up in a Jersey beach town, he was placed in foster care at the age of ten in Brownsville, a rough Brooklyn community that was half Jewish, half Black at the time. Stan got in fights, cut classes, and hung out in pool rooms. He dropped out of high school and supported himself with all sorts of jobs: garment delivery man, cabbie, waiter, and finally street peddler. In the 1950's and 60's a street peddler could purchase items manufactured right in New York City: umbrellas, toys, Christmas ornaments, ladies undergarments - you name it, somebody was manufacturing it in the city.
His memoir is a wonderful journey back to the days when NY was still a place where people made things. It was a rough and tumble time, and Stan brings those days to life with wit and wisdom. At 85, Stan is still going strong, writing his stories, participating in demonstrations and campaigns for social justice, and spinning tales of a bygone era, never to return. |