My (Lucky) Stars - Paperback

by Willard Spiegelman (Author)

A lifelong devotee of language and performance, Willard Spiegelman here weaves an unconventional "memoir of taste" by recalling the entertainers who shaped his sensibility. From Gilbert & Sullivan operettas that rescued him from summer camp athletics to Ruth Draper's mesmerizing solo performances, from Mabel Mercer's intimate cabaret artistry to Patsy Cline's honky-tonk heartbreak, Spiegelman celebrates the middlebrow culture that thrived mid-century and endures today. With inimitable erudition and wit, he defends "the necessity of the superfluous" -- arguing that pleasure, beauty, and entertainment aren't frivolous distractions but essential sustenance. Part cultural criticism, part personal testament, My (Lucky) Stars reveals how we come to know ourselves through what delights us.