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From YouTube: New Book Conversation with Steven Slosberg - 12/22/21
Description
Join us for a conversation with local columnist and author Steven Slosberg about his newest book, Columnist: 45 Years of Having a Say.
About the Book:
"Slosberg quickly made a name for himself for literary and perceptive work... Slosberg's name became a household word among the Day's readers who either admired or were repulsed by his work."
"Slosberg's columns, which were often crafted with the tightness and symmetry of poems, would bring the newspaper both controversy and distinction in the next decade."
- Gregory N. Stone in his book The Day Paper: The Story of One of America's Last Independent Newspapers. Published in 2000 by The Day Publishing Co., New London, Conn.
About the Author:
Steven Slosberg lives in Stonington and worked as a reporter, editorial writer, copy editor, and columnist for The Day in New London, Conn., for more than three decades and lately has been writing weekly stories for The Westerly Sun in Westerly, R.I. During his career, he won the Horace Greeley Award for outstanding journalistic service from the New England Press Association, the Stephen A. Collins Award for public service reporting from the Connecticut Chapter, Society of Professional Journalists and first place awards from the National Society of Newspaper Columnists, the American Association of Sunday and Features Editors and the New England AP News Executive Association.
A
I
see
some
of
you
who
are
regular,
patrons
and
volunteers
of
the
library
and
others
for
whom
this
is
your
first
time
so
welcome.
I
wanted
to
do
this
conversation
with
steve
up
here
by
the
fireplace-
and
I
know
the
seating
is
not
so
comfortable
for
most
of
you,
but
we
couldn't
pass
on
on
this
nice
setting.
A
A
B
That's
a
good
question:
it's
when
a
good
friend
of
mine,
lynn,
fried
who
lives
in
clinton
who
is
a
short
story
writer
and
he
published
a
book
of
short
stories
and
he
did
it
many
for
his
family
and
his
friends
and
he
kept
urging
me
to
do
it,
and
I
I
was
kind
of
reluctant.
You
know
when
I
left
the
day.
A
B
I
didn't
want
to
rip
open
old
wounds
and
scabs,
although
people
kind
of
miss
those,
but
if
there's
a
second
volume,
but
I
thought
for
this
one
just
stick
to
warm
and
cuddly
as
best
I
can
and
with
a
couple
of
pieces
in
there
that
that
are
sharp,
but
and
also
as
as
rick
costa,
who
did
a
very
nice
piece.
I
mean
the
day
said
this.
This
election
is
good
for
now
this
country,
isn't
you
know
people
don't
want
to
read
a
lot
of
fire
and
brimstone.
A
B
Even
in
third
grade
I
mean
I
like
to
write
and
I
ended
up
being
able
to
work
at
the
one
thing
I
could
do
in
a
profession
that
is
just
perfect
but
and
greg
stone
is
here
tonight
and
greg
wrote
a
political
column
for
a
long
time,
and
it
I
find
as
an
opinion
right
being
an
opinion.
Writer
is
not
the
easiest
thing.
It
wasn't
for
me,
and
I
found
writing
about.
B
It
it's
hard
to
have
an
opinion.
All
the
time
david
collins
who
succeeded
me
is
an
excellent
columnist,
he's
a
strong
reporter
and
he's
good
at
opinion.
I
found
it
very
difficult
to
to
have
opinions,
so
I
kind
of
you
know
fake
it,
but
I
but
people
read
it
and
so
the
day
kept
me
doing
it
for
a
long
time,
but
that's
a
roundabout
answer.
A
B
C
A
You
do
that.
You
know
the
answer
all
right
now.
My
favorite
of
all
of
these-
and
maybe
it
is
some
of
yours
as
well-
is
called
eddie's
last
long
search,
and
I
thought
it
was
so
representative
of
the
experience
of
many
of
us
during
the
vietnam
era,
and
I
wondered
steve
what
your
experience
was
during
the
war
years.
B
Well,
I
was,
you
know,
a
white
middle-class
kid
from
norwich
privileged.
I
was
in
college
and
that's
where
this
story
took
place
with
the
ed
nylander,
but
I
did
everything
I
could
not
to
go
to
vietnam.
I
got
my
draft
notice
in
april
of
69.
I
graduated
college
in
june
of
69,
and
I
had
had
terrible
allergies
as
a
adolescent
and
into
college.
B
C
B
B
A
B
B
On
and
the
way
everyone
the
waitresses
didn't
mind
so
much
they
said
in
atlantic
city.
They
had
to
reveal
much
more.
I
think
everyone
was
just
happy
to
have
a
job,
but
you
know
they
were
they're,
just
nutty
outfits,
and
that
was
a
crazy
day.
I
mean
the
place,
has
never
shut
down.
They
were
parking
everywhere.
B
I
think
now
the
casinos
are
just
part
of
the
fabric.
You
know
they
didn't
bring
the
crime,
at
least
that
I'm
aware
of
a
few
massage
piles,
but
there
wasn't
that
influx
of
what
everyone
feared
would
happen.
There
wasn't
a
tremendous
amount
of
commercial
development
in
north
stonington
or
legend
that
people
feared
they.
You
know
they.
They
brought
in
a
lot
of
folks
earning
a
minimum
wage.
B
I
think
it
engendered
a
housing
boom
of
sorts
in
griswold
and
canterbury,
the
outlying
towns,
where
property
wasn't
that
expensive
for
it
to
house
the
people,
but
you
know
they
employed
lots
of
people.
They
gave
health
benefits
and
I
I
think
in
the
end
as
pfizer
downsized
eb
is
held
on,
but
they
I
can't
say
it's
been
a
it's
been
a
boon
to
the
area,
but
I
don't
think
it's
been.
The
casinos
have
been
the
the
the
terrible
entities
we
thought
and
I
also
think
now
the
bloom
is
sort
of
off
the
rose.
A
B
You
know
the
stuff
they
make
now
it's
on,
the
market
is
just
it's
deadly
and
they
they
get
an
arm
and
a
leg
for
it
and
that
stuff,
once
I
had
ingested
it
and
knew
it
was
too
late.
It
was
a
horror
show,
and
I
remember
I
went
upstairs.
I
was
alone
and
I
went
upstairs.
It
was
just
it
was
like
a
volcanic.
You
know
lava
and
I
took
off
all
my
clothes
and
then
I
thought
I
didn't
want
to
be
found
dead
and
naked.
B
B
A
B
We
were
going
to
scoop.
You
and
donald
was
a
was
a
tough
competitor
and
his
son
tom
could
be
a
little
difficult
at
times,
and
it
was
just
amazing
that
he
showed
up
out
of
the
blue
for
this
signing,
and
that
has
to
be
one
of
the
more
interesting
people
from
my
past
who
came,
but
I
you
know
you
get
a
tremendous
sense
of
who
re
who
read
you
and
who
reads
you
when
people
come
up
and
you
find
that
during
these
years
you
had
faithful
readers,
they
they
maybe
didn't
agree.
B
B
A
C
B
Well,
let
me
let
me
explain
something
else
that
happened
my
father,
my
late
father
belonged
to
the
norwich
seniors
and
the
the
pequots
had
it
had
a
kitchen
training
facility
close
to
the
lake
of
isles
property
across
the
road,
and
they
would
invite
seniors
from
the
area
to
come
for
essentially
a
free
lunch,
so
their
chefs
could
practice
on
them.
So
my
father
made
the
mistake
of
asking
me
to
go
with
them
once
and
what
they
were
running
it
was
on.
It
was
within
them.
It
was
a
little
complicated.
B
C
B
C
B
Had
three
phases
when
I
started
out
the
day,
writing
columns.
I
was
on
the
editorial
page,
so
the
job
was
to
write
editorials
and
I
started
writing
columns,
saying
reading
bedtime
stories
to
my
children,
sort
of
soft
and
cuddly
stuff,
washing
the
dishes
and
then,
after
three
years,
when
morgan
and
greg
couldn't
take
me
anymore,
I
became
the
columnist
for
the
paper
and
that
meant
a
change.
Then
I
had
to
have
opinion.
I
had
to
be
you
know,
sort
of
reckless
and
get
people
riled
up
and
it
worked
for
a
while.
B
But
I
was
never
really
comfortable
doing
this
stuff
because
I
I
was
a
little
out
of
control,
but
but
now
I
like,
since
I've
started
writing
for
the
sun.
I
do
sort
of
this.
You
know
local
history,
pieces
profiles
of
people
stuff
that
I'm
more
comfortable
with,
and
people
like
it's
not
some
in-your-face
stuff.
B
B
B
B
So
in
the
end
it
got
the
ugly
view
and
no
tax
benefit
and
waterford
had
the
money
and
and
and
at
the
same
time,
new
london
had
lost
its
ymca,
and
I
thought
waterford
with
all
this
land
and
all
this
money
could
have
built
a
regional
recreation
center
like
mr
community
center,
and
it
didn't-
and
I
just
thought
it
wasn't
a
good
neighbor.
And
so
that's
why
I
went
after
it
petty
I
know,
but
instead
of
building
the
center,
they
bought
volvos
for
the
police
department.
B
C
B
B
I
there
was
a
fellow
who
ran
the
old,
best-eaten
coffee
franchises
and
he
was
born
again
and
he
started
putting
scripture
on
his
coffee
cups.
So
I
said:
okay,
you
know,
keep
your
fingers
out
of
my
coffee.
That
kind
of
thing
and
people
would
one
like
somebody
sent
me
a
package
in
response
to
that
and
before
I
could
open
it.
My
neighbor
in
the
newsroom
joe
wilches,
who
covers
stonington,
went
to
the
other
side
of
the
room.
Before
I
opened
the
package
it
was,
it
was
a
picture
of
a
horse's
ass.
B
B
C
B
C
B
B
Yeah,
I
don't
that
one
was
very
painful
for
everybody
and
it
had
to
do
with
a
judge.
Seymour
handel
he
ended
up
having
to
two
men
were
brought
up
on
charges
of
sexually
abusing
their
stepchildren,
causing
some
serious
illness
and
the
wives.
These
guys
were
in
the
navy,
and
the
wives
would
not
testify
against
them
because
they
didn't
want
to
lose
their
husbands
to
jail
and
lose
the
income.
So
handel
was
in
a
predicament
where
he
you
know.
Without
the
complaint
that's
coming
forward
is
the
little
he
could
do.
B
Well,
I
called
him
eva
hirta.
Our
court
reporter
came
back
that
day
furious
about
what
had
happened
and
sort
of
pushed
me
to
call
handle.
Well.
Handel
was
used
to
talking
to
reporters,
but
the
understanding
was.
It
was
always
off
the
record.
That
was
never
clear
when
I
called
him.
I
just
started
talking
to
him
and
he
said
some
stuff
that
ended
up
really
costing
him
not
his
job,
but
whatever
future
he
might
have
had
in
connecticut
jurisprudence
and
that
it
caused
a
lot
of
trouble
in
many
ways.
B
B
I
just
it's
not
something
I
really
want
to
open
up
again
greg.
You
know
people
other
newspapers
went
after
me.
They
said
judges
will
never
talk
to
reporters
again
and
some
people
stood
by.
What
I
did
I
was
hauled.
Handel
was
hauled
before
what
was
called
the
judicial
review
council
in.
I
think
it
was
in
hartford
or
somewhere,
but
I
was
the
one
who
was
really
being
taken
apart
and
I
was
subjected
to
a
lot
of
angry
questioning
by
handel's
lawyer.
B
C
C
C
B
B
A
B
B
C
B
Out
of
her
hair,
I
had
this
vision
the
one
framed
on
our
bedroom
bureau
actually
of
this
beautiful
blonde
girl,
with
a
lovely
french
braid
standing
in
the
field
in
profile
against
the
setting
sun.
The
very
picture
of
feminine
elegance
is
what
I
saw
again:
her
braided
hair
and
her
strapless
wedding
gown,
forming
one
graceful
line.
B
To
summarize
what
my
daughter
micah
swiftly
made
of
my
sense
of
style
and
paternal
privilege,
we
compromised,
I
conceded
that
she
was
no
longer
seven.
She
assured
me
her
hair
would
be
fine
with
a
rather
emphatic
and
slightly
lip
curled
stress
on
her
and
it
was
she
wore
a
white
cali
lily
in
her
flawless
low
bun
of
curls.
B
Last
saturday
afternoon,
the
one
her
mother
picked
out
and
bestowed
on
her
just
hours
before
jessica
botta,
a
hair
stylist
living
in
new
london
arrived
in
stonington,
around
noon,
to
create
the
chic
setting
and
on
an
overcast
and
windy
day
in
which
the
only
rain
in
more
than
a
week
was
forecast
for
precisely
the
hour
of
the
vows.
The
gods
of
dry
skies
were
somehow
appeased,
friends,
reassurances
prayers
and
holding
the
sight
of
the
outdoor
ceremony.
B
That
is
one
of
the
more
useful
and
the
least
disruptive
roles
for
any
father
of
the
bride.
The
day
before
at
our
house,
bustling
with
family
and
friends
from
afar
was-
and
I
say
this
objectively
in
the
gifted
hands
of
the
bride's
mother,
my
wife
leaves
bed
and
two
friends
peg
moran
of
stonington
and
catherine
way
of
preston
worked
all
morning
and
deep
into
the
afternoon.
B
The
portrait
of
these
three
women
wading
through
reaming,
teeming
buckets
of
lilies
roses,
delphinium
mums,
zinnias,
dahlias
and
snapdragons
remains
a
lasting
wonder.
Our
daughter
and
her
fiance
eric
bernstrom
handled
most
of
the
wedding
details
thoughtfully
and
reasonably
thrifty
thriftingly
as
summer
was
otherwise
suspended
our
calendar,
showing
only
one
day.
They
are
both
sailors
and
met
four
years
ago
at
datsun's
boat
yard.
B
B
The
reception
was
booked
at
lighthouse
in
and
in
london,
a
thematic
as
well
as
pragmatic
choice
should
the
weather
be
unruly,
the
ceremony
could
be
moved
there,
the
bride
and
groom
elected
to
keep
it
outside
and
without
a
tent
they're
sailors.
After
all,
the
elders
stocked
up
on
umbrellas
and
as
the
father
of
the
bride
fretted
by
the
hour
about
the
cruel
weather,
the
mother
of
the
bride,
got
things
done.
She
was
at
the
lighthouse
museum,
still
not
changed
for
the
wedding
arranging
flowers
and
chairs
an
hour
before
the
4pm
ceremony.