A flier came in the mail today announcing the upcoming release of a poetry collection called The Book of Faces by Joseph Campana, who has apparently ascended from humble origins in Johnstown to the rarified realms of the literary elite.
Back in high school, Joe and I traveled in the same misfit circles, contributing to such noble enterprises as The Bugle newspaper (which I understand is sadly no longer being published), the International Club (Je me souviens les fromages de Quebec!) and the dramatic tour-de-farce "The Happiest Days of Our Lives." If I remember correctly, Joe was also one of the conspirators in the great FUBC-scandal-censorship-protest movement of June 1989. (Although he did not do time in detention for his involvement, unlike yours truly and another blogger who shall remain nameless.)
Jen asked if I'm jealous of his having published, and of course the answer is yes. It's an impressive accomplishment, and I look forward to reading the autographed copy I will demand from him in exchange for not posting here a photo of him circa his freshman year of high school.
1 comment:
Bill--you're a blogger! And here I am with my name in lights: thanks for the publicity. The Book of Faces will be out on November 1st, and is on Amazon and other websites as we speak. You can also come to a reading I'll be doing with another Johnstonian poet, Joshua Mehigan (who graduated a few years before I did: I didn't know him) on Sunday Nov. 20th at the Johnstown Public Library.
As for the stroll down memory lane: I too remember the Bugle, the musicals and plays, the mysterious FBUC incident (I was only an innocent bystander--maybe a techincal consultant, if that, though I was screamed at by the principal) and those excellent trips to Canada with Tina Hintz.
In any case: see you at the library in November and I'll sign your copy personally. -- Joe (campanaj@kenyon.edu)
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