The novel A Western Capitol Hill (Owncoming Press, LLC) trains its literary eye on Denver—similar to how other popular humor has spotlighted the eccentric populace of New Orleans, poked fun at the hipster reputation of Portland, and dished out the bizarre and trashy side of Baltimore. It’s a darkly comedic tale of lust and avarice, set in the New West, complete with bad sex, bad drugs, and bad rock ‘n’ roll. Barbed satire as applicable to our recent national zeitgeist as it is to the Mile High City. When a controversial bill at the Colorado State Capitol pits a Religious Right legislator against a transgender real-estate mogul, two lobbyists battle—in mercenary fashion—on opposing sides of the cultural war. Welcome to Denver’s Capitol Hill. It’s where the Colorado legislature meets. It’s also an eccentrically diverse neighborhood populated by gays, goths, anarchists, fascists, punks, ethnic activists, nouveau gentry, neighborhood-watch alarmists, the drunken homeless, and violent criminals. Last, but not least, it’s the stomping ground of a supernatural beast—the Denver Dragon—in addition to hosting a variety of ghostly apparitions.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Gregory Daurer records songs under the moniker Gregory Ego, in addition to participating on the sonic collaboration Reverend Lead Pipe & His Pipe-Wielding Swingers. This is his first novel. As a freelance writer and photographer, Daurer has been published by Juxtapoz, Salon, 5280, Headpress, The Huffington Post, Draft, Culture, and High Times. His interviews with noted writers (T.C. Boyle, Tom Robbins, William Gibson, Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs) have been reprinted by, or cited within, scholarly books and a documentary film.
ABOUT THE COVER ARTIST:
Larry Hubbell (aka Harry Lyrico) is an illustrator and printmaker. Hubbell's graphics have been published by Icon, Last Gasp, the LA Weekly, and reprinted in a Fantagraphics collection of mini comix. His design work has included logos, book covers, fliers, graffiti, and posters.
I'm a singer-songwriter (Gregory Ego), author of the novel A Western Capitol Hill, and freelance scribe.
As a journalist, I’ve interviewed writers and artists—T.C. Boyle, Tom Robbins, William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Kinky Friedman, and Ralph Steadman—for publications as diverse as Salon.com, 5280, Juxtapoz, Headpress, and High Times.
Email me: gregoryego at aol.com.
By all accounts (and here's one), this past Saturday's Columbus Day Parade here in Denver turned out to be relatively subdued. While there were some protesters, there weren't any mass arrests this year.
Here are photos from a couple different years:
Italian-Americans and supporters prepare to march.
Activist and actor Russell Means being arrested during a protest.
Protester holding a bloody doll.
From my fictional novel A Western Capitol Hill:
He took his place among the protesters at the annual Columbus Day Parade. Why oh why, wouldn’t the organizers of the parade just change the name of the thing to “Italian Pride Day”? That would be acceptable, even to most Indians. Why rub it in: the genocide that Columbus instigated with his misaligned voyage?
Women with braided grey hair held toy dolls with fake blood on them aloft. Students shouted angry slogans. Some of the Indian men communally gripped a large drum covered with deerskin and beat rhythmically on it. Silvio spied that famous Indian actor and activist – he couldn’t remember his name – walking by, as he protested the nation’s oldest Columbus Day Celebration, followed by a contingent of the press looking for quotes as meaty as meatballs and snapping photos.
Italian-Americans and supporters prepare to march.
Activist and actor Russell Means being arrested during a protest.
Protester holding a bloody doll.
No comments:
Post a Comment