Westville came alive Monday evening with the words, the melodies, and the juggling of Wisenheimers.
The occasion: a party at the Kehler Liddell Gallery on Whalley Avenue to celebrate the publication of Westville author Mark Oppenheimer’s new memoir about his high school debating exploits. Title: “wisenheimer: A Childhood Subject to Debate” (Free Press).
It wasn’t your normal book party. Or book reading.
For one thing, the crowd crammed into the gallery ranged from toddlers to seniors. And they had a lot to do besides standing around.
They could buy copies of Oppenheimer’s new or previous books. Or a science fiction offering by local author Brian Slattery.
They could listen to the tender plucks of the two members of “The Brian Francis Slattery Three.”
They could hear Oppenheimer and Slattery read from their books — backed by the duo’s music. They could listen to local poet Emily Moore read from work published in the New Haven Review, which Oppenheimer and Slattery edit. Click on the play arrow at the top of the story for a mashed-up sample.
They could watch jugglers — or, in the case of unselfconsicous under-10s, join in.
They could eat Ashley’s ice cream, scooped by the author’s dad.
They could meet a politician, Westville Alderman Greg Dildine.
They could stare at Gigi Liverant’s vibrant paintings on the gallery walls.
Or, after schmoozing and listening and fressing and juggling, they could go home and catch up on Oppenheimer’s other recent milestone: becoming the biweekly religion columnist for The New York Times. His first columns — about video game Hell, a Jewish psychologist who treats pedophile priests, the religious underpinnings of the argument for torture—wouldn’t qualify as “Wisenheimer”-ish. More like “groundbreaking.”
Those gallery walls also had on display the amazing new works by Westville photographer (and new father to 2 week old baby Oliver) Matthew Garrett!