Long before Charles Bukowski and right around the same time as Raymond Chandler, John Fante was writing eloquently about the streets, bars and people of Los Angeles. Apparently, somewhere along the line, his landmark 1939 novel, Ask the Dust, was banned, because it’s the subject of a discussion by the Banned Book Club, which meets monthly in Huntington Beach. Ask the Dust is the story of a down-on-his-luck writer and a fiery waitress whose union is derailed by their personal demons. And if tales of ruined love aren’t worth banning, what is?
Wed., Aug. 12, 7 p.m., 2009
Joel Beers has written about theater and other stuff for this infernal rag since its very first issue in, when was that again???