Daily Archives: September 15, 2013

Fort Greene Dreams

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The excerpt, Fort Greene Dreams by Nelson George is a text in which he describes five years of his life while living in a neighborhood in Brooklyn. He moved to Fort Greene in 1985, although he grew up in Brooklyn, this new neighborhood was very strange and different to him.Although Fort Greene was known as a dangerous neighborhood due to gang activity, the author wasn’t too phased by that. He looked at the positive things that this neighborhood provided. Things such as being close to Manhattan, which made going out very convenient. He enjoyed the tennis courts, a picturesque park with rolling hills and his apartment. His apartment as he describes it in the text was a duplex with wood floors, two bedrooms, a large kitchen, brick walls and a large backyard.

He describes his time living in Fort Greene from 1985-1992 as being the most important years of his life in terms of his rise in music, film, writing and sex. During these years he wrote and produced screenplays, invested in various movies and wrote five books including his breakthrough work The Death of Rhythm and Blues. The author then goes on to describe ow this large spacious apartment made him feel lonely, made his ambition grow as if to fill the void of that large space. As he would go get food, he would sense the creativity around him coming from other aspiring artists and talented individuals. He said “With my take-out food in a bag I’d hurry back to 19 Willoughby to wolf down my meal and get back to work, anxious not to be left behind” this shows his passion and what drove him to be successful.The author later describes how dangerous the neighborhood was and how he only got robbed once but to his own fault. While living at Fort Greene, he learned what kind of writer, lover and son he was. The most surprising revelation was that he was a mentor. It was in this apartment that a nurturing gene of mentoring, criticism, and producing was manifested which would later on define his life and self image. This neighborhood was able to bring out the talent and gift he: had in him all this time, it made him realize to “measure myself by my body of work” which in the end payed off to his advantage.

 

Tangible

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adjective

Define:  capable of being perceived especially by the sense of touch
Source: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tangible


Fort Greene Dreams pg34 ; “One Tangible document of the creative ferment in Fort Greene, and the overall New York black community, was a photo taken by Anthony Barboza for an unpublished  The New York Times Magazine piece on the “new black aesthetic” by  Trey Ellis in 1989.


Tangible means that something can be touched. Nelson George was referring to a document that actually exists and can be accessed was a photo taken by Anthony Barboza.

Fort Greene Dreams Summary

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Fort Greene Dreams is describes Nelson George’s experience of moving to Fort Greene, his new neighborhood. The essay begins with Nelson saying that he will be moving Fort Greene and despite living near Fort Greene in his childhood, the streets of Fort Greene were very foreign. Nelson’s new home is at 19 Willoughby Avenue and in contrast to his old homes, this was very grand. He was able to afford such a luxurious duplex because of his successful biography of Michael Jackson. Nelson is feels very fortunate to be able to achieve such a state of wealth and he appreicates it better than any one else because of his very poor living during his childhood. Fort Greene is home to many celebrities during this time period such as Spike Lee, writer Thulani Davis and a slew of jazz musicians. Despite many well known people living in this neighborhood, it was known for it’s crime
During Nelson George’s stay at Fort Greene, Nelson wrote and met many young aspiring artists and writers. This led Nelson to become a mentor and a”one-man support network” for all of these young artists. Some of his students became household names and some never made it anywhere. Most of his students either went on humble careers or did not make it at all.  Fort Greene brought Nelson a new life and helped him learn that to measure one’s self was not by sudden success or rapid failure but by their body of work.

“Fort Greene Dreams”

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In “Fort Greene Dreams” by Nelson George,Nelson  describes how he fulfills his dreams and passion by moving from Queens to Brooklyn .Nelson George was born in 1957 and is a music and culture critic, journalist, and filmmaker. In the spring of 1985, Nelson moved from Jamaica,Queens to Fort Greene,Brooklyn. The new apartment “19 Willoughby Avenue” he moved into was a stunner. “It was a duplex with wood floors, two bedrooms, twenty-foot high ceilings, a large kitchen, exposed brick walls, and a large backyard.” Nelson mentioned that he was able to afford the place because of his “quickie bio of Michael Jackson son had been a bestseller.” He lived in “19 Willoughby Avenue” from 1985-1992 where he did a lot,film,writing,and sex. Including his outstanding work called “The Death of Rhythm and Blues. Also devoted in “She’s Gotta Have It” and other various movies. He was so dedicated to his work that he would get out out bed in the night to work on more ideas to write more books and movies. While living there he learned and understood a lot of things like what kind of writer, son, and lover he was. Yet he modestly admitted that he classified him self as a mentor like his mother, a kind of teacher. He became very involved in the mentoring, criticism, and producing world. His life lesson was to measure himself not by sudden success or rapid failure but by my his body of works.He looked at Wright, Hughes, and others as inspiring people who he wanted to be like. These peoples philosophy gave him a lot of success and taught him immensely on his field of expertise.