June Skinner Sawyers - "We Take Care of Our Own" - Aaron Cohen

June Skinner Sawyers will discuss We Take Care of Our Own: Faith, Class, and Politics in the Art of Bruce Springsteen. She will be joined in conversation by Aaron Cohen. A Q&A and signing will follow the discussion. 

At 57th Street Books

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About the Book: We Take Care of Our Own traces the evolution of Bruce Springsteen's beliefs, beginning with his New Jersey childhood and ending with his most recent works from Springsteen on Broadway to Letter to You. The author follows the singer's life, examining his albums and a variety of influences (both musical and nonmusical), especially his Catholic upbringing and his family life, to show how he became an outspoken icon for working-class America--indeed for working-class life throughout the world. In this way, the author emphasizes the universality of Springsteen's canon and depicts how a working-class sensibility can apply to anyone anywhere who believes in fairness and respect. In addition, the author places Springsteen in the historical context not only of literature (especially John Steinbeck) but also of the art world (specifically the work of Thomas Hart Benton and Edward Hopper). Among the themes explored in the book include community, a sense of place, America as the Promised Land, the myth of the West, and, ultimately, mortality.

About the Author: Born in Glasgow, Scotland, June Sawyers is the author or editor of more than thirty books, including Racing in the Street: The Bruce Springsteen Reader (Penguin), Reading the Beatles (Penguin), Tougher than the Rest: The 100 Best Bruce Springsteen Songs (Omnibus), Long Walk Home: Reflections on Bruce Springsteen (Rutgers), Cabaret FAQ (Applause), Celtic Music (DaCapo), Bob Dylan’s New York (History Press), and Chicago Beer (History Press). Her work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, Booklist, San Francisco Chronicle, NewCity, TLS, Sing Out!, Come for to Sing, Stagebill, Dirty Linen, Common Review, Scottish Tradition, and Third Coast Review. She is the founder of Phantom Collective, an indie theatre group that occasionally sponsors staged readings of classic and new works. She teaches at the Newberry Library and is an associate producer of Voices over the Water, a documentary on the Scottish diaspora, now being broadcast on PBS stations across the country.

About the Interlocutor: Aaron Cohen is the author of Move On Up: Chicago Soul Music and Black Cultural Power (University of Chicago Press) and teaches humanities at City Colleges of Chicago.