Wesley Brown’s new novel,
PUSH COMES TO SHOVE, takes readers back to the Vietnam Era, when
fear mixed with freedom to create a time unlike any other in US history.
Brown’s brilliant, sweeping novel of activism and violence reminds
us that years of struggle and personal sacrifice led the way from the
Civil Rights Movement to the first black U.S. President.  

As the turbulent Sixties draw
to a close, NYC police raid the headquarters of Push Comes to Shove—a
group of black activists, dreamers, and lovers based in a gritty tenement
in Lower Manhattan—and kill Walter Armstead with a shotgun blast to
the face. Was he an innocent victim of violent times? Police collaborator?
Or both? His death triggers a series of violent reprisals from extremists
in the group—from a subway bombing to kidnappings to a showdown in
the Black Hills of South Dakota. “As someone who came of age during
the 1960’s,” Brown says. “I’ve always been amazed by all the
conventional beliefs that were called into question and, for better
and worse, the extremes to which people on all sides of these questions
were willing to go.” 

It’s a turbulent time that
Wesley Brown knows well. Brown worked with the Mississippi Freedom Democratic
Party in 1965 and became a member of the Black Panther Party in 1968.
In 1972, he was sentenced to three years in prison for refusing induction
into the armed services and spent 18 months in Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary.
For 27 years, Brown was a much-revered Professor at Rutgers University,
where he inspired hundreds of students, including novelist Junot Diaz.
He retired in 2007, and currently teaches literature at Bard College
at Simon’s Rock. He is also an accomplished playwright. 

Push Comes to Shove
is the second book from the Concord Free Press, which publishes novels
and gives them away for free, asking that readers make a voluntary donation
to a local charity or individual in need. Its first novel, GIVE +
TAKE by Stona Fitch, generated more than $40,000 in donations to
diverse causes and individuals in need throughout the world. The press
creates controversy and inspires praise for its radical rethinking of
what a book can be—and its unique, generosity-based business model.  

Brown has two previous novels
(TRAGIC MAGIC, DARKTOWN STRUTTERS) from traditional publishers.
Why did he choose the Concord Free Press for his third? “I’m excited
by the possibility that the publication of a book could have a direct
impact, for the better, on the circumstances of people’s lives,”
he says.

2nd Annual Back Pages Bloomsday Benefit!

A Celebration of James Joyce's Birthday

to Benefit Your Local Indie Bookshop

The Skellig Irish Music Pub 

Tuesday, June 16
7-9 PM
240 Moody Street, Waltham

 Free Food
A Free Drink
Live Music
And of Course . . .

Jump on a Table & Read A Bit of Ulysses!

 Supporting Local Waltham Businesses Helps Build a Stronger Community For Us All

Join us for our Monthly Open Mic Night!  Bring poetry, bring fiction,
bring a trombone, bring someone else's tuba, but come, even as an
innocent bystander and see, hear, and enjoy the creative stylings of
your friends and neighbors! Sign-up is at 7, and we get rolling at 7:30
. .

Waltham author Christopher Klein regaled us with wild tales of the Boston Harbor Islands last year.  This year join us as he mines the massive unwieldy history of Boston Sports, coming up with the great stories of Boston Sports that every die-hard fan must know.  Whether you're a Sox fan or a Braves (we mean Boston Braves!) fan, a Celtics fan or a Whirlwinds fan (you might be the last one left!), join us for a riveting evening and a beer afterwards at the Watch City Brewery as the Sox duke it out with the Nationals.

Join us for an evening with bestselling author Tom Zoellner as he discusses the rock that can both sustain and destroy life as we know it.  From Marie Curie to Iraq and back again, Zoellner takes readers on a ride that the San Francisco Chronicle calls both "serious and exciting".  Check out Tom on Jon Stewart's The Daily Show below!

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart
M - Th 11p / 10c

Tom Zoellner

thedailyshow.com

Daily Show
Full Episodes
Economic Crisis
Political Humor