For immediate release
April 20, 2010
Video captures the festivities at John Fante Square ceremony in Downtown L.A.
WHAT: Video shows Councilwoman Jan Perry, the author's family and scholars speaking and unveiling the commemorative JOHN FANTE SQUARE sign on 4/8/10, the 101st anniversary of the author's birth
WHERE: Fante Square is at the corner of 5th & Grand, downtown Los Angeles (next to the Central Library)
VIDEO LINK: http://www.archive.org/details/JohnFanteSquareCeremony
PHOTO SET: http://www.flickr.com/photos/richardschave/sets/72157623815232098/
RELATED NEWS: Esotouric & On Bunker Hill have launched a self-guided tour map of John Fante's Downtown – LINK: http://johnfantesdowntown.notlong.com
LOS ANGELES- John Fante (1909-1983) was Charles Bukowski's favorite writer, his "Ask the Dust" was the book Robert Towne wanted to film after "Chinatown" (it finally was made in 2006 starring Colin Farrell, Salma Hayek, and Donald Sutherland) and he is honored with an annual festival in Italy—but in 21st Century Los Angeles, his name often gets a shrug. That's too bad, because Fante might be the funniest, most heartwarming, honest and appealing writer to ever take this city as his subject.
But on April 8 John Fante's local fame got a big jolt. That's when Councilwoman Jan Perry unveiled an official City of Los Angeles sign designating the highly-trafficked intersection of 5th Street and Grand Avenue (at the foot of Fante's beloved Bunker Hill and next to the Central Library where Bukowski discovered "Ask the Dust") as JOHN FANTE SQUARE. April 8 was also the 101st anniversary of John Fante's birth, and the perfect date to recognize his literary legacy and continued influence on the culture of downtown Los Angeles.
The Fante Square unveiling ceremony was presided over by Councilwoman JAN PERRY, and organized by Esotouric's RICHARD SCHAVE, who proposed the monument. Highlights of the half hour ceremony include the author's daughter VICKIE FANTE COHEN reading her father's most famous lines about Los Angeles the "sad flower in the sand;" the author's son JIM FANTE sharing touching memories of childhood trips with his father back to Bunker Hill; the author's son DAN FANTE reading his own raw and powerful poems about John Fante's literary legacy followed by a literary feeding frenzy when Dan gave away a pile of his own books in his father's honor; GORDON PATTISON, whose family owned the last two houses to be removed from Bunker Hill in the 1960s, speaking eloquently of the extraordinary lost community of artists, writers, working folks and retirees where he lived and played as a child; the author's biographer STEPHEN COOPER placing Fante's work in its proper historical context; TOM HYRY from UCLA Special Collections reading an enthusiastic 1979 letter from Charles Bukowski to his hero John Fante, from the University's recently acquired collection of John Fante's papers; and the LA Public Library's Aloud curator LOUISE STEINMAN describing how Bukowski's literary world was transformed when he discovered Fante's "Ask the Dust" at the Central Library, and how each day readers lives are changed in public libraries.
The video of the Fante Square unveiling ceremony was prepared by Esotouric, and is hosted on the Internet Archive, where it will be permanently available for the free enjoyment of Fante fans worldwide who were unable to attend the unveiling ceremony. It's hoped that many people will be able to virtually share this wonderful with members of the Fante family, city officials, scholars and fans of the author's unforgettable downtown anti-hero Arturo Bandini.
ABOUT THE SELF-GUIDED TOUR OF JOHN FANTE'S DOWNTOWN: In honor of the dedication of John Fante Square and the author's 101st birthday, Esotouric and On Bunker Hill have created a digital map to a selection of Downtown locations that played a significant role in Fante's life and work, and can be easily visited on foot. To explore the annotated map of Fante-related locations, including locations from "Ask The Dust" and the little known last remaining stone retaining wall from old Bunker Hill, visit - http://johnfantesdowntown.notlong.com
Esotouric's Kim Cooper and Richard Schave are proud members of LAVA - The Los Angeles Visionaries Association. http://www.lavatransforms.org
To schedule an interview with any of the above named individuals with the exception of Councilwoman Jan Perry, Contact Kim at amscrayATgmailDOTcom, 323-223-2767. Contact Jan Perry's office at (213) 473-7009.
