Now, an author…
If there is a theme that runs through Joel’s vocational life as an entrepreneur, one might characterize it as an attempt to recreate the 1950’s small-town Midwest environment in which he was raised; Joel has spent his life creating businesses that, each in its own way, built community – through the establishment of a (pre-Internet) centralized database of shared living situations, a swing, Latin, and ballroom dance studio, and evenings of conversation and ice-breakers, providing opportunities for single men and women to meet that special someone – recapitulating elements of small town life within the metropolis of the San Francisco Bay Area. A former newspaper editor and publisher, he has reinvented himself many times over, and is now about to launch his second book…
Click the Contact button at left to be notified once the new book has launched.
I•C•H: Coming Soon! • Wabi-Sabi: Available Now!
Irony • Courage • Heartbreak
This pop culture almanac, featuring over 365 quick, easy reads about the poignant lives – and deaths – of famous, and not-so-famous people, makes captivating bathroom reading for those who regularly find themselves with a bit of time on their hands once or twice a day – compelling mini-biographies for those on the go!
The world is an astounding place – filled with absurdity, coincidence, and the irrepressible human spirit – a place where Stephen Hawking threw a party and no-one came (see January 8); where Paul Newman may never have got to see his scintillating blue eyes in all their glory (February 9); where you can view the grave of Karl Marx, likely the world’s most famous communist – but it will cost you! (March 27).
A championship football kicker with few fingers or toes, a golfer with no arms, a former symphony conductor whose memory restarts every twenty seconds – each page, a fascinating tidbit culled from the lives of presidents, astronauts, musicians, murder victims – and even a security guard – ironic, courageous, and sometimes tragic vignettes, previously under the radar of most readers.
Harking back to Benjamin Franklin’s Poor Richard’s tome, this almanac chronicles bite-sized accounts from the corners of human experience. Ready to have your heart broken? Read about Jewish songwriter, Irving Berlin’s annual Christmas ritual! (December 25)
Click the Contact button at left to be notified once the new book has launched.
WABI-SABI – Decay…Emptiness…and Other Ephemeral Beauty
When I began work on this project, I had never heard of the Japanese-inspired meme, Wabi-Sabi. Part way through the project, I described the photos I was taking to a friend, who introduced me to the concept. We both thought it captured perfectly the theme of the photographs I was shooting – “Seeking beauty in the imperfection of all things as they evolve from – and devolve back into – nothing.”
Later, as the project was nearing completion, a journey to my hometown in the heart of rural America took me on a journey into my own heart as well, where I discovered what had originally given rise to my photographic sensibilities – the solitude of a Midwest small town, with its beautiful warm summer mornings and its gray winter skies – the deep red sun setting behind bare black trees growing up out of the snow; and the longing for an unobtainable past.
________________________________________
Reviews
M. J.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant prose enhances the tender, often haunting photos.
Laura Bracher
Beautifully written and all true!
Joanne Regenhardt
5.0 out of 5 stars
Having seen Joel Koosed’s WABI-SABI photographs in a gallery, I was delighted to find them in book form with captions written by the photographer. The photos are, in themselves, beautiful representations of their title which “seek to find beauty in the imperfection of all things as they evolve and devolve back into nothing.” One sees stark realism, vivid color, amazing natural beauty, form void of detail or newness. But the book reveals in the captions of the photos, places, friends, moods, seasons, nights and days experienced by the capturer. We discover the heart and mind of the photographer. Each picture makes a statement that is completed in its caption, giving a poetic dimension to the experience. The book is a unique work of art.
Thomas Cox
You are Manchester’s version of Garrison Keillor.
Tim Stevenhagen
My spine tingled…What a wonderful spinner of memories you are – well done!
80 Pages • Paperback
5.0 ***** (4)
$19.95
Buy Now