Robin D. G. Kelley dug through the discarded belongings of Thelonious Monk for almost a year. “
I was like an archaeologist, digging through this stuff,” Kelley told Laurie Hartzell of USC College. “There was dust everywhere, there were mice. It was terrible.”
Kelley, professor of American studies and ethnicity, and history at USC College,
will be talking about "Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original"
tonight in Leimert Park at Eso Won Books.
Buried in the storage facility were photographs, receipts, medical billsm
Monk’s silk smoking jacket, jam sessions, and music written in Monk’s own hand.
Not everything fit in the book so Kelley created
Monk Book.com to post everything he collected during the last 14 years of research. Kelley is also working on several other books, including "Speaking in Tongues: Jazz and Modern Africa" and "Black, Brown, & Beige: Surrealist Writings from Africa and the Diaspora."