David Greenberger
Encyclopedia
David Greenberger is an American artist
, writer
and radio commentator best known for his Duplex Planet
series of zines, comic books, CDs, and spoken word
performances
and radio plays. He is a frequent contributor of essays and music reviews for National Public Radio.
In 1979, having just completed a degree in fine arts as a painter, Greenberger took a job as activities director at a nursing home in Boston
. On his first day, he met the residents of the nursing home and abandoned painting in favor of conversation. "This is my art," he said.
In this unexpected setting, Greenberger found an unusual medium and a desire to portray the people he met as living human beings instead of "just repositories of their memories or the wisdom of the ages." Instead of collecting oral history about significant events, Greenberger focused on talking one-on-one with ordinary people about ordinary things—the joy of a close shave or answers to "Can you fight city hall?".
Greenberger began publishing his conversations with old people in The Duplex Planet, a small, homemade magazine he started in 1979, and still publishes today. It has subsequently found larger audiences in other forms, which are all derived from the original template. A series of personal commentaries drawn from Greenberger's experiences with this body of work has aired regularly on National Public Radio's "All Things Considered
". Greenberger was the subject of a segment in 2007's "Life Part 2: Language of Aging", part of a PBS
series on aging.
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
, writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and radio commentator best known for his Duplex Planet
Duplex Planet
The Duplex Planet is a zine edited and published by David Greenberger since 1979. It contains transcriptions of his interviews with elderly residents at a Boston, Massachusetts, United States, nursing home.-Adaptations:...
series of zines, comic books, CDs, and spoken word
Spoken word
Spoken word is a form of poetry that often uses alliterated prose or verse and occasionally uses metered verse to express social commentary. Traditionally it is in the first person, is from the poet’s point of view and is themed in current events....
performances
Performing arts
The performing arts are those forms art which differ from the plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artist's own body, face, and presence as a medium, and the latter uses materials such as clay, metal or paint which can be molded or transformed to create some physical art object...
and radio plays. He is a frequent contributor of essays and music reviews for National Public Radio.
In 1979, having just completed a degree in fine arts as a painter, Greenberger took a job as activities director at a nursing home in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
. On his first day, he met the residents of the nursing home and abandoned painting in favor of conversation. "This is my art," he said.
In this unexpected setting, Greenberger found an unusual medium and a desire to portray the people he met as living human beings instead of "just repositories of their memories or the wisdom of the ages." Instead of collecting oral history about significant events, Greenberger focused on talking one-on-one with ordinary people about ordinary things—the joy of a close shave or answers to "Can you fight city hall?".
Greenberger began publishing his conversations with old people in The Duplex Planet, a small, homemade magazine he started in 1979, and still publishes today. It has subsequently found larger audiences in other forms, which are all derived from the original template. A series of personal commentaries drawn from Greenberger's experiences with this body of work has aired regularly on National Public Radio's "All Things Considered
All Things Considered
All Things Considered is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio. It was the first news program on NPR, and is broadcast live worldwide through several outlets...
". Greenberger was the subject of a segment in 2007's "Life Part 2: Language of Aging", part of a PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
series on aging.
External links
- "As I Grow Old", This I BelieveThis I BelieveThis I Believe was a five-minute CBS Radio Network program hosted by journalist Edward R. Murrow from 1951 to 1955. A half-hour European version of This I Believe ran from 1956 to 1958 over Radio Luxembourg....
, NPRNPRNPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
, April 23, 2007 - "Growing Old in L.A." radio documentary, California Council for the Humanities, "California Stories", 2005
- Duplex Planet official website
- An interview with David Greenberger in MungBeing Magazine