The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood
Encyclopedia
The Corner: A Year in the Life of an Inner-City Neighborhood is a book written by Baltimore Sun reporter David Simon and former Baltimore
homicide detective Ed Burns
. It was named a Notable Book of the Year by The New York Times
.
market at Fayette & Monroe Streets in Baltimore. Simon and Burns spent over a year interviewing and following around the people who lived on the Fayette & Monroe corner. Although written like a novel, the book is nonfiction; it uses the real names of those people and recounts actual events. It centers mostly around the lives of Gary McCullough, a drug addict, his ex-wife Fran Boyd, also an addict, and their son DeAndre McCullough, a high school student who begins to sell drugs. The book is a look at the effects of drug addiction, the drug trade, and the war on drugs
on an urban neighborhood, as well as being an examination of the sociological factors which underlie the modern drug trade.
with the two authors, said that "The Corner is an intimate, intense dispatch from the broken heart of urban America. It is impossible to read these pages and not feel stunned at the high price, in human potential, in thwarted aspirations, that simple survival on the streets of West Baltimore demands of its citizens. An important document, as devastating as it is lucid."
The Seattle Times said that in terms of providing the reader access to the secret world of the urban drug trade the book "transcends There Are No Children Here or Clockers." Simon has said that he feels the book perplexed readers in terms of its outspokenness on political issues and that liberals were outraged by criticism of welfare and conservatives were appalled at the ennobling of drug dealers and addicts.
In the afterword of Homicide
, Simon acknowledged that while most of the detectives he accompanied accepted The Corner as legitimate, some saw it as a "betrayal", possibly due to the mention of the extent of police brutality. However, it is noted in The Corner that this form of brutality was far worse than had taken place during Simon's tenure as a "police intern" i.e. reporter. One such example is where a uniformed officer beats a boy who is in handcuffs, whereas in Homicide the code of honor at the time makes clear that "you don't hit a man who's wearing cuffs or is unable to fight back."
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
homicide detective Ed Burns
Ed Burns
Ed Burns is a producer, screenwriter, and novelist. He has worked closely with writing partner David Simon. They have collaborated on The Corner and The Wire . Burns is a former Baltimore police detective for the Homicide and Narcotics divisions, and a public school teacher...
. It was named a Notable Book of the Year by The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
.
Origins
Simon credits his editor John Sterling with the suggestion that he observe a single corner in Baltimore. Simon believes Sterling was expecting a neighborhood story but he knew that "the corner" also had connotations for Baltimore's open-air drug markets. He took a second leave of absence from the Baltimore Sun in 1993 to research the project. The authors eventually spent three years working with the people of the neighborhood.Plot introduction
The book covers a year in the life of an inner city drugIllegal drug trade
The illegal drug trade is a global black market, dedicated to cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of those substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs by drug prohibition laws.A UN report said the...
market at Fayette & Monroe Streets in Baltimore. Simon and Burns spent over a year interviewing and following around the people who lived on the Fayette & Monroe corner. Although written like a novel, the book is nonfiction; it uses the real names of those people and recounts actual events. It centers mostly around the lives of Gary McCullough, a drug addict, his ex-wife Fran Boyd, also an addict, and their son DeAndre McCullough, a high school student who begins to sell drugs. The book is a look at the effects of drug addiction, the drug trade, and the war on drugs
War on Drugs
The War on Drugs is a campaign of prohibition and foreign military aid and military intervention being undertaken by the United States government, with the assistance of participating countries, intended to both define and reduce the illegal drug trade...
on an urban neighborhood, as well as being an examination of the sociological factors which underlie the modern drug trade.
Characters
- Gary McCullough: a drug addict. Father of DeAndre and ex-husband of Fran. He dropped out of college when Fran became pregnant and became addicted to drugs after their marriage ended. Burns and Simon wrote that after he died of an overdose after nearly getting clean, "we didn't write a word for months".
- Denise Francine "Fran" Boyd: a drug addict. Mother of DeAndre and DeRodd. Lives in the "Dew Drop Inn" with her sisters, Bunchie and Sherry, and brother Stevie and his son.
- DeAndre McCullough: a high schoolHigh schoolHigh school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
student and some-time drug dealer. Son of Gary McCullough and Francine "Fran" Boyd.
Critical response
Richard Price, author of Clockers and later a co-writer of The WireThe WIRE
the WIRE is the student-run College radio station at the University of Oklahoma, broadcasting in a freeform format. The WIRE serves the University of Oklahoma and surrounding communities, and is staffed by student DJs. The WIRE broadcasts at 1710 kHz AM in Norman, Oklahoma...
with the two authors, said that "The Corner is an intimate, intense dispatch from the broken heart of urban America. It is impossible to read these pages and not feel stunned at the high price, in human potential, in thwarted aspirations, that simple survival on the streets of West Baltimore demands of its citizens. An important document, as devastating as it is lucid."
The Seattle Times said that in terms of providing the reader access to the secret world of the urban drug trade the book "transcends There Are No Children Here or Clockers." Simon has said that he feels the book perplexed readers in terms of its outspokenness on political issues and that liberals were outraged by criticism of welfare and conservatives were appalled at the ennobling of drug dealers and addicts.
In the afterword of Homicide
Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets
Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets is a 1991 book written by Baltimore Sun reporter David Simon describing a year spent with detectives from the Baltimore Police Department homicide squad...
, Simon acknowledged that while most of the detectives he accompanied accepted The Corner as legitimate, some saw it as a "betrayal", possibly due to the mention of the extent of police brutality. However, it is noted in The Corner that this form of brutality was far worse than had taken place during Simon's tenure as a "police intern" i.e. reporter. One such example is where a uniformed officer beats a boy who is in handcuffs, whereas in Homicide the code of honor at the time makes clear that "you don't hit a man who's wearing cuffs or is unable to fight back."