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Gentrification: The Early Works of Ed Wagemann
The material gathered here was chosen to provide insight into the maturation process of Ed Wagemann as a young American writer in 1990s America. A starving artist who, after finding some early success, struggled to expand his canvas and strive for greater things. Overall, there is an arc of evolution happening in these writings. There is a progression seen in these pieces that reveal the expressions of a young man with something to say. These expressions, which are filtered through the rawness and intensity of youth (and with all the uncomfortable truthful edginess that comes with that territory), create a collection of transmissions from the margins of 1990s American culture which transport the reader back to a time when society had yet to be taken over by the internet and other communication technology. There is a tangible, genuine human warmth emanating from these stories that many of today's writings aspire toward. Thankfully these works are finally being shared with the masses.
540 pages, Hardcover
Published August 7, 2018
4 people want to read
About the author
Ed Wagemann
2 books67 followersDID YOU KNOW THAT ED WAGEMANN:
~was born in the exact same hospital room as Patridge Family star Susan Dey?
~was raised in a small Midwest town (population 3,000) atop a wooded hillside overlooking the Illinois River?
~joined the Air Force in August 1996?
~can open a jar of pickles using only his toes?
~spent 7 years as a substitute grade school teacher in Chicago?
~wrote his first novel before the age of 30 but didn't publish it until the age of 45?
~sold his vinyl album collection for $3,000 in 2009 in order to pay for his divorce?
~recognizes that there is evidence for the existance of a God (a conscious creator), but finds it inconclusive?
~plays guitar and keyboard very poorly?
~was born in the exact same hospital room as Patridge Family star Susan Dey?
~was raised in a small Midwest town (population 3,000) atop a wooded hillside overlooking the Illinois River?
~joined the Air Force in August 1996?
~can open a jar of pickles using only his toes?
~spent 7 years as a substitute grade school teacher in Chicago?
~wrote his first novel before the age of 30 but didn't publish it until the age of 45?
~sold his vinyl album collection for $3,000 in 2009 in order to pay for his divorce?
~recognizes that there is evidence for the existance of a God (a conscious creator), but finds it inconclusive?
~plays guitar and keyboard very poorly?
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October 22, 2019
Some people are entertained by dragons and goblins and vampires and spies. I'm entertained by having my mind stimulated. Gentrification is a very engaging book. The pieces here made me think of things I had never thought about before, ideas I had never considered, realities that were unknown.
But many people may not be able to read this book. First of all, it is priced at $379.99. I however am fortunate to be one of the few people who have actually read this book because I was involved in editing it and I helped compile it. And in fact the book was actually my idea in the first place. But after Wagemann put that outrageous price tag on the book we had a bit of a falling out. Below is an interview I did with author and agitator, Ed Wagemann:
August 14, 2018. I met Ed Wagemann at his favorite burrito place in Oak Park, IL to discuss the release of his most recent book, Gentrification: The Early Works of Ed Wagemann. Like almost everything surrounding Ed Wagemann these days, the highly anticipated release caused quite a stir on the internet. Mainly due to the book’s bloated listing price of $379.99 per copy. The question on everyone’s mind was: Why? Why would he charge nearly $400 for a book???
I took the liberty of ordering burritos for the both of us as I waited for him to arrive. I wanted to get right to the point.
Me: So here we are, eating burritos and doing another interview.
Ed: My psychic warned me that I can only do interviews while eating burritos. He said it's good luck.
Me: You’re psychic is a male?
Ed: Yes, but he’s gay. So it’s okay.
Me: I don’t even know what that means.
[Ed hands me a napkin and gives me a wink.]
Ed: Sure you do.
Me: Anyway, let’s address the elephant in the room, shall we?
[Ed looks over his shoulder, as if in terror, then back to me in exaggerated seriousness]
Ed: What? My ex-wife is here?!?
Me: [trying to suppress a laugh]. That’s not nice!
Ed: Yeah, you better edit that part out. If she sees that she’ll sue me for more alimony.
Me: I think I’ll leave it in. You said it, so it stays. [Ed shrugs]. Now, back to the latest shit storm you have caused on the internet. Your book, Gentrification: The Early Works of Ed Wagemann, came out last week with a listing price of $379.99. The question on everyone’s mind is: What. The. Funk? What exactly are you trying to pull here? Why would anyone pay $400 for a book?
Ed: It’s a collector’s edition.
Me: [guffaws]. Come on. You wrote on the internet that you are trying to make a statement. Explain what statement you think you are making by pricing your book at almost $400.
Ed: I’m already getting tired of repeating this… [sighs playfully]. Basically this it is to challenge people to question the value of things. No one balks when someone pays $400 for a pop concert or a sporting event or tickets to an amusement park. So why do they balk at paying that same price for literature? Why are fabricated pop culture events valued at hundreds of dollars, but literature is only valued at a small fraction of that? What does that say about our culture?
Me: Good question. And the answer is?
Ed: The answer is, read the book [chuckles].
Me: But doesn’t this bloated price just go to prevent people from reading the book?
Ed: Anyone who has enough cash to spend $400 on Justin Bieber tickets or a Cub’s game, has enough to spend $400 on my book. It’s their choice.
Me: Isn’t that elitist though? I mean, what about the people who don’t have $400 to spend on it?
Ed: They should do what I do: check it out from the library.
Me: You check your own book out of the library?
Ed: I check every book I read out of the library. Only a sucker pays for something they can get for free!
Me: [exasperated]. So you’re saying anyone who buys your book is a sucker!?!
Ed: Yeah, pretty much. Lucky for me the world is full of suckers though. You know, the question I ask myself is: why on God’s green Earth would anyone actually pay $400 for a pop concert or a sporting event or an amusement park? Honestly, these things are just distractions. They use all these gimmicks to illicit shallow emotions in people that distract them from thinking. But good literature does just the opposite. Good literature sparks emotions that CAUSE people to think...
Me: [inquisitive look on my face] How so?
Look at all the people who are just stuck in their boxes. They do what they are told to do by the corporate consumer culture. If the mainstream media tells you to work and slave away 40 hours a week so you can afford to pay $400 for a Rock concert or a Sporting event or Amusement Park, then you do it. No questions asked. But here I am saying, wait a minute. Think about this. THINK about what you are doing. Don’t just do what the mainstream corporate media has brainwashed you to do. THINK FOR YOURSELF. I mean, do you ever wonder HOW values became set in the USA? Was it really supply and demand? Or are most people just brainwashed to accept the value that the corporate consumer culture dictates? Because it seems to me, that for the most part, Americans don’t question the values of things that much – because the values have already been set. No one questions why the Pentagon has 21 TRILLION dollars that is unaccounted for over the last 20 years. It is just accepted as the way things are. And we just accept that pop concerts and sporting events costs hundreds of dollars, but literature costs a small fraction of that. Shouldn’t we start questioning things like that? Isn’t it a good idea to question our society’s priorities from time to time?
Me: That all may be true, but so far, most readers are having a negative reaction to your pricing gimmick for Gentrification, some going as far as calling it a scam and describing you as a hypocrite. So this statement you are putting out there, these questions you are trying to get people to ask, is not working for the most part.
Ed: Yeah, that may be true. But there have been some folks who seem to be getting it.
Me: Yes, you admittedly have a few supporters. I have a quote here that I pulled from one of your fans off of Facebook:
Ed is being touted as “the Banksy of the literary world”. He is using his art to make society look at itself, to confront the truth and question itself. He is not interested in making money, he is interested in challenging society to better itself.
Me: Now, this is probably the narrative you would like to project, and there is probably some truth to that, but I, like many others who are looking at this, am also starting to question your motives here.
Ed: Questioning motives is a good thing.
Me: I mean, continuing with the Banksy comparison, in the end, wasn’t he just trying to create a brand for himself? This image as a holier-than-thou agitator whose aloofness made everyone think he was so cool?
Ed: You’re growing cynical in your old age. And I’m not really a fan of Banksy anyway, to be honest.
Me: But what about the comparison? Are you just coming up with these gimmicks to create a brand for yourself?
Ed: Mainly I’m doing it just to have fun.
[The waitress places our burritos in front of us and Ed pauses to raise his eyebrow at me before he bites in to his].
Ed: By the way, I don’t have my wallet on me. Can you pay for my burrito?
But many people may not be able to read this book. First of all, it is priced at $379.99. I however am fortunate to be one of the few people who have actually read this book because I was involved in editing it and I helped compile it. And in fact the book was actually my idea in the first place. But after Wagemann put that outrageous price tag on the book we had a bit of a falling out. Below is an interview I did with author and agitator, Ed Wagemann:
August 14, 2018. I met Ed Wagemann at his favorite burrito place in Oak Park, IL to discuss the release of his most recent book, Gentrification: The Early Works of Ed Wagemann. Like almost everything surrounding Ed Wagemann these days, the highly anticipated release caused quite a stir on the internet. Mainly due to the book’s bloated listing price of $379.99 per copy. The question on everyone’s mind was: Why? Why would he charge nearly $400 for a book???
I took the liberty of ordering burritos for the both of us as I waited for him to arrive. I wanted to get right to the point.
Me: So here we are, eating burritos and doing another interview.
Ed: My psychic warned me that I can only do interviews while eating burritos. He said it's good luck.
Me: You’re psychic is a male?
Ed: Yes, but he’s gay. So it’s okay.
Me: I don’t even know what that means.
[Ed hands me a napkin and gives me a wink.]
Ed: Sure you do.
Me: Anyway, let’s address the elephant in the room, shall we?
[Ed looks over his shoulder, as if in terror, then back to me in exaggerated seriousness]
Ed: What? My ex-wife is here?!?
Me: [trying to suppress a laugh]. That’s not nice!
Ed: Yeah, you better edit that part out. If she sees that she’ll sue me for more alimony.
Me: I think I’ll leave it in. You said it, so it stays. [Ed shrugs]. Now, back to the latest shit storm you have caused on the internet. Your book, Gentrification: The Early Works of Ed Wagemann, came out last week with a listing price of $379.99. The question on everyone’s mind is: What. The. Funk? What exactly are you trying to pull here? Why would anyone pay $400 for a book?
Ed: It’s a collector’s edition.
Me: [guffaws]. Come on. You wrote on the internet that you are trying to make a statement. Explain what statement you think you are making by pricing your book at almost $400.
Ed: I’m already getting tired of repeating this… [sighs playfully]. Basically this it is to challenge people to question the value of things. No one balks when someone pays $400 for a pop concert or a sporting event or tickets to an amusement park. So why do they balk at paying that same price for literature? Why are fabricated pop culture events valued at hundreds of dollars, but literature is only valued at a small fraction of that? What does that say about our culture?
Me: Good question. And the answer is?
Ed: The answer is, read the book [chuckles].
Me: But doesn’t this bloated price just go to prevent people from reading the book?
Ed: Anyone who has enough cash to spend $400 on Justin Bieber tickets or a Cub’s game, has enough to spend $400 on my book. It’s their choice.
Me: Isn’t that elitist though? I mean, what about the people who don’t have $400 to spend on it?
Ed: They should do what I do: check it out from the library.
Me: You check your own book out of the library?
Ed: I check every book I read out of the library. Only a sucker pays for something they can get for free!
Me: [exasperated]. So you’re saying anyone who buys your book is a sucker!?!
Ed: Yeah, pretty much. Lucky for me the world is full of suckers though. You know, the question I ask myself is: why on God’s green Earth would anyone actually pay $400 for a pop concert or a sporting event or an amusement park? Honestly, these things are just distractions. They use all these gimmicks to illicit shallow emotions in people that distract them from thinking. But good literature does just the opposite. Good literature sparks emotions that CAUSE people to think...
Me: [inquisitive look on my face] How so?
Look at all the people who are just stuck in their boxes. They do what they are told to do by the corporate consumer culture. If the mainstream media tells you to work and slave away 40 hours a week so you can afford to pay $400 for a Rock concert or a Sporting event or Amusement Park, then you do it. No questions asked. But here I am saying, wait a minute. Think about this. THINK about what you are doing. Don’t just do what the mainstream corporate media has brainwashed you to do. THINK FOR YOURSELF. I mean, do you ever wonder HOW values became set in the USA? Was it really supply and demand? Or are most people just brainwashed to accept the value that the corporate consumer culture dictates? Because it seems to me, that for the most part, Americans don’t question the values of things that much – because the values have already been set. No one questions why the Pentagon has 21 TRILLION dollars that is unaccounted for over the last 20 years. It is just accepted as the way things are. And we just accept that pop concerts and sporting events costs hundreds of dollars, but literature costs a small fraction of that. Shouldn’t we start questioning things like that? Isn’t it a good idea to question our society’s priorities from time to time?
Me: That all may be true, but so far, most readers are having a negative reaction to your pricing gimmick for Gentrification, some going as far as calling it a scam and describing you as a hypocrite. So this statement you are putting out there, these questions you are trying to get people to ask, is not working for the most part.
Ed: Yeah, that may be true. But there have been some folks who seem to be getting it.
Me: Yes, you admittedly have a few supporters. I have a quote here that I pulled from one of your fans off of Facebook:
Ed is being touted as “the Banksy of the literary world”. He is using his art to make society look at itself, to confront the truth and question itself. He is not interested in making money, he is interested in challenging society to better itself.
Me: Now, this is probably the narrative you would like to project, and there is probably some truth to that, but I, like many others who are looking at this, am also starting to question your motives here.
Ed: Questioning motives is a good thing.
Me: I mean, continuing with the Banksy comparison, in the end, wasn’t he just trying to create a brand for himself? This image as a holier-than-thou agitator whose aloofness made everyone think he was so cool?
Ed: You’re growing cynical in your old age. And I’m not really a fan of Banksy anyway, to be honest.
Me: But what about the comparison? Are you just coming up with these gimmicks to create a brand for yourself?
Ed: Mainly I’m doing it just to have fun.
[The waitress places our burritos in front of us and Ed pauses to raise his eyebrow at me before he bites in to his].
Ed: By the way, I don’t have my wallet on me. Can you pay for my burrito?
Displaying 1 of 1 review