Tracy Kidder Riffs on Doctor Whose Patients Are Rough Sleepers
The Story of Jim O’Connell Who Built Boston’s Flag Ship Medical Program for Homeless
[Update: Tue., Mar. 14, 2023, noon] UCSB Arts & Lectures announced on Tuesday morning that due to the dangerous storm conditions predicted today, this evening’s sold-out event featuring Tracy Kidder in conversation with Pico Iyer will no longer be held in person but will be available via livestream. Ticketholders will receive an email with a link and instructions, or can call the A&L ticket office at (805) 893-3535.
[Original Story] Let’s face it: Saints are boring. By any reckoning, Tracy Kidder just wrote another book — Rough Sleepers — about a modern-day saint. Yet it’s anything but boring. That’s the art of Tracy Kidder, who for the past 45 years has reigned as one of America’s genuine masters of deep-dive nonfiction. His work has been called “literary journalism.” You can see why. Describing a homeless man on his way down — and a pivotal character in Rough Sleepers — Kidder wrote, “Now he smelled of hangover, of a good time turned sour, moist, overripe.”
This man, whom Kidder called Tony Columbo, was charismatic, charming, and tragically gallant. And a rough sleeper, a turn of phrase that Kidder borrowed from 19th-century England. Kidder uses it to describe people who prefer the savage challenges of the streets to the dubious comfort of Boston’s homeless shelters. For Kidder’s readers, Tony’s great company. Big and muscular, he protected homeless women from predators. They called him the Night Watchman.
