Standing Rock Cultural Arts presents
WHAT: David Giffels Author Talk on “The Beginning Was The End” Devo in Ohio
-David Giffels will be on hand to talk and answer questions about hisrecently published book, “The Beginning Was The End” Devo in Ohio.
-Books will be available for purchase at the event
-Published by The University of Akron Press: www.uakron.edu/uapressemail: uapress@akron.edu
WHEN: Friday, December 15, 7pm
WHERE: North Water Street Gallery
-300 N. Water St., Downtown Kent, OH 44240
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.
DESCRIPTION:The Beginning Was the End is the definitive account of Devo’s vibrantearly history, from the authors of the first-ever book aboutthe band.
The Beginning Was the End features more than eighty never-before-seen images of the band members and their visua lhistory as it tells the unlikely story of a collection of creative misfitswho formed a musical kinship, drawing material and inspiration from the industrial Midwestern environs of Northeast Ohio.
With the May 4, 1970, Kent State shootings as a catalyst, Devo channeled protopunk energy into a sprawling art project that would pionee rthe use of music videos, innovate technology in pop music, define the aesthetic of the 1980s New Wave/MTV era, and maintain an edge of social, political, and cultural criticism that continues their relevance fifty years after their formation.
David Giffels is the author of six books of nonfiction, most recently Barnstorming Ohio: To Understand America (Hachette Books 2020),one of Library Journal’s Best Books of 2020. His other books includethe memoirs Furnishing Eternity (Scribner 2018) and All the Way Home (William Morrow 2008), both winners of the Ohioana Book Award, and The Hard Way on Purpose (Scribner 2014), a New York Times Book Review “Editors’ Choice.” His writing has appeared inthe New York Times Magazine, The Atlantic, Parade, The Iowa Review,Esquire, Grantland, and many other publications. He is professor of English at the University of Akron and serves on the faculty of the NEOMFA creative writing program.
