Degas at the Gas Station

Thomas Beller is Professor of English at Tulane University, a regular contributor to the New Yorker, and the author of several books, most recently, Lost in the Game: A Book about Basketball, also published by Duke University Press.

• Acknowledgments xiIntroduction: The Misunderstandings 1The Frozen River, Part I 15iPod on the Tracks 18The Stuff of Life 21The Bad News Bears and Breaking Away 26The Kinks at the Garden 34The Lost Glove 46On Moving Out 49Falling Out with Father Figures 66The Laundry Room 71Us and Them 77The Topographical Soul 85Negative Space 89The Purple Krama 992. The RightsLoose Teeth 107Degas at the Gas Station 111Thanksgiving Panic 115The Pink Comma 121How I Found My iPhone in New Orleans 127The Two-Thousand-Dollar Popsicle 134On Finding a Spot 140Saying Goodbye to Now 146Remembrance of Snows Past 151Repeat, Memory 160The Perils of Precocity 164Drain You 169Her Party 173Napoleon on the Back Stairs 178The Egg Cream in Mid-Manhattan, 1982 186Somebody’s Mother Is Waiting in the Lobby 197The Time My Band Opened for Blur 203Death of a Movie Theater 209A Few Words About Jerry Stiller 216Loitering with Intent at Manet/Degas 220The Rights 226Evacuation 237The Frozen River (Reprise) 243Index 265

“Thomas Beller writes with wit, irony, skepticism, and brio. Degas at the Gas Station is one of the finest collections of personal essays I have seen in a long while.” - Phillip Lopate, author of My Affair with Art House Cinema: Essays and Reviews “The true power of this excellent collection comes through Thomas Beller’s ability to dig down into the ordinary and commonplace for new and revelatory insight. A master of the small moment, Beller is one of the strongest personal essayists in contemporary literature.” - Saïd Sayrafiezadeh, author of American Estrangement: Stories “This is a treasure trove of glimmering pieces on fatherhood and youth, odd jobs and urban life. The essay lives every time Thomas Beller picks up the pen.” - Ed Park, author of Same Bed Different Dreams: A Novel