Joseph McGrath, writer, former CEO, graduate of the UPenn Master’s in Liberal Arts program, and local resident, will be giving a public reading of excerpts from his new memoir, Innocents Abroad…How Two Baby Boomers Experienced a Cultural Immersion, the History of Western Art and Excellent Food on Their Way to an Extraordinary Year in Europe, to be followed by a Q&A and book signing. All members of the public are invited to attend.
Join in a celebration of the book’s publication with an assortment of complimentary cheese and charcuterie from the expert caterers of DiBruno Bros. There will be an ample supply of European wines on hand—a diverse array of varietals, red and white, selected from Italian, French, and Spanish vineyards. McGrath’s memoir recounts how he and his wife Lisa, both newly retired, realized their dream of relocating from Philadelphia to Europe to experience deep immersion in the daily life of Rome, Paris, and Barcelona, each city uniquely saturated with art and history.
The event begins 6:30pm on Thursday, February 13, 2020 until 8:00pm at People’s Books & Culture (the independent bookstore formerly known as the Penn Book Center), located at 130 S. 34th St. on the southwest corner of 34th and Sansom.
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McGrath says of the book:
“Our dream was to live for a year in Europe. That could be every baby boomer’s dream. In pursuing this odyssey, and traveling through Italy, France, Spain and the Netherlands, Lisa and I found that we had accidentally traced the history of Western art from city to city, artist to artist, genre to genre. We had traveled from ancient Rome to the Middle Ages and on to the Gothic churches, the Renaissance, the Baroque, Neoclassicism, Impressionism, Cubism and Surrealism. We followed great writers through their cafes and restaurants. And along the way, we found ourselves, and rediscovered each other, through art, philosophy and literature. We became immersed in the culture, food and people of each country, and in doing so, we created a guide for your journey. We chronicled our breakthroughs and epiphanies as well as our screw-ups and humorous mistakes so you can take advantage of what we learned.”
The accompanying image is of Lara, the bartender at Lisa and Joe’s beloved hideaway, the Communist Bar in Rome.
For more information about the book, to see its cover, and for additional images: https://jasonzuzga.com/mcgrath-press-release/
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