My memoir book “Venice in Las Vegas: An American and European Auto-Socio-Biography, 1960s to 1980s” will be published later this summer in the Counterpoints Studies in Criticality series, edited by Shirley Steinberg, of the Peter Lang Publishing House.
As Donald Trump seeks to transform America, many people talk about wanting to leave the country. I left the USA several decades ago, yet I still love my homeland. I searched for dialog between Europe and America through the link between Venice and Las Vegas. In Vegas, Venice is simulated. You can ride in a gondola. Replicas of the St. Mark’s Bell Tower and the Rialto Bridge exist. Venice is the emblem of European history, culture, and art. I gambled in the Venice Lido casino and drank Italian wine in Vegas. Born into a Jewish family on Long Island, my life was changed by an IQ test that led to skipping two years in school – an event that impacted my education, psychology, and connection to the world around me. I rejected the life path laid out for me and rolled the dice instead. I traveled in Europe, worked strange jobs in New York City, and took part in a student uprising in Italy. My memories are intricately tied to the writers I engaged with: Baudrillard, Camus, Auster, and others.