Arts & Entertainment
Book Review: Memoir ‘Felon-Attorney’ Beats the Odds
By Kam Williams
Special to Th e Skanner
News
Felon-Attorney
by TheArthur Duncan II,
Esquire
Mascot Books
Paperback, $19.95
244 pages
ISBN: 978-1-63177-187-3
“From hustling crack on a
corner to practicing law in
a courtroom... this is my sto-
ry! I am living proof that de-
spite your past, your dreams
can still come true...
My story begins as I es-
cape the violence of the
Crips and Bloods street
gangs in South Central
LA and the abuse of a co-
caine-addicted stepfather,
only to go back to Buffalo,
New York and perpetuate
both ills by becoming a drug
dealer myself. Ironically, I
became a part of what vic-
timized my family and me in
Los Angeles...
I wound up in prison and
had to put my life back to-
gether. While incarcerated,
I found the God in me that
I had long buried. After 3
years, I was released back
into society and tempted by
my old lifestyle, but... I suc-
ceeded.”
-- Excerpted from the
Bookjacket
P
robably the most pop-
ular genre of non-fi c-
tion being written by
Black folks nowadays is the
overcoming-the-odds au-
tobiography. I mostly pass
politely when asked to re-
view these titles because,
hey, just about everybody
has faced their share of ad-
versity. However, I made
an exception for TheArthur
Duncan’s mem-
oir, Felon-Attor-
ney. This opus
is special, given
how low he sank
before bottom-
ing out, and how
high he has risen
since turning his
life around.
The brother’s
story starts in
Los
Angeles,
where he was
born in 1969,
though he was
raised in Buffalo,
New York by his
maternal grand-
parents,
Mary
Jane and the
Reverend James
Smith.
After
graduating from
the 8th grade, TheArthur
went back to L.A. to spend
his summer vacation with
his mother.
However, he decided to
stay, which on the surface
seemed to make sense since
both his parents resided
there. However, in the pro-
cess, he had to leave behind
in Buffalo his grandparenrts,
friends and a tight-knit com-
munity. And, unfortunately,
he would have a tough time
making the adjustment to
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Our family wage agenda reflects our commitment to people work-
ing in the building trades, and to workers everywhere. In this
small way, we are doing our part to help people achieve the
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liefs.
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Page 8 October 21, 2015 The Portland and Seattle Skanner
the heart of the ‘hood.
Of course, it didn’t help
that TheArthur didn’t live
with his dad but with his
drug-addicted stepfather. In
the absence of a solid male
role model to emulate, he
ended up dropping out of
school to pursue a trio of du-
bious pipe dreams: pro bas-
ketball, rap music and drug
dealing, which eventually
landed him in prison.
TheArthur was born again
behind bars, where he be-
gan to turn his life around.
He has made the most of
that second chance, not only
graduating from college,
but law school to boot. He’s
also married the love of his
life, Latisha, and the two are
raising their fi ve children
back in Buffalo. Further-
more, he currently serves as
a Deacon at First Calvary
Missionary Baptist Church
where he mentors at-risk
kids and counsels married
couples in crisis.
In
Felon-Attorney,
TheArthur recounts in very
compelling fashion how he
lifted himself from the so-
cietal scrap heap to morph
into a pillar of the commu-
nity.
An uplifting, modern par-
able about a real-life Prod-
igal Son proving that any-
thing is possible with faith
in the Lord.
Book/CD Review: ‘Dreams
Are Made for Children’
A Delightful, Jazzy Tome For Tired Tots
By Kam Williams
Special to Th e Skanner News
Dreams Are Made for Children:
Classic Jazz Lullabies
Compiled by Misja Fitzgerald Mi-
chel
Illustrated by Ilya Green
with a CD featuring a dozen songs
performed by Ella Fitzgerald,
Judy Garland, Nat King Cole,
Frank Sinatra and others
The Secret Mountain
Hardcover, $16.95
36 pages, Illustrated
ISBN: 978-1-937269-50-0
“Sometimes, a little jazz is all
you need for a good night’s rest!
Dreams Are Made for Children
features... a selection of timeless... popular
standards from the golden age of jazz... that
will lull babies into a sweet, blissful sleep.
Lyrics and brief explanatory notes with
whimsical, dream-like illustrations accom-
pany each song... The music was selected by
Misja Fitzgerald Michel, a Paris-based jazz
musician, and noted children’s illustrator
Ilya Green created the colorful images in
the 36-page hardcover book.”
-- Excerpted from the Bookjacket
A
s a child of the '50s who was weaned
on jazz, I often worry whether or not
the music I most identify with my
formative years might one day disappear.
After all, only a handful of the legendary
players are still alive, and fewer and fewer
nightclubs seem to cater to devotees of the
once-dominant medium.
For this reason, it is a blessing to fi nd
Dreams Are Made for Children, a bedtime
picture book which comes with a CD fea-
turing a dozen performances of classic lul-
labies by a variety of jazz greats.
There’s “God Bless the Child” by Billie
Holiday; “Over the Rainbow” by Judy Gar-
land and “My Funny Valentine” by Chet
Baker, to name a few.
Each of these sleep-inducing serenades
is accompanied by lyrics printed against an
appropriately-themed backdrop.
For example, “Over the Rainbow” in-
cludes a rainbow, Dorothy and the Coward-
ly Lion.
It also explains that Garland originally
sang the tune in The Wizard of Oz, and that
the fi lm was based on a children’s novel
published by L. Frank Baum in 1900.
In the entry for “My Sleepy Head” we
learn that Nat King Cole “had a wonderfully
gentle, deep voice” and that he “played the
piano with a subtle nervous swing.”
The title track, “Dreams Are Made for
Children,” is performed by Ella Fitzgerald,
one of the greatest jazz singers of all time,
who was blessed with a three-octave range
and a rare talent for improvisation.
A delightful tome for tired tots designed to
introduce the next generation to jazz, Amer-
ica’s classical music.