In a continuing series highlighting local authors in Peekskill, The Field Library will host Book Talk with Peekskill resident and author Ed Friedman. Friedman is the author of the brand new book I Will Not Be Ignored that was released on March 18 of this year. Book Talk with Ed Freidman will take place Saturday, July 13th from 1:00 to 2:00 pm. 

Friedman will be at The Field Library reading excerpts from I Will Not Be Ignored which combines fiction, non-fiction and opinion to create a humorous take on three aspects of the author’s thinking: his outlook on the proliferation of “current wisdom” so plentiful in the internet age; and his imaginings, providing multiple answers to different versions of “what if?”, and his personal experience in navigating his own shortcomings, failures, and fears. Afterwards, Friedman will also be conducting a book signing. 

In the book Friedman discusses things like his lust for foods he should be avoiding; his lack of any sense of direction behind the wheel; and his accumulation of medical specialists that seem to grow with each passing year.  In another part of the book, Friedman admonishes the American Automobile Association (AAA); provides some tough love to those seeking personal advice from the New York Times; and issues a wakeup call to people who get information on real estate over the internet.

Ed will be discussing all of these stories with his touch of humor. The event is free to the public. Walk-ins are welcome, but pre-registration is recommended so the library sets up enough chairs for the event. Use this link to register.

Friedman and his family moved to Peekskill just about a year ago from lower Westchester. Joking with the Peekskill Herald, he states “it is the farthest I’ve ever lived from Yankee Stadium.” Speaking on Peekskill, Ed says he and his family moved here due to its affordability versus lower Westchester. One of his favorite places that he has discovered is The Field Library Bookstore at 934 South Street.

Ed started writing plays more than 30 years ago. “I’ve had a number of my short plays produced around the county and beyond, including a few at Studio Theatre in Exile right here in Peekskill,” Friedman says.  

When discussing with the Herald how he came to write this book, Friedman states, “I didn’t start out to write this book. I had written a significant number of short pieces-humor, essays, and fiction. A few were published in journals, many on Medium, but I wondered what I was going to do with all of them. I came upon a course given at the Writing Institute at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, on how to link your short pieces into a collection. I selected the humor pieces to put in a collection because I thought I’d have the most fun if I could do some readings.” Those pieces ultimately turned into the book, I will Not Be Ignored.

Ed Friedman has had over forty staged productions throughout the NY metropolitan area, and around the country. His anthology Short Plays for Long Lives was published by Blue Moon Press in 2019. His play The Keys to Life has also been adapted for the screen into a film of the same title by the Northern Virginia Film Co-op and is shown at independent film festivals.