Chicago City of Big Shoulders 1

First Class Presentation

John Powers


The Last Catholic in America

Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?






John R. Powers wrote three books about growing up in Mt. Greenwood, Chicago, which he calls Seven Holy Tombs in the book. This was my neighborhood in Chicago If you have never read them, go to the library and get them or buy them. They are hilarious. 

The Last Catholic in America is about grade school kids and is the best.  Do Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up? and The Unoriginal Sinner and the Ice-Cream God are about older kids and are also well worth reading.

Powers was born in 1945 and went to St. Christina. He writes about many of the neighborhood characters that we knew. 

Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up? was made into a play. We saw it in Chicago. There were several nuns in attendance, which inhibited our reactions until we saw them laughing. Then we all laughed together.
_________________
John R. Powers (November 30, 1945 – January 17, 2013) was an American novelist and playwright. Powers wrote four books of fiction, The Last Catholic in America (Dutton 1973), Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up? (Regnery 1975), The Unoriginal Sinner and the Ice Cream God (Contemporary 1977), and The Junk Drawer, Corner Store, Front Porch Blues (Dutton 1992). He also wrote the self-help book Odditude (HCI 2007). These books relate his experience of growing up in 1950's Chicago. John grew up in the Mt. Greenwood neighborhood on the city's far southwest side. The first three books, often referred to as the "Eddie Ryan Trilogy," have been re-issued by Loyola Press.
Dr. Powers was awarded two Emmy Awards for his writing. The first in 1984 for Lovers and Lanes which he wrote for WMAQ TV channel 5 in Chicago and the second in 1988 for Going Homewritten for WLS TV channel 7 in Chicago.
Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up? was selected for inclusion on the American Library Association’s list of Best Books for Young Adults in 1975. Powers wrote the libretto to a Broadway musical based loosely on characters and events from his first two novels entitled Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up? that continues to run in venues nationwide. John was also the author of two one man shows which he also performed. The first Scissors, Paper, Rock that was based on his Emmy Award winning special Going Home and the second, which ran successfully in Chicago, Life's Not Fair, So What.

Click to Read More   en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_R._Powers

Search Results

  1. John r. powers, 67, wrote 'do black patent leather shoes really reflect ...

    www.suntimes.com/.../john-r-powers-67-wrote-do-black-patent-leather-s...
    Jan 19, 2013 – As sure as a priest swinging an incense-burner at a solemn mass, the novels of John R. Powers captured an era when mass meant Latin, nuns ...
  2. 'Black Patent Leather Shoes' author John R. Powers dies at 67 ...

    www.suntimes.com/.../author-playwright-john-r-powers-dies-at-67.html
    Jan 17, 2013 – John R. Powers, the author and South Side native who wrote the satirical novel, “Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?” died ...
  3. John R. Powers - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

    en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_R._Powers
    John R. Powers (November 30, 1945 – January 17, 2013) was an American novelist and... Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up? was selected for ...
    You've visited this page 2 times. Last visit: 2/25/13
  4. Author of 'Patent Leather Shoes' dies - Chicago Tribune

    articles.chicagotribune.com › Featured Articles › Lake Geneva
    Jan 17, 2013 – John R. Powers, the author of the made-in-Chicago hit “Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?” and a nostalgist who helped ...
  5. John R. Powers, Author of Black Patent Leather Shoes, Dies at 67 ...

    www.playbill.com/.../174154-John-R-Powers-Author-of-Black-Patent-Le...
    Jan 18, 2013 – John R. Powers, the author of the hit musical Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?, died Jan. 17 of a heart attack. He was 67.
  6. Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up? (Loyola Classics ...

    www.amazon.com › ... › Literature & Fiction › Fiction
     Rating: 4.5 - 16 reviews - $11.70 - In stock
    John Powers' classic comic novel of the 1960s Catholic subculture stars Eddie Ryan,.... Patent Leather Shoes Really Do Shine Up. Used paperback book.
    You've visited this page 2 times. Last visit: 12/23/12
  7. John R. Powers (Author of Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really ...

    www.goodreads.com/author/show/208969.John_R_Powers
     Rating: 4.0 - 583 votes
    John R. Powers is the author of Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up? (3.96 avg rating, 238 ratings, 18 reviews, published 1975), The Last Cat...
  8. Christianbook.com: Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect ...

    www.christianbook.com › Books › Catholic
    Powers' classic comic novel of the 1960s Catholic subculture stars Eddie Ryan, a Chicago boy who learns about the important questions in life in his years at an ...
  9. Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up by John R ... - eBay

    www.ebay.com/ctg/...Black-Patent-Leather...John...Powers...-/43823059
    This product photo was contributed by the community member attributed here. More help. Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up? by John R. Powers ...
Newer Post Older Post Home

Blog Archive

  • ▼  2013 (163)
    • ►  October (5)
    • ►  July (20)
    • ►  June (16)
    • ►  May (55)
    • ▼  April (67)
      • John Powers
      • Professor Paul Green
      • Chicago - Carl Sandburg Poem
      • Carl Sandburg
      • Dr. Milton Rosenberg
      • Bridgeport
      • THE SOUND AND THE FURY IN CHICAGO
      • SYNERGICITY
      • Chicago Architecture
      • Downtown Chicago
      • Territory Gained in the Revolutionary War
      • The Grid Plan
      • Excerpted from WikapediaCarl Sandburg (January 6, ...
      • Mike Royko
      • Skyscrapers, Split the Atom, Nobel Prize Winners
      • How Chicago Got Its Name
      • Course Outline
      • Daniel Burnham
      • Chicago World's Fair - Columbian Exposition
      • Burnham's Plan of Chicago 1909
      • The Great Blizzards of Chicago
      • I Miss Chicago
      • Chicago Fire - South Side
      • Chicago Scoop
      • Gifts For Chicago
      • Chicago Cubs
      • Sinkhole swallows 3 cars in Chicago
      • Chicago Bridge
      • Hoodlums, Marauders and Chili-Dog Thugs
      • Ferris Wheel
      • Big Bill Thompson
      • Articles About Chicago in the Urbanophile
      • South Suburban Airport - Third Airport For Chicago
      • Nice Video of Chicago
      • Sustainable Chicago
      • Chicago New Americans Plan
      • Chicago Number 6 In The World
      • Outdoor Sculpture in Chicago
      • Shrinking Chicago
      • Check out World Business Chicago
      • Major New Solar Park In Chicago
      • Chicago
      • Chicago Aerial Panorama
      • Chicago - The Second-Rate City?
      • Chicago Freeway Miles
      • Mt Greenwood (South Side Chicago) Housing
      • Laser Tag Chicago
      • Nice Buildings in Morgan Park / Beverly, Chicago
      • Mammoth Mixed Use Development in Chicago
      • Chicago Murder Rate Lowest in 45 Years
      • The Burnham Plan of Chicago on Google Books
      • Mount Chicago
      • Plans For the Chicago Region
      • Did a WWII nuclear experiment make the University ...
      • Burnham Plan Slide Show
      • Picasso and Chicago
      • Downtown Chicago
      • Growing Disparities Belie Chicago's Bloom
      • Mae Jemison, Chicago Astronaut
      • The Chicago Grid
      • What Would Jane Say?
      • Chicago - Stormy, Husky, Brawling, City of the Big...
      • Chicago on the Urbanophile
      • The Death and Life of Chicago
      • The Blues Brothers
      • Top 40 Movies Filmed in Chicago
      • List of Songs About Chicago
  • ►  2012 (1)
    • ►  February (1)

About Me

My photo
Morgan Park High
Helping 1960's Morgan Park High School Reconnect.
View my complete profile
Simple theme. Powered by Blogger.