Gowanus Crossing

A memoir of a life lived along Brooklyn's infamous Gowanus Canal written by former Newsweek reporter Vincent Coppola; includes "Gowanus Crossing," a memoir published as a serial; the award-winning essay,"Losing Mom," and "The Sicilian Judge." All original content copyright Vincent Coppola, 2010-2021.

Losing Mom A Memoir

▼

Sunday, May 30, 2021

On Memorial Day 2021

Ernie Palmieri: I Hear You Singing In the Wire Ernie Palmieri sat by the radiators in Sister Mary Malachy’s haunted classroom. I sat a few...

Thursday, November 7, 2019

My Cousin Richie Part I

I fly up for a family wedding held in one of the glittery Bensonhurst halls Italian-Americans love. Think "Kubla Khan" (“That...

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Election Night on the Gowanus

An Election Night bonfire, built over Carroll Street’s cobblestones was a tradition predating the black-clad Italian women sim...

Monday, October 14, 2019

For Vincenzo Coppola on Columbus Day.

My grandfather, Vincenzo Coppola, is long deceased. I’m named for him. Growing up, I remembered Vincenzo as the guy who cost us our ...

Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Where Have You Gone Melvin Maldonado?

The double doors swing open like the gaping mouth at the entrance to Steeplechase Park and I’m swept into a maelstrom of shouts, shri...

Wednesday, March 6, 2019

Wounds That Will Not Heal

"I was 13 when I wrote “A Battered War Helmet.” My assignment was to bring an inanimate object to life and create a backstory. Sist...

Tuesday, February 12, 2019

GOLTEN’S YARD A CONEY ISLAND OF THE MIND

On the Gowanus, birdsong or the rhythmic shhhtik of a lawn sprinkler are alien things. At night, I listen for the low groan o...

View web version

About Me

vincent coppola: Atlanta, Georgia, United States; Vince Coppola spent ten years at Newsweek. He was lead reporter in Newsweek's early coverage of the AIDS epidemic and the destruction of the Space Shuttle Challenger. He has written three non-fiction books, "The Sicilian Judge," "Uneasy Warriors/The Perilous Journey of the Green Berets" and "Dragons of God/A Journey Through Far-Right America." He has written for Tina Brown's Talk, Esquire, Rolling Stone, Men's Journal, Worth, Atlanta. Coppola co-wrote "Grandfathered In" with Dr. Stan Winokur. In 2003, He wrote "Risk Revolution" with CEO Derek Smith, a road map for risk reduction and prudent policy-making in the Information Age. Coppola's memoir of his mother's battle against cancer was awarded a William Allen White Gold Medal by the University of Kansas. He graduated from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He has two children, Gabrielle,Brown University, a business reporter for Bloomberg in Sao Paulo, and Thomas, a pre-med student and Iraq War vet at Hamilton College.

View my complete profile

Powered by Blogger.