Downriver, November 1949 by José Vadi from Sacramento Noir edited by John Freeman

If one wanted to look, there are a bunch of similarities between noir and skateboarding. They both pay a nearly obsessive level of attention to “place,” as well as the textures and structures within that place. In both skateboarding and noir, style leads the way, inviting us into deeper, richer thought worlds where desire influences expression to the point of emotional outburst.
If all that sounds like a bit much – I agree. One could make a bunch of similarities between noir and skateboarding, but that’s not really what I’m interested in doing right now. I ran that thought experiment real quick because this is indeed a skateboard book club newsletter. For today’s review, I am interested in highlighting just one link between noir and skateboarding that is inherent in the new volume from famed noir short story publisher Akashic Books, entitled Sacramento Noir. That link is the story titled Downriver, November 1949 by skateboarding author José Vadi.

Vadi uses the series prompt of morally ambiguous, dark tales centered around a specific place to ferry us back to post-war riverfront Sacramento, where dark waves lap up against lively saloons. Like his non-fiction work, “Downriver…” is interested in how the past relates to the present and how a place is altered over time. It is a quick, terse tale told from a classic noir perspective – first-person – but with a twist, as we get three characters’ take on the night at hand, each interpretation adding a little context to the plot while simultaneously expanding our setting. In good noir, the characters grow as their world gets bigger, with each new location revealing a new set of complications and rules. It is in this framework that we slip through the night along Vadi’s taught but expansive world, like good whiskey distilled down to its essence to expand its flavors, aided by pin-point sharp hard-boiled internal dialogues; lines like “That old rounder was gray as a day’s end…” that squarely lodge their tongue into cheek in a nod to the genre’s hyper-masculine past but are too good to not include.

By the end of the night, we are left wondering if rivers really do equal salvation or if they will forever remain untamed and ever-flowing, taking their mysteries with them. Downriver, November 1949 is a smart, moody read on its own, but in the hands of editor John Freeman and his stable of other California Delta writers, helps to expand the ideas and mythologies of California’s capitol city. It uses its twin genres – mystery and period writing – to illustrate the lives of ordinary people that need not be confined to any one place. Good books, like good skating, tend to do that. 

–Abada

The Skateboarder’s Journal – Lives on Board by Jack Smith

When you open The Skateboarder’s Journal – Lives on Boards (2009), Jack Smith of Morro Bay, California, is listed as the official “Gatherer of Stories” with Jonathan Harms acting as Editor.  Skateboarders, regardless of skill or sponsorship status, have stories to tell, and Smith explains that “I didn’t write this book. You did – skateboarders. Young and old, some in between, some ageless.” Smith had cultivated stories of his own over a thirty-year period, but recognized that there were so many more perspectives that needed representation.

Lives on Board obviously channeled The Surfer’s Journal vision as an eclectic anthology, but for contemporary readers, it might seem dated and less desirable as an addition to your collection. And yet, I believe that these stories are timeless, even if they aren’t delivered via a podcast or as a Netflix production. Most of the contributors are names that are unfamiliar to me, except for the chapter featuring female skateboarders, although several of the skaters there are still unknowns. 

Stacy Peralta offered a Foreword to the book, and I found it so unexpected and delightful. Peralta originally considered himself a surfer who “rode his skateboard when the waves were down or blown out” until he had an encounter with his mailwoman while skateboarding. “She was sort of a hippie: young, with super-long brown hair falling down her back, and sturdy legs that were very hairy. (I distinctly remember the hairy legs.) She came up to me, and I was already preparing my defense when she said, ‘You know, I’ve been watching you for months, skateboarding along this fence, and what you do is so extraordinary! It’s so beautiful… you’re like a dancer.”

Peralta shared how stunned he felt because he was so used to people complaining about his skateboarding and had been “conditioned to negative responses… I just couldn’t get her statement out of my mind… She was the first person to recognize my identity, to recognize who I am. And who I am is a skateboarder.” I appreciate first-person narrative because that approach always delivers a surprise, some random tidbit that doesn’t necessarily get shared in a typical history book. 

I also thought it was cool when Daniel Gesmer, in his essay “Confessions of a Skateboard Heretic,” wrote how he had been so impressed by Laura Thornhill’s skating at a 1970s demo at Six Flags, that he chose to ride her signature board from Logan Earthski. It became his favorite setup in high school. “I never expected the ridicule that the board drew from other skateboarders, who thought it wrong to ride a deck endorsed by a female (even if she was a champion). I suppose that was an omen of more ostracism to come. I hope things have changed a little since those days.” It was powerful to read this perspective from a male skater of that era, and again, unexpected.

In my work for the Women’s Skateboard Archive, I especially appreciated the candid essay by 70s freestyle legend, Ellen Berryman, called “From Recluse to Footloose, and Back.” Berryman described her difficult childhood since her dad was paralyzed from the waist down and her mom suffered from schizophrenia. Ellen was essentially raised by her big sister, Cindy, who introduced her to skateboarding, which became an incredible outlet for a seemingly shy individual.

We all want our sense of identity to be recognized, and how wonderful it is when we are affirmed and validated by someone, whether they are a stranger, friend, or family member. Lives on Boards is full of these kinds of revelations and is an anthology that I thoroughly enjoyed. My only complaint is that there is no index or proper Contents page with each essay and skateboarder listed, because there are some real gems in there.

–Porter

She won’t shout it from the rooftops, so we will. Natalie’s book is finally coming out. We’ll have a proper review soon, but you should just know that it’s going to be awesome, so pre-order it now.

Girl Gangs, Zines, and Powerslides: A History of Badass Women Skateboarders by Natalie Porter

What others are saying about Natalie’s new book…

“A take-everywhere-and-read-it book that is an accomplished and accessible piece of research. Each chapter — which showcases the personal reflections, anecdotes, and backstories of remarkable women — is a banger. All thriller, no filler. Natalie Porter shreds through the grip-taped ceiling, which has often held back or obscured women’s contributions in skateboarding.” — Dr. Indigo Willing, sociologist and lead researcher of Skate, Create, Educate and Regenerate and co-author of Skateboarding, Power and Change

“With sharp research and a keen eye for the overlooked change-maker, Natalie Porter masterfully presents stories that document the fact that women have always been skateboarding, despite being routinely left out of the narrative. Girl Gangs, Zines, and Powerslides entertains and enlightens — a must read.” — Betsy Gordon, curator of Ramp It Up: Skateboarding Culture in Native America and co-author of Four Wheels and a Board: The Smithsonian History of Skateboarding

“Reading Girl Gangs, Zines, and Powerslides grounded me in a history I never knew I was part of. Natalie Porter has revealed just how many women came before me who built scenes, shaped culture, and pushed boundaries. This book reclaims a legacy that was always there but had been buried or erased. Thank you, Natalie, for giving us back our past and lighting the way forward.” — Annie Guglia, Olympic skateboarder

AND…

Check out Natalie on Beyond Boards: Episode 105. If you aren’t aware of the awesome work that Quentin Delille is doing with Beyond Boards, it’s time to catch up, and Natalie’s episode is as good a place to start as any.