Former 'Metro Times' editor shares new collection of stories from Tucson at Bookbeat

Staff Pick

By Lee DeVito on Thu, Jan 24, 2019 at 4:00 pm

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click to enlarge

Courtesy photo

Brian Smith.

Brian Jabas Smith was an editor here at Metro Times from 2002 to 2013. Since then, he’s relocated to his hometown of Tucson, where he found a new career as a journalist, interviewing under-the-radar locals for a column for Tucson Weekly. Those stories — “of the lonely, lost, and forgotten, lives lived in the margins” — are collected in Tucson Salvage: Tales and Recollections From La Frontera, just released by London-based Eyewear Publishing. Smith will be in town to do a reading and Q&A, accompanied by a screening of a documentary film based on the book directed by his wife, Maggie, which won the Grand Prize at the Culver City Film Fest.

On Saturday, the reading will be accompanied by poet Cal Freeman and singer-songwriter Eddie Baranek; another event will be held at Ann Arbor’s Lo-Fi on Sunday.

It’s always good to see an MT alumnus land on his feet, and we couldn’t be more proud.

Event begins at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 26 at Bookbeat; 26010 Greenfield Rd., Oak Park; 248-968-1190; thebookbeat.com; Admission is free.

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About The Author

Lee DeVito

Leyland "Lee" DeVito grew up in the suburbs of Detroit, where he read Metro Times religiously due to teenaged-induced boredom. He became a contributing writer for Metro Times in 2009, and Editor in Chief in 2016. In addition to writing, he also supplies occasional illustrations. His writing has been published...