Baby, Bring Back 1997, by Scott Laudati

Prose, chapbook, 48 pages, from Bottlecap Features. Baby, Bring Back 1997 is a collection of stories by Scott Laudati that weaves between personal memoir and illuminating journalism, pointing a spotlight on a generation constantly plagued and always trying to keep its head above water. Though these stories are often tragic, they are told with a humorous nihilism that will make you forget the danger and uncertainty just around the corner. Following Laudati through his teens - twenties - and thirties - gives us a 360 view of a writer trying to find purpose in Staten Island, New Jersey, Maryland, and finally, while standing on a cliff overlooking a Denny’s just outside of Phoenix. From a job at Barnes & Noble, to buying a dog to save a relationship, to forming a cosmic bond with a groupie on a pop-punk tour, Baby, Bring Back 1997 can be read as the Genesis chapter of Laudati’s life. These stories take the reader on a journey through a young man’s heart and half- way across America, detailing every stop along the way, and hopefully, giving some resolution to the eternal question - What is this all for? Scott Laudati lives in Brooklyn, New York with his Chihuahua-Boston Terrier mix, Josie. His essays, short stories, and poems have been published by Columbia University, X-R-A-Y, University of Missouri, Pudding Magazine, Hobart, The Adirondack Review, The Stockholm Review, and many others. He is the author of Bone House (poems) and Play The Devil (novel). He encourages you to adopt your next dog, and if you like and can afford the city you’re currently living in please e-mail him so he can move there.