‘Found’ author recycles trash into treasure
Written by Michael Miller | Editor in Chief | mmiller@toledofreepress.comWin a signed copy of Davy Rothbart’s book and get your submission published in Found: Davy Rothbart and publisher Simon & Schuster are teaming with Toledo Free Press to give one reader a chance to win an autographed copy of Rothbart’s new book “Requiem for a Paper Bag” and a chance to have a submission printed in Found magazine. Send your found item and your story to: Toledo Free Press c/o Found contest, 605 Monroe St., Toledo, OH 43604. Submissions must be received by May 15
Davy Rothbart says Toledo is a trashy place, and he means that as a compliment. Rothbart, publisher of Found, a magazine that publishes notes, photos and oddities people find blowing in the wind, lives in Ann Arbor but is well acquainted with the streets of the Glass City.
“I used to drive to Toledo to the bus station or train station to pick up my brother, and a group of us would come an hour or two early and hang around Downtown Toledo just to see what we’d find,” Rothbart said in an April 14 telephone interview. “Toledo is particularly fertile territory.”
Davy Rothbart
Since 2001, Rothbart has published the magazine, a number of books and presented a segment on NPR’s “This American Life,” all of which share the cast-off scraps of paper that people leave on America’s streets.
“I would find something and share it with friends and discover they had things they found, kids’ drawings or letters they found on the sidewalk, hanging on their refrigerator,” Rothbart said. “I thought it was a shame no one else would get to see these cool things, so we scissors-and-taped together the first issue of the magazine.”
Rothbart said his initial plan was to print 50 copies, but an enthusiastic Kinko’s employee talked him into printing 800, all of which he sold from boxes in his Ann Arbor apartment.
“The neighbors thought we were selling drugs and called the cops, because we had people showing up at all hours of the day and night to buy copies,” he said. “It was just my hobby, but I found so many people were into it, and it’s grown into this community art project around the world.”
Rothbart’s latest project is the book “Requiem for a Paper Bag,” in which he asked his cultural heroes to contribute essays about their found items. The book contains a hip lineup of contributors, including Seth Rogen, Jim Carroll, Sarah Vowell, Andy Samberg, Billy Bragg, Dave Eggers, Chuck Klosterman and Chuck D.
Rothbart, who is as laid-back and friendly as one would expect from a man who combs the streets looking for insight into humanity, launches his “Denim and Diamonds Tour” at 7 p.m. April 25 at Artomatic 419!, 201 Morris St.
Among the finds in “Requiem” are Rogen’s first brush with pornography, a wallet returned with great chagrin by “Ratatouille” comedian Patton Oswalt and a little green plastic army man whose journey, described by Carroll, will haunt a lot of dreams.
Rothbart said he sent copies of the magazine and a request letter to the 70-plus celebrities who contributed, and he was excited that “so many of my heroes wanted to help,” he said. “Every day, I’d check my e-mail, and there’d be someone incredible there.”
One person Rothbart talked to got away this time.
“I talked to Stephen Colbert, who said he had a great story to share, but he couldn’t quite make this deadline, so I’m hoping we’ll get him for the next book,” Rothbart said.
There are some submitted materials too hot for Found, so Rothbart said a friend of his has started Dirty Found to accommodate the flow.
“It’s surprising how many people take pictures of their private parts,” Rothbart said, “but it’s more surprising how many people lose them!”
Where does Rothbart keep all the Found submissions?
“My basement in Ann Arbor looks like the place at the end of ‘Silence of the Lambs,’ ” Rothbart said, laughing, “or maybe the house in ‘A Beautiful Mind,’ with all the scraps of paper everywhere.”
Rothbart said one of his favorite submissions is a sheet of paper found in Minneapolis titled, “Monthly Budget.”
“It read: Rent $600. Cell phone $50. Electric/gas $45. Cable $60. Bus/taxi $60. Food $500. Liquor $600. Laundry $30. Crack $600. Attorney $250. Savings $100,” Rothbart said. “I can’t say I save that much. Except for the liquor and crack, it was very responsible.”
Another Rothbart favorite, found in Vancouver, read, “Ever cut your skin for fun? Sell your ass? Sleep on the street? Take heroin? If so, let’s start a band!”
Rothbart is about to embark on a tour of more than 50 cities, to help spread the word about his hobby-turned-full-time gig. He and his brother Peter read submissions and sing songs based on them.
“Everywhere we go, that leads to people sending us stuff,” he said.
Is it an occupational hazard that Rothbart can’t walk anywhere looking up, that he must always keep his sights trained on the streets?
“Guilty as charged,” he said. “I do like to keep my eyes to the ground. You don’t have to hunt for this stuff; you see something interesting almost anywhere.”
My found item
In 1997, while waiting in line to see “Titanic” at a Dupont Circle movie theater in Washington, D.C., I saw a yellow 45 rpm record spindle on the sidewalk. Even back then it was rare to see one of the little three-armed spindles, so I picked it up. On one side of the scuffed plastic, written in marker, was “Elvis heads.” On the other side was written, “Elvis tales.”
I wondered, and wonder, if someone flipped the spindle, like a coin, to make some momentous life decision, trusting in music, Elvis and a misspelled word to guide them. If the spindle was a lucky talisman, what would the bearer do without it? That thought inspired me to leave the spindle on the sidewalk where I found it, but after leaving the theater more than three hours later, it was still there, so I picked it up and put it in a pocket with my Metro subway card.
I have used the spindle to help me through moments of indecision, some minor, some major, ever since.
— Michael S. Miller
