Busker: Tales of a Renegade Harpist, with David Michael

David Michael will read from his new memoir: BUSKER – Tales of a Renegade Harpist, punctuated with short, original pieces performed on a Celtic harp…

Michael was a virtual institution for 17 years on Washington State Ferries, playing his Celtic harp aboard the ferries between Port Townsend and Whidbey Island. His multitudes of fans were horrified when officials ordered him to cease and desist for reasons of “Homeland Security,” and cheered him on as his story reverberated through the regional news and blogosphere.

The brouhaha prompted him to write Busker — a memoir about the life of a busker and an inside look at the much-maligned, yet honorable busking lifestyle. Michael glorifies the ancient art form, viewing buskers as cultural ambassadors whose passion for their art cannot be quenched by society’s attempts to marginalize them or force them to perform in “acceptable” venues. These are gritty and enticing stories of how the author did whatever it took to find an audience for his music — often through “improper channels.” Busker is a fascinating view of the travels and adventures of a Northwest icon

The memoir includes character shaping events that led him to his life’s work, with epiphanies and lessons learned along the way. Early chapters chronicle coming of age in Seattle in the 1960s in the midst of race riots, the flowering of the folk music scene, the Vietnam War, and the height of psychedelic youth culture, as well as a teenage hitchhiking adventure around Europe. The bulk of the book is devoted to Michael's professional life as a middle-aged busker, replete with lively international travelogue — including five summers of Scandinavian busking adventures and misadventures.

Humor, true adventure, and soul-searching are all a part of this original memoir.