John Capouya (born March 27, 1956) is an author and professor of journalism and non-fiction writing at the University of Tampa in Tampa, Florida. During his career in journalism he worked at Newsweek, The New York Times, SmartMoney, and New York Newsday. He wrote the books Florida Blues, Gorgeous George, and Real Men Do Yoga. He has also written for various publications, including Sports Illustrated, Life, Tampa Bay Times, and Travel & Leisure. Capouya is married to Suzanne Williamson, an artist and photographer. They split their time between Tampa and New York City and have been contributed together to Panhandler Magazine.[1][2]
Capouya graduated with B.A. degrees in English and French from Grinnell College in 1978. He received an M.S. from Columbia University in 1981.[3]
Capouya's book Florida Soul delves into Floridiaj Blues musicians and their stories.[4][5] Featured artists include Timmy Thomas.[6] Capouya notes that there is not a recognizable commonality across Florida soul music[7] but that distinctive traits include Latin musical influences on Miami musicians such as K.C. & the Sunshine Band, a musical school for the blind where Ray Charles studied and in turn helped other aspiring musicians, and Florida A&M's marching band. He also discusses Deep City Records, an African American owned label out of the Liberty City neighborhood in Miami.[8]
Capouya explores the influence Gorgeous George had on pop culture and other pop culture figures in his book on the flamboyant wrestler.[9]
Bibliography
editReferences
edit- ^ "John Capouya and Suzanne Williamson". November 6, 2012.
- ^ Richards, Glenn. "Gainesville's Soul Music History Highlighted In New Book".
- ^ "The University of Tampa - Directory - John Capouya". www.ut.edu.
- ^ "On the record: Tampa author John Capouya draws a musical road map with his book Florida Soul". Creative Loafing: Tampa Bay.
- ^ "Did you know Ray Charles wrote 'The St. Pete Florida Blues'?". Tampa Bay Times. February 7, 2019.
- ^ "'Florida Soul' author delivers special presentation at UT". Tampa Bay Times. January 5, 2018.
- ^ Fletcher, Tony (November 17, 2017). "Review: What Is 'Florida Soul' Music?" – via www.wsj.com.
- ^ Landess, Joseph Cooper, Bonnie Berman, Richard Ives, Polly. "Florida Soul Music". www.wlrn.org.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Garner, Dwight (September 18, 2008). "'Gorgeous George,' by John Capouya: Wrestling's God of Perfume and Golden Tresses" – via NYTimes.com.
- ^ "Florida Soul". University Press of Florida: Florida Soul.
- ^ Garner, Dwight (18 September 2008). "Perfumed, Coiffed and Grappling With Demons (book review)". New York Times. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
- ^ "John Capouya". HarperCollins Publishers: World-Leading Book Publisher.
External links
edit- John Capouya's website
- 2017 MFA Residency presentation
- Floeida Writer Project Podcast interview February 2019
- Q&A with John Capouya University of Oregon