Glassman, A Novel by Steve Oskie, 2023
Glassman is a coming-of-age novel fifty years in the making. It tells the story of an obnoxious teenager who matures into a more civilized adult, although there are those who would question his maturity. “Sex Education” meets Portnoy’s Complaint in these pages.
The novel is set in Philadelphia, but if you’re expecting the Liberty Bell or Rocky statue, you’ve come to the wrong place. Our protagonist is cynical, and tourist traps are beneath him. Instead, he frequents chop suey joints, dive bars, and other holes in the wall.
By 1979, Mark Glassman is twenty-five and chronically underemployed. Self-taught after dropping out of college, he devises a course of study that encompasses such varied works as The Sorrows of Young Werther, The Universal Baseball Association, and The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz. But the amount of alcohol he consumes, the vast quantities of pot he smokes, and the other drugs he experiments with compromise the seriousness of this endeavor.
Not surprisingly, Glassman has an even bigger problem with sex. When Teresa Devlin expresses her feelings for him, he panics at the thought of sleeping with her, and he is forced to acknowledge the issue that’s holding him back. Teresa is Holly Golightly with a mean streak.
Glassman will appeal to baby boomers who recall their own struggles and feel nostalgic about the books, music, and popular culture of their youth. Younger readers will respond to being in the moment with these 20-somethings as they stumble and sometimes fall in the process of growing up. Readers of all ages may appreciate its irreverent humor.
Glassman was published by Open Books on May 29, 2023. It can be ordered using this link.
Glassman Playlist, click here.
This playlist consists of songs that I mention in Glassman.
Glassman Wish LIst, click here.
This playlist consists of songs that I wish i had mentioned.
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“Portnoy’s Complaint Revisited” (Companion Piece to Glassman)
Philadelphia Jewish Exponent, May 2023
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You Only Rock Once: The Autobiography of Jerry Blavat
As Told to Steve Oskie, 2011
Publishers Weekly Review, July 4, 2011: 
“Writing a narrative that teems with zest and hipness, Blavat invites readers to accompany him on the inside track through the early days of doo wop and R&B to his national stature as an influential figure on the pop scene. Bandstand icon Dick Clark, in his foreword, spells out how much clout Blavat wielded in the heyday of the top acts of the ’60s and ’70s, rising from a teen ‘committee member’ of the popular TV show to a powerhouse DJ on the East Coast from his studio built in his garage in Philadelphia, and later a top-rated TV stint. He discusses his ground-breaking, Alan Freed–sponsored shows at the famed Paramount, his friendships with black doo wop and soul groups before the Jim Crow barrier came down, and his hobnobbing with Hollywood royalty including Sinatra, Frankie Avalon, Tony Curtis, and Sammy Davis Jr. He doesn’t shy from talking about his wild ways with the ladies and the run-ins with the law concerning his mobbed-up pals. This soulful memoir by a ‘little cockroach kid from South Philadelphia’ offers readers an insider’s view into the golden era of rock and roll and pop music and entertainment.”
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“Steve Oskie was Jerry’s co-author for “You Only Rock Once: My Life in Music.” After dozens of book proposals from all over the world over many years, Steve is the one who finally got Jerry to do it, and for that we all will be forever grateful.”
-Keely Stahl
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Mean Thoughts, A Novel by Steve Oskie, 2004
Mark Glassman looks for enlightenment in bars, night clubs, and coffee shops, but he gets more than he bargains for when he finds it: the residual wisdom of the street.
Despite the fact that he is beset by contemporary problems —including a paralyzing fear of sex— Glassman manages to hold himself together until he meets Teresa Devlin. But Devlin proves to be too much for him in more ways than one.
“Mean Thoughts” was a semi-finalist for the 2002 Peter Taylor Prize for the Novel, a national competition sponsored by the University of Tennessee Press.
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Additional Publications
“Book Talk” (Five-Minute Play)
The Malcontent (blog), 2010
“Obsequious” (Short Story)
The Malcontent (blog), 2009
“Pisher” (Short Story)
Mostly Maine, October, 1995
“Water Ice” (Short Story)
Textures Magazine, Spring, 1991
“Morgan” (Short Story)
Textures Magazine, Autumn, 1989
“Bridget” (Short Story),
Textures Magazine, Autumn, 1989
“Intimate With the Sea” (Poem)
Textures Magazine, Autumn, 1989
“Another Sports Exclusive” (Short Story)
Pierien Spring Magazine, Summer, 1979
“Lightweights” (Short Story)
Pierien Spring Magazine, Spring, 1979