The photographer's non-photography syllabus: Christian Patterson

The story of my life in five books:

Hammer of the Gods by Stephen Davis

High school. Sex, drugs and rock 'n roll. Fight the horde, sing and cry, Valhalla, I am coming!

Lolita by Vladamir Nobokov

College. She was young. It was fun while it lasted. 

Low Life by Luc Sante

Life in New York. The dark and dirty city. The pointedly perfect language of a fellow digger and obsessive.

It Came from Memphis by Robert Gordon

Life in Memphis. The eclectic art and music underground of a great, wild city.

Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd

Fatherhood. Ageless, timeless. Images and words, artful and interdependent, rhythmic and perfect.