King of Rags

More than historical fiction – feel the heartbeat of the King of Rags, Eric Bronson’s masterful tribute to incomparable ragtime musician Scott Joplin

In King of Rags, Eric Bronson shines a lyrical light on the life of ragtime musicians as they transform the beauty and heartache of America’s most vibrant cities into the best music the young country has ever heard. Set at the turn of the twentieth century, King of Rags centers on Scott Joplin’s tragic quest to be taken seriously in the seedy and segregated underbelly of comedians, conmen and prostitutes.

Prominent historical figures populate the pages, including firebrand activists like Frederick Douglass, Ida Wells, and W.E.B. Du Bois, and eccentric artists like Blind Boone, Irving Berlin, and Bert Williams, unveiling the complex workings of racial diversity and the violent abuse one must suffer to stay true to one’s art. At its heart,
King of Rags is the story of one man’s search for meaning in the boisterous brothels and gambling dens of America, transporting the reader to the dancehalls, saloons and world fairs where ragtime music was first pounded out.

While much of the dialogue and encounters are fictionalized, Eric Bronson has stayed true to what is known about Joplin’s life and the times in which he lived. Thanks to a two-year research grant from York University, Bronson exhaustively researched what is known of the ragtime king, from Texarkana, Texas, where he conducted interviews with jazz historians and Joplin enthusiasts, to Chicago and St. Louis, linking up with musicians at the Scott Joplin International Ragtime Festival in Sedalia, Missouri. Bronson completed archival research at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture at the New York Public Library.

About the Author

Eric Bronson is a visiting professor in the Humanities Department at York University in Toronto, Canada. He is the editor of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Philosophy (2011), Poker and Philosophy (2006), Baseball and Philosophy (2004), and co-editor of The Hobbit and Philosophy (2012), and The Lord of the Rings and Philosophy (2003). He was producer and co-editor for the film, My Lazy White Friends, winning Best Documentary awards at the Hermosa Beach Film Festival, Atlantic City Film Festival, Newport Beach International Film Festival, Saguaro Film Festival and an Audience Award winner at the Brooklyn Film Festival. In 2007 he served as the "Soul Trainer" for the CBC radio morning show, "Sounds Like Canada."