I am a culture blogger, writer and journalist based in San Francisco, who creates under the name ‘Detroit Richards”. I got my nickname many years ago because of my love of the Joni Mitchell song, The Last Time I Saw Richard. Joni sang:
The last time I saw Richard was Detroit in 68
The Last Time I Saw Richard, Joni Mitchell, Blue.
And he told me, “All romantics meet the same fate
Some day, cynical and drunk and boring
Someone in some dark cafe”
I am that romantic, ‘cynical, and drunk and boring someone in some dark café’, though I hope not to bore my readers at all! This blog is my ‘dark café’ of writing. You can follow my diary, chronicle type writings on The Paltry Sum, if you too are interested in those ‘dark café days’. I also write poetry and am particularly interested in examining the phenomenon of popular music culture and how it interwove with humanity for those glory years when music meant something. I had to come up with a nom de plume quickly in order to be credited for some work I did, as my personal life is too complicated to write under my legal name, I was wearing my favorite Keith Richards tee shirt at the time, and so I became ‘Detroit Richards’.
I really appreciate my readers! If you like what you read here, please share my work on social media. All my content is free, but any publicity is greatly appreciated! I would love to expand my website to include interviews with musicians, writers and artists – please contact me if you think you could help with this goal! I am also considering writing projects and op-ed columnist jobs. If you would like me to write for your publication, feel free to send me a note.
On the serious side…if you quote me, please attribute it to The Paltry Sum / Detroit Richards. Please consult me before using any of my words, poems, photographs or music, so I can make sure I’m fairly credited. All rights and copyright to my own work fully reserved by virtue of it being published in a fixed state, as in accordance with US copyright law. I do take action if I see my work being plagiarized.
You can also find my writing at Street Sheet (San Francisco), The Auto Ethnographer and Invisible People.
Detroit Richards
Dec 2022