Background
David D. Perata was born on December 31, 1953 in Alameda, California, United States.
- Photos
- Works
- Photos
- Works
book
Those Pullman Blues: An Oral History of the African American Railroad Attendant
(The book centers around the life experiences of eight for...)
The book centers around the life experiences of eight former and current porters and recounts the heyday of the American passenger train through the stories of the Pullman porters who worked in the sleeping, dining and lounge cars.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0805745203/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i1
1996
The Orchards of Perseverance: Conversations with Trappist Monks about God, Their Lives and the World
(In The Orchards of Perseverance: Conversations with Trapp...)
In The Orchards of Perseverance: Conversations with Trappist Monks about God, Their Lives and the World, Perata drew inspiration from his long relationship with the monks of the New Clairvaux Abbey to create an intimate portrait of the monastery to which he had been returning since his youth. The author interviewed several monks, who tell the stories of why they chose the cloistered life, and give descriptions of their joys, satisfactions and spiritual journeys.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MTLJ3PP/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_taft_p1_i0
2000
David D. Perata
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Career
In June 1967, David D. Perata joined his best friend Joe for summer work in the orchards at the Abbey of Our Lady of New Clairvaux, a Trappist monastery in Vina, California. It was the experience that changed his life, and Perata continued to return to the monastery periodically for the next thirty years, establishing deep friendships and gaining a unique insight into the cloistered monastic world.
Perata moved to Oakland, California, in 1972 to begin songwriting and performing career, forming a duo with Joe. The two played in Bay Area clubs, and, in 1981, Perata moved to Los Angeles to pursue solo music career. To supplement his income, Perata began working for Amtrak in 1980 as a porter on long-distance passenger trains. The work was seasonal, usually beginning in June and ending after the summer travel season was over. During the three years that Perata worked for Amtrak, he had an opportunity to meet some of the African-American chefs, waiters and Pullman porters that were the inspiration for his first book, Those Pullman Blues: An Oral History of the African American Railroad Attendant.
To further promote public awareness of the history of the porters' union, Perata organized the Pullman Blues Tour in early 1997. Two of the retired porters featured in his book traveled with Perata from Oakland to Chicago in a private rail car, with stops along the way. Amtrak, The A. Philip Randolph Institute, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and other corporate sponsors jointly sponsored the tour.
Achievements
Works
book
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The Orchards of Perseverance: Conversations with Trappist Monks about God, Their Lives and the World
(In The Orchards of Perseverance: Conversations with Trapp...)
2000 -
Those Pullman Blues: An Oral History of the African American Railroad Attendant
(The book centers around the life experiences of eight for...)
1996
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The Orchards of Perseverance: Conversations with Trappist Monks about God, Their Lives and the World
Connections
Perata is married to Pamela Perata.
References
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Contemporary Authors New Revision Series
In response to the escalating need for up-to-date information on writers, Contemporary Authors New Revision Series (Volume 198) brings researchers the most recent data on the world's most popular authors.
2010
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Born
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Nationality
United States
Career
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1967 - 1972
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1980 - 1983