As the newest staff member at the West Essex Tribune, I’ve spent my first month learning as much as I could about Livingston, its history, and what makes this township special. Among the interesting tidbits I learned, I was shocked to discover that many celebrities were born and raised within Livingston’s borders. Sure, there are some A-listers everyone has heard of like Chelsea Handler, Jason Alexander, and Wendy Williams, but there are many more.
New York Times Bestselling author Harlan Coban graduated from Livingston High School, but he was not the only acclaimed writer to receive an LHS diploma.
Underground horror author Jack Ketchum was a pen name for Livingston’s Dallas William Mayr. Described by Stephen King as one of the scariest writers of all time, some of Ketchum’s notable credits include The Girl Next Door. Offspring, and Off Season.
As I began acclimating myself within the township, I assumed a trip to the Livingston Public Library would yield me all the information I could need on Ketchum. After all, he was one of the town’s most notable residents. Imagine my surprise when, upon entering the library, I only discovered two of Ketchum’s books in circulation. With over a dozen published novels and multiple novellas and collections of short stories, I expected a more robust selection at my fingertips. Sure, some of his books are out of print, but shouldn’t his hometown library have a more expansive selection of his works?
The library is one of the nicest I’ve visited. It is a lovely, modern building that has been expertly designed and efficiently run. It offers such a wide variety of expansive programs, resources, and facilities. I was shocked to see such little representation of local authors within the beautiful building’s walls.
Ketchum isn’t the only Livingston celebrity with minimal representation throughout the town. Controversial filmmaker Todd Solondz also grew up in Livingston. Many of his independent films feature sometimes shocking scenarios that can push the boundaries of what is acceptable. Some of the films on which he is credited as writer and director include Welcome to the Dollhouse, Happiness, Weiner-Dog, and Life During Wartime. Celebrities like Philip Seymour Hoffman,Allison Janney, Greta Gerwig, and Danny DeVito. Currently, the only of Solondz films available to rent at the Livingston Public Library is Weiner-Dog.
With my own aspirations of publication, I found it disheartening that such a beautiful, expansive library has almost no record or reference to world renowned artists from Livingston. I’m not expecting a huge mural or a special event dedicated to their works; it doesn’t need to be anything grandiose. At the very least their complete works should be available at the library for interested residents.
Livingston, the second-largest town in Essex County, was founded when the state legislature combined portions of two farming villages, Caldwell and Springfield, and issued the new Township of Livingston a state charter on Feb. 5, 1813. Livingston is named in honor of William Livingston, the first governor of New Jersey, who served from 1776 to 1790.
