Eric Hoffer Book Award
While Frank F. Carden’s book, The Prostitutes of Post Office Street, did not win the grand prize for the Eric Hoffer Book Award, it was the winning selection for the General Fiction Category.
Here’s what the judges had to say:
“This book gives voice to what is usually shrouded in silence. Author Carden opens a small window on the lives of prostitutes, of strippers, of the “lost” girls who serve some unacknowledged need of men, as they have for centuries. Perhaps they provide love. Certainly love is a central theme of the book, even if only wounded or furtive. The painful story of a married man struggling with his increasing sexual desire for other men in this McCarthy-era setting feels furtive. So does the love between the black “madam” of the house and her white boyfriend. Galveston, Texas society does not have tolerance for either one, the man or the couple. It only pretends to disapprove of the houses. Perhaps that is what makes this such a compelling read. For love will not be denied, even the girls know that. The author shows without saying and the effect is stunning.”
