CCPL: Joshua Jay

12/13/2021 - 7:00pm to 8:30pm

Joshua Jay

Monday, December 13 / 7 PM

Parma-Snow Branch

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This event will take place in the auditorium at our Parma-Snow Branch, 2121 Snow Road, Parma, OH.

Join us for a conversation with magician and author Joshua Jay, who will discuss his book How Magicians Think: Misdirection, Deception, and Why Magic Matters.

Joshua Jay, bestselling author of Magic and other books, has performed on stages in over 100 countries, fooled Penn & Teller on their hit show, Fool Us, and holds a Guinness World Record in card magic. He has designed illusions for stage and screen, including a recent collaboration with HBO’s Game of Thrones. In 2018, he was recognized by the Society of American Magicians with their highest proclamation, for his contribution to the art of magic. He lives in New York City.

In How Magicians Think: Misdirection, Deception, and Why Magic Matters, Jay not only opens the door to magic, but brings us inside to reveal the artistry and obsessiveness, esoteric history, and long-whispered-about traditions of a subject shrouded in mystery. And he goes one step further to bring us right into the mind of a magician—how they develop their other worldly skills, conjure up illusions, and leave the rest of us slack jawed with delight time after time.

In 52 short, compulsively readable essays, Jay describes how he does it, whether it’s through the making of illusions, the psychology behind them, or the way technology influences the world of magic. He considers the aesthetics of performance, discusses contemporary masters, including David Copperfield, Penn & Teller, and David Blaine, and details how magicians hone their craft. Along the way, Jay reveals another kind of secret, one all readers will find meaningful even if they never aspire to perform sleight of hand: What does it take to follow your heart and achieve excellence?

Books will be available for purchase and signing courtesy of Mac's Backs - Books on Coventry.

Parma-Snow Branch of Cuyahoga County Public Library
2121 Snow Rd
Cleveland, OH 44134