Conventional Wisdom

Arthur Drooker is a respected and well reviewed photographer. Millions of people attend specialty and niche conventions per year around the world, serving as the perfect market for this book. Conventional Wisdom chronicles author-photographer Arthur Drooker's travels to quirky conventions in the United States, including Lincoln presenters, furries, and mermaids, and documents them as unique expressions of community, culture, and connection. Drooker's humorous and insightful text, including intimate interviews with attendees, compliment the stunning photographs he took during his many visits to each convention over a three-year period. From the ballrooms to the vendor rooms to the guest rooms, Drooker's ubiquitous camera captures the essence and exuberance of these annual gatherings. Conventional Wisdom shows that regardless of what they're about, where they're held or who attends them, all conventions satisfy a basic human urge: a longing to belong. The book reveals that at conventions people who share similar interests, even obsessions, come together to bond and to be themselves. The outside world doesn't matter. An attendee Drooker met at the taxidermist convention expressed it best: "This isn't a convention," he said. "It's a family reunion." Includes: Association of Lincoln Presenters; Bronycon; Vent Haven; Santa Celebration; Fetishcon; Military History Fest; World Clown Association; World Taxidermy Championships; Anthrocon; Merfest.

ArthurDrooker is the author and photographer ofAmerican Ruins, LostWorlds: Ruins of the Americas, and Pie Town Revisited. His work has beenfeatured onCBS Sunday Morning and has toured museums, including theVirginia Center of Architecture, and the Art Museum of the Americas in Washington,D.C. Drooker has also written, produced, and directed award-winning television documentaries.To see a selection of his work, please visit arthurdrooker.com.
James Wolcott is the culture critic forVanity Fair. He has also written for Esquire, The New Yorker, andHarper'sMagazine. His books include LuckingOut: My Life Getting Down and Semi-Dirty in Seventies New Yorkand Critical Mass: Four Decades of Essays,Reviews, Hand Grenades, and Hurrahs, which won the 2014 PEN/Diamonstein-SpielvogelAward for the Art of the Essay.