The Great Depression spawned many colorful additions to the canon of American slang: “Okie” has a harmless, rustic quality, “hobo” a loose-at-the-heels shabbiness, and “bindlestiff,” a merging of the German words for ‘bundle’ and ‘stick,’ a wonderful air of rootlessness about it. The Bindlestiff Family Cirkus and Autonomadic Bookmobile Roadshow (pictured left) have traveled like their dispossessed namesakes all over the country, performing a dazzling and humorous blend of sword-swallowing, bull-whip demonstrations, trapeze and burlesque. They have also launched a bookmobile to counter the generic offerings of superstores and it promises happy browsing for the literally inclined: Over 200 zine and book titles by small and independent publishers can be found on the table. Catch the circus at Kings (831-1005) on Nov. 8–or, if you grab the paper late, they also have a date in Charlotte on Nov. 9 at Fat City, (704) 343-0240.
