Don’t Let the Bench Bugs Bite: Portraits of Homeless New York
“Digging beneath the statistics and poverty, Emmins’ is a more than human portrait,” Dazed and Confused
“An absolutely fascinating book, a portrait of life on the streets of New York,” Robert Elms, the BBC
“A book that captured, without drama and urban myth, the reality of life on the streets,” Time Out
When Alan Emmins met a homeless French girl dancing on a makeshift dance floor in the Freedom Tunnel, she challenged him to try homelessness himself to better understand what he was writing about. He took up the challenge.
Alan spent 31 days living homeless in New York to capture portraits of a society full of surprises. The people he met were many and varied. Whether happy or angry, suspicious or protective, or just enjoying some company, their openness and generosity cast a beautiful light on an otherwise dark world.
BENCH BUGS is a humorous, tender and tragic portrait of an invisible New York City.
Alan Emmins 