NYPL Blogs: The Ticketless Traveler

Fiction Atlas: Brooklyn in Children's Fiction and Picture Books (Part I)

Stephanie Whelan, Seward Park Library — Tue, 14 May 2013 12:34:07 -0400

Where in the world are you reading about? Fiction finds its settings in all corners of the world (and some places only imagined in our minds) but there's something special about fiction set in a familiar city or neighborhood. Let's take a trip out of Manhattan for now, and into the lively borough of Brooklyn! This is one of the most storied areas that make up New York City.

Settlers from the Dutch West India Company first founded the Village of Bruckelen in 1646, though the Lenape Native Americans had lived on the land that makes up the county for hundreds of years before that. The Battle of Brooklyn was first major battle of the American Revolutionary war after independence was declared and while Washington did not win that battle, his strategic withdrawal of troops and supplies across the East River is still seen as one of his triumphs in the war.

Brooklyn remained a singular city and county until it voted in 1896 to merge with the other four boroughs and become what we know today as New York City. From the streets of Park Slope, to the homes Red Hook, to the amusements of Coney Island, there's a varied landscape and rich history in Brooklyn. A melting pot of cultures and ethnicities in one community that continues to be home to new immigrants, artists, authors, and lately hipsters. In the past decade, Brooklyn has become the "go to" destination for individuals who want to be where things are "happening." A borough with a reputation for being tough, rough and with an unapolagetic personality all its own.

With such a rich trove of books to choose from, I'm breaking this list into two parts. Part I will feature Picture books and Part II will feature chapter books.

B is for Brooklyn by Selina Alko (Henry Holt, 2012)

Let's kick off with an alphabet book! While not every letter features something undeniably from Brooklyn, this lovely collage art picture book showcases many of the sights, sounds and tastes of the borough. Great for parents who want to introduce their children to a book that expresses so much of their neighborhood. Ages 0-5.

Brooklyn Pops Up by Brooklyn Public Library, Pamela Thomas, David Carter (Little Simon, 2000)

Yes folks, there is an actual pop-up book for Brooklyn—and it's a good one! A marvelous visual feast of a pop-up book with contributions by some amazing artists and paper engineers. Includes Maurice Sendak, David A. Carter, Robert Sabuda and many more. A real treat for booklovers that showcases Brooklyn in spectacular dimensional detail. Ages 4 and up.

Flying Over Brooklyn by Myron Uhlberg, illustrated by Gerald Fitzgerald (Peachtree Publishers, 1999)

A young boy who yearns to fly finds the wind lifting him up over the snowfall in Brooklyn. He flies around the borough, visiting many of the notable landmarks (Ebbets Field, Coney Island, etc.) He wakes to wonder if his magical flight over the city was just a dream... and finds there has been a huge snowfall! The author based the book in part on his own memories of the Blizzard of 1947—when Brooklyn was buried in snowdrifts 7 to 8 feet high. A great winter weather read, and a magical journey that might be worth pairing with Tar Beach by Faith Ringgold. Ages 4-8.

Didi and Daddy on the Promenade by Marilyn Singer, illustrated by Mary-Louise Gay (Clarion, 2001)

Didi can't wait to take her father to one of her favorite places—the Brooklyn Promenade! A great father-daughter book as the two share an outing together along a busy promenade. The cheerful illustrations and the bouncy prose make this a good choice for sharing with younger readers and giving them a taste of Brooklyn. Ages 2-6

Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale by Mo Willems (Hyperion, 2004)

I'm guessing a lot of people will recognize the title, the author or both. Mo Willems has certainly made a name for himself in children's literature in the the last decade. Knuffle Bunny is delightful simply as the story of a toddler who loses her favorite toy but can't communicate the loss to her father. The award-winning combination of drawn illustrations with photographic backgrounds makes it a particularly notable book. The reason it's on my list here, however, is that all those photographs were taken in Brooklyn neighborhoods. Our entire adventure takes place on the streets of Brooklyn, even if the place is never formally mentioned. Knuffle Bunny won a Caldecott honor for 2005. Be sure to check out Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity (Hyperion, 2004) which also uses photographs of Brooklyn as its background. The third book: Knuffle Bunny Free: An Unexpected Diversion (Hyperion, 2010) doesn't take place in Brooklyn, but if you read the first two, it's worth checking out the third. Ages 0-6.

In the Night Kitchen by Maurice Sendak (HarperCollins, c1970)

This Caldecott Honor 1971 book tales a very symbolic and surreal tale of Mickey who falls out of his bed and into a bakery. There he has to convince the bakers that he's not milk, and helps them get milk for the morning cake. Like Mo Willems, Sendak never actually mentions Brooklyn in the book, but the illustrated landscapes bear a marked resemblance to Brooklyn neighborhoods and buildings. Ages 4-8.

Mermaids on Parade by Melanie Hope Greenberg (Putnam, 2008)

Who doesn't think of Coney Island when you mention Brooklyn? This book not only features an iconic location, but one of it's most notable annual events, the Mermaid Parade. Combining a sense of old carnival sparkle with kid friendly vividness and heart, Melanie Hope Greenberg brings the parade to life. A young girl can't wait to dress up like mermaid and join in the celebration at the annual parade. The book gives readers a tour of the Cony Island Park along the parade route (although recent renovations may change some parts of the park) and also includes some of the traditions and history of the mermaid parade. A great book for mermaid and Coney Island fans alike! Ages 2-8.

Other Coney Island picture books include: Hattie and the Wild Waves by Barbara Cooney (Viking, 1990) A turn of the century story of a German immigrant girl pursuing her dreams of painting. Custard and Mustard: Carlos in Coney Island by Maureen Sullivan, illustrated by Alison Josephs (Mojo Inkworks, 2009) Carlos, the French Bulldog takes the subway to Coney Island for a sensory adventure! The Rose Horse by Deborah Lee Rose, illustrated by Greg Shed (Harcourt, 1995) Turn of the century picture book about a Jewish immigrant family living on Coney Island with a carousel horse woodcarver. Feivel's Flying Horses by Heidi Smith Hyde, illustrated by Johanna Van der Sterre (Kar-Ben, 2010) Set in the 1880s, an immigrant woodcarver makes horses for the carousel.

Dad, Jackie and Me by Myron Uhlberg, illustrated by Colin Bootman (Peachtree, 2005)

It's the Summer of 1947 in Brooklyn. The Dodgers have just signed a new first baseman, Jackie Robinson, and baseball history is about to be made! Ebbets Field, the Brooklyn Dodgers and Jackie Robinson are all an intrinsic part of Brooklyn's past, and there are a handful of picture books that set out to capture that past. This title by Myron Uhlberg pulls on his own past memories of growing up in Brooklyn. A boy sparks up a new relationship with his deaf father over love of baseball and Jackie Robinson. It's a touching and heartfelt story that does more than detail nonfiction facts, it plucks at the heartstrings and hums with memories. A great book for the Brooklyn baseball fan. Ages 5-12.

Other Dodger titles for Brooklyn baseball fans include: Brooklyn Dodger Days by Richard Rosenblum (Atheneum, 1991). This book vividly describes a baseball game from the Summer of 1946 between the Dodgers and the Giants. Play Ball, Jackie! by Stephen Krensky, illustrated by Joe Morse (Millbrook, 2011) A boy in the stands wonders why there is so much anger and controversy around Jackie Robinson. Jackie's Bat by Marybeth Lorbiecki, illustrated by Brian Pinkney (Simon and Schuster, 2006). Here we can read a fictionalized account of how Jackie Robinson broke through professional baseball's color barrier. The Shot Heard Round the World by Phil Bildner (Simon and Schuster, 2005) It's the Summer of 1951, the Dodgers vs. the Giants for the pennant! This picture book recounts one of the most exhilarating games in history.

Twenty-One Elephants by Phil Bildner, illustrated by LeUyen Pham (Simon and Schuster, 2004)

We certainly can't forget the Brooklyn Bridge! One of the most famous events in the bridge history is when an enterprising P.T. Barnum had an idea how to get some publicity, and assure the public the Brooklyn Bridge was safe to cross. In this fictionalized account, a young girl named Hannah figures out the way to convince people the bridge is safe with Barnum's help. For another picture book on the same topic, be sure to check out Twenty-one Elephants and Still Standing by April Jones Prince (Houghton Mifflin, 2005).

The Honeybee Man by Lela Nargi and Kyrsten Brooker (Schwartz and Wade, 2011)

Oh the characters you'll meet in Brooklyn! Lela Nargi brings us the story of a Brooklyn beekeeper and his bee family. Every morning Fred climbs the three flights of stairs to his apartment rooftop to care for his bees. The surrounding community loves Fred's local honey and look forward to tasting the new batch. A great way to talk about some unusual careers in the city. Stop down at a local Greenmarket and you're sure to find some actual city beekeepers in your neighborhood! Ages 4-12.

Tales of a Gambling Grandma by Dayul Kaur Khalsa (Tundra Books, 1986)

I suspect most grandmothers don't teach their granddaughters how to play poker. But in this story of an eccentric Jewish Grandmother is a marvelous tale of a little girl's best friend and the time they spend with each other in Brooklyn. An off-beat story of family and friendship that is sure to charm adult readers as well as children. Ages 9-12

Some other characters you'll meet in Brooklyn include: Beautiful Yetta by Daniel Pinkwater, illustrated by Jill Pinkwater (Feiwel & Friends, 2010) A Yiddish speaking chicken gets lost in Brooklyn until some spanish speaking parrots befriend her and help her out. The Seltzer Man by Ken Rush (MacMillan, 1993) Two girls get a chance to learn about another time in Brooklyn when they encounter a Seltzer man on his last rounds before he retires. We'll Ride Elephants Through Brooklyn by Susan L. Roth (Farrar Straus Giroux, 1989) A girl describes an special, over the top celebration she'll have for her Grandfather when he gets better. And Fancy Aunt Jess by Amy Hest (Morrow Books, 1990) A young girl enjoys the day on an outing with her Aunt Jess in Brooklyn.

I'm certain there are plenty of Brooklyn picture books I haven't mentioned here! What are some of your favorites? Please share!

Catching the 7 Line: The International Express to NYPL!

Raymond Pun, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, General Research Division — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 09:58:09 -0400

April is Immigrant Heritage Month. In New York City, April 17th to 24th is Immigrant Heritage Week. In honor of both celebrations of Immigrant Heritage, this blog will focus on the multiculturalism of the 7 train.

If you live in Queens, New York, and you work in midtown like me, there might be a possibility that you often take the MTA train to work, particularly the 7 line which runs from Main Street, Queens to Times Square, New York.

One of the most interesting things about this line is that it runs into various ethnic pockets of Queens. The train brings and transports a multicultural group of people from all over the world from Queens to Manhattan on a daily basis. Here are some interesting facts about each station that the 7 train runs through:

Flushing-Main Street: Interested in Shanghai, Taiwanese or Chinese American style food? Informally known as Chinatown of Flushing, the city is booming with restaurants, shops, cafes, and cultural sites from East to South to Central to South East Asia. Flushing is an emerging city that puts the "recession" to shame. A fantastic place to practice your Chinese language skills too! There's plenty to see and to do in Flushing; one can visit the following:

Queens Botanical Garden >>
Queens Historical Society >>
Queens Museum of Art >>
The Queens Public Library's Flushing Branch >>: one of the busiest libraries in the country.
On the other side of Main Street, there is a big Jewish community in Flushing too.
Find books about the history of Queens, New York >>
Discover our East Asian cookbooks >>METS-Willets Point: Watch one of NY's most beloved baseball teams, The New York METS, battle it out in Citifield! Formerly known as Shea Stadium, Citifield is a major stadium that also serves as multi-venue for concerts from time to time. During the summer, visit the Arthur Ashe Tennis Stadium to watch top tennis stars compete in the U.S. Open too! And one of my favorite parks is there too: The Flushing Meadows Corona Park where the unisphere is located. Let's Go Mets!>>

111 Street: Interested in magnetic shockwaves, astronomy, gravity and rocket ships? Check out the New York Hall of Science located 47-01 111th Street where kids, teens and adults can learn more about the wonderful world of science! Find children's science books at NYPL >>

103 Street-Corona Plaza and Junction Boulevard: Opened in 1917, 103-Street Corona Plaza is one of the earliest stations in the 7 train. In Junction Boulevard, there are many interesting Mexican, Cuban, Bolivian and other Latin American based restaurants. These areas also have supermarkets that import goods from Latin America and the Caribbean. Learn more about making enchiladas through our cookbooks from and about Latin America and the Caribbean >>

90th Street-Elmhurst Avenue and 82nd Street-Jackson Heights and 74th Street Broadway-Roosevelt Avenue: For South Asian cuisine, Jackson Heights is full of great restaurants, take-outs and diners to check out. This is one of the longest streets in Queens too. Learn to make curry through our cookbook; find South Asian, Indian, Pakistani and Bengali cookbooks>>

69th Street and Woodside-61st Street and 52nd Street and 46th Street and 40th Street: One of the most diverse and culturally integrated areas in Queens, Woodside is home to many ethnic neighborhoods including Little Manila (Filipino Community), Korean, South Asian, Chinese and Latin American "towns" One can find many products, restaurants, shops from these regions; it is a busy location and worth checking out!

33rd Street: Interested in the history of blockbuster films, independent cinemas and the art of movie making? Check out The Museum of Moving Image: it is close to this station.

Interested in checking out modern art? There is also MoMA: Museum of Modern Art PS1 near the station to visit.

In addition, if you are interested in trying out Turkish or Egyptian coffee or want to practice your Arabic, there is a neighborhood for that. In Astoria, Steinway Street is known as Arab Town where there are blocks and blocks of Middle Eastern restaurants, shops, cafes, supermarkets and more. Learn about making humus and Middle Eastern food through our cookbooks >>

Queensboro Plaza and Court Square: The new "it" neighborhoods according to The New York Daily News—Court Square is connected to the Williamsburg neighborhood and Midtown; these locations are easily accessible from Court Square; the artwork, graffiti and skyscraper views are eye opening and jaw dropping.

Hunters Point Avenue and Vernon Boulevard-Jackson Avenue: Since 1870, Hunters Point has been part of Queens since the integration of these towns: Astoria, Middletown, Sunnyside and others. There are still historic houses from the 19th century in Hunters Point today. Vernon Boulevard-Jackson Avenue is the western based station and final stop of Queens before Manhattan. The view of Manhattan from these locations are stunning and worth checking out.

42nd Street - Grand Central Station: Recently turned 100, GCT is an amazing landmark filled with jaw dropping architecture! The stats for the station are as follows: 650 feet long, 200 feet wide and 100 feet high while the Deborah, Jonathan F. P., Samuel Priest, and Adam R. Rose Main Reading Room in the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building is about 78 feet by 297 feet and 52 feet high. Need I say more?

5th Ave - Bryant Park: One of the stops to The NYPL's Stephen A. Schwarzman's Building! The Library has been around since 1911 and under the park, there's layers of stacks! Named after the Romantic poet and editor of The New York Evening Post, William Cullen Bryant in 1884, Bryant Park is a small public park available for anyone to slow down their city lives and enjoy the natural scenery! There are also tons of events happening all year around in the park: from ice skating to shopping to summer concerts.

Times Square - 42nd Street: Since 1904, TS is one of the most iconic attractions of New York City; Times Square is often viewed as the global capital of the world with loads of advertisement, shows, shops and people from all walks of life. Here's an interesting fact: about 1.6 million people walk over to Times Square on any given day; Times Square is popular and historic. Read Why The First Ball Was Dropped in Time Square!

Additional Resources

Check out the Map Division for historical MTA maps!
The Milstein Division for U.S. History, Local History and Genealogy also have resources on the history of New York City!
Discover more immigrant heritage stories available at NYPL
Check out our Digital Gallery for more images, photos and maps of our subways, neighbors and cities of New York!
Curious with what people ate in Queens or Brooklyn? Find out in our digital project, "What's on the Menu?"
Learn more about the history of MTA in the NY Transit Museum!
Need some gift ideas? Shop online or in person at the NYPL Shop for NYC based gifts!

The Jews of Shanghai: Uncovering the Archives and Stories

Raymond Pun, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, General Research Division — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 10:27:50 -0400

"Life was difficult in Shanghai, but infinitely better than anything they had left behind. From lower-middle-class comfort, the Tobias family was reduced to poverty but not to starvation. There was always food, always something to eat, always shelter even when the Jewish community was ghettoized shortly after Pearl Harbor. Thus even under terribly difficult conditions Moses Tobias was able to take care of his family but under the Nazis the conditions of the Jews were far worse than merely 'terribly difficult.'

"Shanghai was a multiethnic city and the Japanese controlled the city's Chinese populations. There were elite Sephardic Jews from Iraq, Syria and other parts of the Middle East who had long lived and prospered in Shanghai, as well as the new immigrants from Germany. They were later to be joined by Jews from Lithuania and Poland. The British ruled the International Settlement. The more comfortable Jews had built a community in Shanghai replete with synagogues and schools ..." From p. xvi —Strange Haven: A Jewish Childhood in Wartime Shanghai by Sigmund Tobias

The anecdote above is one of many harrowing yet hopeful tales of the Jewish people living in Shanghai during World War II. Many of their stories remain to be told. As the Nazi Empire sent shock waves to the Jewish community in Germany, many abandoned their belongings and fled to China for safety since Shanghai was an open port: no visas or passports were required.

From the 1930s, approximately 20,000 refugees escaped the destruction wrought by the Nazis while leaving behind their memories of life, traumas and experiences of war. However, as history reveals itself, Shanghai was suddenly under attack and occupation by the Japanese. The Japanese forces relocated Jews to live in their own ghettos known as the Restricted Sector for Stateless Refugees (or Shanghai Ghetto) where many were cramped into tiny living spaces, and starved but not deprived of food. In this setting, the Japanese permitted a bit more flexibility for the Jewish communities compared to the Nazis. However, both were still ruthless empires of the 20th century.

The cultural and social histories of Jews living in Shanghai are remarkable: schools were established, theater plays were produced and newspapers were published. The Jewish community also built their own synagogues and many are still around in Shanghai today.

Once the war ended in 1945, the ghettos were officially liberated; a few stayed in Shanghai while a majority migrated to the newly established state called Israel in 1948.

Luckily for researchers, at NYPL we have several interesting oral histories documenting the lives of Jewish refugees living in Shanghai. Susan Stamberg, an American radio journalist who is currently a Special Correspondent for National Public Radio (NPR) interviewed several Jewish people who lived in Shanghai during that time.

This special collection is part of the The New York Public Library: American Jewish Committee Oral History Collection which contains over "156,000 pages of transcripts, 6,000 hours of taped interviews, 2,250 informants: this incomparable repository of unique and unpublished primary source material is for the study of what is often called 'the American Jewish experience in the 20th century,' is the mother of all American Jewish oral histories and one of American Jewish culture's most substantial monuments." See here for more information.

Listening to some of the interviews was deeply fascinating and transformed my sense of reality into the past, envisioning how they lived in Shanghai: their thoughts about Germany, China and Japan; their social lives; what they were eating, thinking and feeling in Shanghai when it was a developing and poor city. Today Shanghai is a major cosmopolitan city and now part of an international economic hub.

To find this oral history collection, it is highly recommended to contact The NYPL's Dorot Jewish Division in The Stephen A. Schwarzman Building since they require an appointment.

Selected Bibliography

Exodus to Shanghai: Stories of Escape from the Third Reich / Steve Hochstadt
Catalogue of the Exhibition, Jewish life in Shanghai, September 1948-January 1949 [microform] / [Translated from Yiddish]
Voices from Shanghai : Jewish Exiles in Wartime China / edited, translated, & with an introduction by Irene Eber
Anya's War / Andrea Alban
Shanghai Diary: A Young Girl's Journey from Hitler's Hate to War-Torn China / Ursula Bacon.
The Far Side of the Sky: A Novel of Love and Death in Shanghai / Daniel Kalla
Israel's Messenger: Official Organ of the Shanghai Zionist Association and The Jewish National Fund Commission for China
Shanghai Passage / by Gregory Patent; illustrations by Ted Lewin
More on the History of Jewish Community in China and Jews in Shanghai during World War II

Additional Resources

Center Revives Shanghai's Jewish History by NPR's Louisa Lim (2006)
Shanghai Jewish Refugees Museum in Shanghai, China (上海犹太难民纪念馆)
The Jewish Community of China
Destination Shanghai: The Jewish Community of Shanghai, 1936-1949 at The Leo Baeck Institute in NYC
Chinese Judaic Studies Association

Think Japan is all Manga, Sushi, and Pocky Sticks?

Rabecca Hoffman, Kingsbridge Library — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 06:28:25 -0400

Harajuku? Geisha? Robots? Awesome! Japanese culture has been an obsession of mine for a while now, as well as for the teenagers at my branch, so when we recently had the opportunity to invite Lucia Brea, Fukui Friendship Ambassador, to stop by and talk to the Kingsbridge Library's Teen Advisory Group, I jumped at the opportunity. Lucia spent four years in Japan through the JET Program teaching English to students of all ages in the Fukui Prefecture, and I was able to sit down with her after her visit to ask her a few questions about her experience:

What is the JET program, and would you recommend it for other people? Are there other ways to go about living in Japan as a foreigner?

The JET Programme stands for Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme, now in its 26th year, which aims to promote grass-roots international exchange between Japan and other countries. I would highly recommend it to anyone who has a passion for developing strong relationships with communities and the drive to live in Japan for an extended period of time. It is an opportunity to experience Japan and continue to enhance relationships between Japan and their home country like I did at the New York Public Library. There are many other ways to live in Japan as a foreigner, the JET Programme is one of the best, but there are many other teaching opportunities through private companies, studying opportunities for students and there are also many international companies that call Japan home to which they offer opportunities to foreigners.

How is living in Japan different from living in the U.S.?

Japan and the U.S. are very different in various forms, particularly coming from New York to Fukui. Fukui is a slow moving, nature based kind of environment, very different from what I was used to after graduating from college in New York City.

What is it like adjusting to the different culture?

Adjusting to a different culture was much more shocking than I had previously thought. However, I had a very positive outlook on things and the people were so helpful that is made it easier to adjust. I had previously thought it was going to be much more like the time I had moved from the Dominican Republic to the United States, but it was not anything like it. As an adult, it is a bigger adjustment than as a child and Japanese culture is very different, but amazing at the same time.

What was the most surprising thing to you about Japan and about living there? Is Japan just like it is depicted in anime and manga?

Anime and manga was for me my first taste of what I thought was Japan, which is the case for many people. However, Japan is so much more than what one imagines. Sure, it is heavily influenced by it but there is so much more of the traditional and technology that is not necessarily mentioned. Japan is not only Tokyo, but Japan is nature, a serene tranquility and an amazing lifestyle that I was able to experience in Fukui. Most of Japan is not robots and technology, it is a whole different kind of life.

You recently talked to a group of teens about Japan at the library. Do you have any thoughts on their reactions or previous knowledge or misconceptions about Japan?

I was very surprised on how much the teens at the library knew about Japan, and it was a pleasure for me to share my experience with them and hopefully enhance their knowledge about Japan. I also hope that I encouraged them to go visit sometime in the future and continue to experience Japan through resources available at the New York Public Library.

What is the area of Fukui like? How is it different than Tokyo or other cities? What kinds of things can you do there?

Fukui is totally different from Tokyo, it lies along the Sea of Japan, not far from Osaka or Kyoto. Beautiful place year-round, from snow capped mountains that are amazing for skiing during the wintertime to beautiful sandy beaches during the summer time. It is a beautiful natural environment with deep Japanese traditions that can be enjoyed by everyone. There is so much to explore, so much to experience, so many great people to meet. Fukui to me was the real Japan, and there was a reason why it is considered the happiest place in Japan. There are endless opportunities in Fukui, from making Japanese paper by hand, making soba (buckwheat noodles), piecing together a bamboo doll, staying at the Eiheji monastery while experiencing the Soto sect of Zen Buddhism and just overall taking in the beauty of rural Japan.

Can you talk a little about the tsunami, how the country was affected, what it meant for people living close by, or even as far away as Fukui and what the after effects on the country were?

The tsunami had a deep effect on the people of Japan, from close to far away. The earthquake was felt throughout the main island, however it was very different to what is usually experienced particularly due to the aftermath that was the Tsunami. Being in Japan through such a disaster was almost like reliving 9/11 in New York. It was something that is engraved in your memory for the rest of your life. Six months after the incident, some friends and I volunteered in the Tohoku area, where the Tsunami took place, and my experience was something that I will never forget. Japanese people are resilient and it was so surreal to even imagine that to this day there are earthquakes in that region, and that people that survived the Tsunami are still living there trying to make their lives as normal as possible and rebuild.

If people want to help the Tsunami victims, what is the best way?

There are many ways, for example the Red Cross, as well as this a Global Giving Project which particularly focuses on helping orphans rebuild their lives post Tsunami.

Any favorite Japanese authors you can recommend? Music? Movies?

I am a great fan of Haruki Murakami, his work is infused with Japanese traditions as well as the western influences. He has to be one of my favorite Japanese authors of all time, Kafka on the Shore is a must read. Movies by Studio Ghibli is the Murakami for the entire family. Ponyo, Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away among others.

You can find these and more by visiting your local library branch:

Check out books about Japan, read books by Japanese authors like Murakami, Oe, Kanehara, Kawakami, Kirino, Miyabe, Ryu Murakami, and Yoshimoto, and check out Japanese manga, anime, and movies.

You can also get a taste of Japanese food and culture right here in New York City:

Japan Week is an annual celebration of Japanese culture and cuisine in Grand Central Terminal’s Vanderbilt Hall which ends March 21st this year, and Japan Day is an annual celebration of traditional and contemporary Japanese culture held in Central Park which is coming up on May 12th, 2013.

Also visit some of these Japanese Cultural Centers for lectures, events, art exhibits and more:

Japan Society, Tenri Cultural Institute, Donald Keene Center of Japanese Culture, Asia Society, Japan Foundation New York.

Want to learn to speak Japanese? Check out some of these resources:

Mango Languages is a free database of language lessons, or check out books and audiobooks from the library, or take a language classes through a local institution such as Japan Society and Tenri Cultural Institute.

Looking for more? Check out these sites for more information on where to find Japanese events and food in New York City:

Chopsticks NY, Japan Culture NYC.

Cross Country Travel in 1912

Matthew Boylan, Ask NYPL — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 13:13:14 -0400

An author telephoned Ask NYPL, the ready reference division of The New York Public Library, stating that she needed the "real facts" as to a cross country railroad trip from Seattle to Groton, Massachusetts in 1912. Indeed, this was the final information she would need to complete her novel. What would be the duration of each "leg" of such a trip? Which railroads would be taken? And what would be the cost of such a trip?

I told her that I would respond to her shortly but that the information would likely be for the year 1910, as that would be the year closest to 1912 that definitive records would be available for. With respect to the duration of the three legs (or changes at a railroad station from one train to another) of this trip, I obtained the answers from the most definitive source available from that period. This was The Official Guide of the Railways and Steam Navigation Lines of the United States, Porto Rico, Canada, Mexico and Cuba, 42nd Year (January, 1910) This "1910 Official Railway Guide" is held by The Microforms Division of The New York Public Library. The 1910 Official Railway Guide is 1,486 pages long (but quite thoroughly indexed) and would provide the exact answers to some of the author's questions.

Using the 1910 Official Railway Guide, I determined that a trip by railroad at this time from Seattle to Groton, Massachusetts would require three legs. The first leg of this trip would have been from Seattle to Chicago. The fictional traveler would almost certainly have purchased a ticket in Seattle to Chicago from the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy ("C, B & Q") Railroad. Although this train schedule and its tickets were sold by the C, B & Q, according to the 1910 Official Railway Guide, that the train would have followed the (much more famous) "Northern Pacific" railroad network for most of the route to Chicago. Note that these trains were quite slow and made many stops. Still, it's possible to determine the precise amount of time each variation on this trip would have taken.

Unfortunately, the 1910 Official Railway Guide does not contain ticket prices. But I thought that the vast collection of relevant newspapers of that day held by the NYPL might well. Using the ProQuest Historical Database, (available at all NYPL locations), I searched the relevant Chicago newspapers and, according to an advertisement in The Chicago Daily Tribune of June 13, 1912, this trip from Seattle to Chicago would have cost $65.00 plus $10.00 for a lower Pullman berth if she wished to sleep in a bed.

In Chicago, if she was rich, she might have stayed at the city's pre-eminent hotel: The Palmer House. If she was middle class, she might have stayed in a "respectable lady's boarding house." If she was poor, she might have slept in Chicago's Union Station — which was where C,B & Q passengers arrived.

The fictional traveler would then have boarded a train from Chicago to Boston. If she was relatively well off, she would take the very fast (and often memorialized in popular culture) 20th Century Limited. This train left Chicago's (other) La Salle Street Station at 2:30 p.m. and arrived the next day in Boston at 11:50 a.m. The time for this ride was exactly 21 hours and 20 minutes. This was one of the fastest trains of its day and it made almost no stops (hence the name "Limited.") If the fictional traveler took a slower (and cheaper) train she might have taken closer to 48 hours to make this trip. I searched The New York Times 1851-2009 that is available at all NYPL locations for the cost of a ticket on the 20th Century Limited between 1910 and 1912 and did locate many advertisements for it. Unfortunately, the New York Central Railroad felt that the "Limited" was so prestigious to ride that it never disclosed its price in its advertisements! But an article in The New York Times provides some figures that would be quite close for 1912. The price of a ticket on the 20th Century Limited in early 1920 was $32.70. This reflected an "extra fare" of $9.60 to ride the "Limited." And this (slightly lower) "extra fare" was in effect in the 1910 Official Railway Guide — so it almost certainly was in effect in 1912. And there was also a "Pullman berth" charge in 1910 for a lower berth.

For the last leg of her trip, the fictional traveler would have simply traveled from Boston to Groton, Massachusetts. And she would have purchased her ticket from the railway known as the "Acton branch" of the "Boston & Maine System." I could not locate the exact cost to Groton but it would have certainly been less than $3.00. And so the traveler completed her journey.

Happy Birthday Grand Central Terminal!

Raymond Pun, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, General Research Division — Wed, 06 Feb 2013 09:11:36 -0500

Did you know that Grand Central Station (also known as Grand Central Terminal) recently turned 100?

Opened in 1871 on 42nd Street between Park and Lexington avenues, the station was renovated and reopened in February 1913. Grand Central is one of the largest train connecters to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's (MTA) 4, 5, 6, 7 and S lines that run in four boroughs; and connections to Metro-North Railway going to Westchester, Putnam and Duchess counties.

The Grand Central Library, The Stephen A. Schwarzman Building and The Mid-Manhattan Library are closest libraries to this NYC landmark.

Whenever I step foot in GC, I am always impressed and lost by the grand majestic ceiling and interior architecture as people are rushing from Point A to Point B and catching their departing trains. The echoes of chit-chats, quiet foot-steps and machinery noises all make GC an interesting spot to observe, study and experience.

The stats for the station are as follows: 650 feet long, 200 feet wide and 100 feet high while the Deborah, Jonathan F. P., Samuel Priest, and Adam R. Rose Main Reading Room in the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building is about 78 feet by 297 feet and 52 feet high.

Some of these photos from our Digital Gallery may surprise you: the evolution of the Grand Central Terminal that it became what it is today is quite a sight. Here are some resources covering GCT:

The NYPL's Digital Gallery is rich with images of GCT >> (Accessible remotely)
Also, here are some amazing images of subway construction from the New York City Views Collection>> (Accessible remotely; thanks to my colleagues from the Milstein Division for their efforts in digitizing the collection!)
For the MTA's announcement and celebration of GCT >>
Check out the NYPL Map Division for the history of the subway maps and how they changed over time!
The MTA Transit Museum in Brooklyn is an excellent place to explore and learn more about the history of the MTA. Check out their Flickr page too!
For further NYPL resources on the history and development of Grand Central Terminal, see here >>
Read how Grand Central Terminal appears in literature >>
Check out the NYPL Library Shop for some gift ideas relating to MTA-NYC >>

Traveling Vicariously with Pico Iyer

Hyacinth Persad, Mid-Manhattan, Popular Library — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 13:21:32 -0400

Fresh from my mid-winter cruise, and a bit disappointed because the ship did not make one of its appointed stops in the Cayman Islands due to stormy weather, I was looking for something new to read, especially if it had to do with travel. Back on terra firma, and ignoring my "For Later" shelf (books to read later), a feature which I use on the New York Public Library's newly acquired interface to the catalog, Bibliocommons, I picked up Paul Theroux's The Tao of Travel. In it, he surveys travel writings and includes excerpts from a variety of writers, including the essayist and novelist, Pico Iyer. A short time after completing Theroux's book, I happened to see that Pico Iyer was to be interviewed by Paul Holdengräber, director of LIVE from the NYPL, on February 7th, 2012. My interest soared, because I had just read about him.

On the evening of the LIVE from the NYPL program, Pico Iyer discussed his latest book with Paul Holdengräber, The Man Within My Head. He spoke of how Graham Greene (1904 - 1991) had a lifelong influence on him. Greene's first published novel, in 1929, was The Man Within. I am interested in finding parallels, so I've begun reading Iyer's works before delving into Graham Greene's ouevre. The first book that I read was Cuba And The Night, a work of fiction. My feeling is that because Iyer made trips to Cuba, of some duration and frequency, that this enabled his deft insight into Cuban culture. The result was a work of fiction revolving around ordinary people's lives, their relationships to relatives and friends, living both in Cuba and the United States.

The next work of fiction, Abandon: A Romance, I read slowly. A romance develops, but furthermore it becomes interwoven into the mystery-adventure, surrounding the search by an Islamic scholar of the poet Rumi's lost texts. The reader is taken back and forth from Iran to Southern California—a statement on the Copyright Page, makes it clear, that Pico Iyer never visited Iran, and that everything he wrote was not based on actual events.

Taking a break from Iyer's fiction, I read The Lady And The Monk. The reader is informed, in the most romantic of ways, how it came about that Iyer makes his home in Kyoto, Japan, when not living in California or travelling. The writing is mesmerizing, and I like how Iyer includes foreign-language words, into this, and each of his books I've read so far. For instance, we may know that Moshi-moshi means hello, and, Arigato, means thank you, but Iyer weaves many more Japanese words and phrases into this book. Iyer has lived in Japan for many years, and has said that he does not speak fluent Japanese.

Another non-fiction work is The Global Soul: Jet Lag, Shopping Malls, and the Search for Home. This book consists of a series essays. One theme, revolves around the coming-together of different cultures arriving at L.A. International Airport, which he describes as being its own city. Another theme surrounds an international business traveller, who holds several plane tickets and more than one passport at one time. What undergirds these, and other essays in this book, is that of being in a state of flux, or rootlessness. As you read them, you may even get a feeling of déjà vu.

Currently, I am reading Sun After Dark: Flights Into The Foreign, a work of non-fiction. As I read this book of themed essays, it strikes me that the first part of the book's title, Sun After Dark, could be read as metaphor for countries that have endured, each in their own way; whether it's the current Occupation of Tibet, or war-torn Cambodia, where over forty thousand people have lost limbs due to land mines. Iyer inures himself of how people in a country live, puts it into current and historical contexts, and the results are spectacularly compelling narratives.

I eagerly await the reading of Tropical Classical: Essays From Several Directions, Video Night In Kathmandu: And Other Reports from the Not-so-Far Near East, and, Falling Off the Map: Some Lonely Places of the World.

For biographical information on Pico Iyer, visit the New York Public Libary's Articles and Databases page, and select the Biography In Context database, which is accessible both onsite from all Branch Library Locations, and remotely with your New York Public Library Card and pin number. While still on the Articles and Databases page, you may also choose the Academic One File database to read Iyer's essays and articles from magazines and journals such as Time, Harper's, Times Literary Supplement, Partisan Review, American Scholar, and Iowa Review. Iyer is also a contributor to the New York Review of Books; the online version of this magazine may only be accessed when onsite at any of the New York Public Library's locations, using the Full-Text Electronic Journals Page.

The Ticketless Traveler: Paris in the Springtime

Melanie Locay, AskNYPL — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 13:40:23 -0400

Paris in the Spring just sounds fantastic doesn’t it? It could be argued that adding "Springtime" to anything can make it sound lovely, just ask The Producers... though Paris alone is a good selling point. We can begin planning our trip of a lifetime by researching affordable travel deals in the most recent issues of Arthur Frommer’s Budget Travel, full electronic access is available onsite at any NYPL location. I was able to find a helpful article published in the May 2011 issue that is still quite relevant to my travel needs: “Eat Your Way Through Paris” by Claudine Ko. Is there really any other way through Paris?

Then there is the matter of the French. We may encounter a few of them in between all of those meals. We should be able to chat them up. Perhaps we could even come off as actual Parisians that have gotten a bit turned around while heading to the Musée du Louvre or Bibliothèque nationale, as opposed to silly Americans seeking directions. With an active New York Public Library Card you can create a FREE account in Mango Languages and then learn français on your computer or with the Mango Languages App on your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad. They offer interactive courses in almost forty languages, including Pirate. We can begin with French and possibly move on to Pirate depending on the mode of transportation we choose to get to Paris.

When packing for a trip I like to know the climate of the destination, both weather and political. Press Display provides access to top French newspapers, for example Aujourd'hui en France, Le Figaro and Le Monde. If you’re not yet quite confident enough in your French you can also access The Wall Street Journal Europe through Press Display. You can access the Press Display database from home with an active New York Public Library card number.

I possibly may not make it to Paris this Spring. Instead, once again, I will most likely find myself on the couch relying on Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris to satisfy my desire to roam the streets.

No matter your travel or staycation plans this Spring the aforementioned resources can definitely get you off on the right start. If you do happen to find yourself in the City of Light remember to send me a post card... and a baguette... and a lot of cheese. Au revoir!

Print and DVD

E-format

Frommer's Paris Day by Day
Search "paris" at ebooks.nypl.org to find even more
Foreign Language Study - French (eAudio)
Browse Paris Rough Guide 2007 online through Gale Virtual Reference Library (log in with your library card)

The Ticketless Traveler: Ireland

Kerri Wallace — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 05:20:07 -0500

It was 7 a.m. when I arrived in Dublin, and I looked greasy, unrested, and ready to hurl after the vegetarian Indian curry that was my in-flight 3 a.m. "dinner." I unhappily waited my turn through customs and prepared for the official behind the plexiglass panel to ask me the standard questions. I answered the gentleman with the demeanour of a zombie, but suddenly perked up when he made a cheerful, sing-song assumption I wasn't expecting:

"You're here to meet a man!"

I denied his assertion with several tries and laughter, but he cut me off by officially letting me into Dublin with a stamp and a wink. I walked through Dublin airport romantically contemplating my solo trip with a sigh — but unfortunately, those trips only happen in the movies.

I've loved Ireland for as long as I can remember, which stems from the many stories shared about my grandparents growing up in Newry, County Down. I once tried to convince my first grade teacher that I was an excellent candidate for ESL (English as a second language) because I "knew" Irish and demonstrated it with "top of the morning to ya!" My infatuation was established, but also proved that any of my future attempts to get out of class would be futile. After years of waiting, writing school reports about my family's history, and glancing at photos, I finally crossed the pond for the first time in 2007 and went back again three years later on my own. The land is beautiful, the people are hospitable, and the sheep are abundant. But if that isn't enough to convince you to visit the Emerald Isle, perhaps a few of my favorite spots will.

1. Dublin — First, let me start off this places-to-go in Ireland post with this bit of advice: go in the spring. Last year I went to Ireland in December to celebrate my birthday, and, like most of my traveling weather luck, it snowed — a very rare event for Ireland. Lucky me. Dublin is a great walking city with plenty of excellent sites to visit. Make sure to visit Kilmainham Gaol, Trinity College, Dublin Writers Museum, Dublin Castle, the General Post Office, and the James Joyce Center, to name a few. Walking tours are a great option as well!

2. Newgrange, Knowth, and Dowth — On my group tour in 2007, our immediate stop after landing in Dublin was our visit to Knowth in the Boyne Valley, where I was nominated to crawl through a small muddy passageway, as I was the shortest in the group. Newgrange, Knowth, and Dowth are ancient neolithic mounds which were the center of farming communities and held spiritual significance. Newgrange is the most famous of the three and is known for its winter solstice ceremony held every December 21. My birthday happens to be on December 21 and I thought this might be a great activity, but unfortunately they don't let just anyone go. This festivity is extremely popular and tickets are given away on a lottery system.

3. Giant's Causeway — Ireland's most legendary figure is Fionn mac Cumhaill, or Finn MacCool. There are many different tales of Finn, but one in particular is his residence at Giant's Causeway where, you guessed it, he was a giant and did giant things, like challenging other giants to fights and creating the Causeway by building a bridge to Scotland to, well, fight a giant over there. Scientists say that the Causeway was created as the result of a volcanic eruption. Also in the area is the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, which dangles about 100 feet above jagged rocks.

4. Ulster American Folk Park — For New Yorkers, Ellis Island is a symbol of the millions of immigrants who came from various parts of Europe and the world. Well, they had to start somewhere. For those with Irish ancestors, the Ulster American Folk Park explores the history of the Irish emigration to America.

4. Glenveagh National Park — If you ever wondered what paradise might look like, then stop by the gardens at Glenveaugh National Park. If you're short on time, skip the castle tour and explore the gardens or climb to the top of the hill (located behind the castle) to get an amazing view of the lake and its surroundings.

5. Ben Bulben and Yeats Country — Driving along the roads of Ireland (if that is your choice of travel), you will pass beautiful green mountains and fields, but if you venture into Sligo, your eyes will pop as you look upon the plateau, Ben Bulben. For hikers, climbers, and even sheep, this is a great place to stop and take the challenge of climbing to the top. Be sure to also stop and visit the grave of William Butler Yeats. If you're lucky you might catch one of his faerie folk.

6. Croagh Patrick — From the beginning of my 2007 trip there was non-stop talk of our soon-to-be walk up Croagh Patrick. Since the average age on the bus tour was 60+ I was picturing a hill, but when we arrived in the beautiful village of Westport, County Mayo, I turned to my good friend Seana and said "That's a mountain!" Croagh Patrick is known for its once-a-year pilgrimage where thousands climb up the mountain, some on their bare feet. At the top there is an amazing view of Clew Bay.

There are plenty of sites that I would love to include on this list, but since this is just a blog post and not a guidebook I'll stop right here. If you would like to prepare yourself before heading to Ireland, here are some of my favorite writers, films, and other resources that are available at NYPL.

Novels:

1916 by Morgan Llywelyn
The Barrytown Trilogy by Roddy Doyle
The Country Girls Trilogy by Enda O'Brien
A Potrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce
The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry
Skippy Dies by Paul Murray
Trinity by Leon Uris

Movies:

Music:

You have to prepare yourself and learn some lyrics to traditional Irish folk songs. Everyone sings in Ireland. Try the Rough Guide to Irish Music.

Happy travels if you venture to Ireland, and "May the road rise up to meet you, may the wind be ever at your back."

Sannu Niger!

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 07:58:00 -0500

The capture last week of Saif al-Islam Qaddafi who, disguised as a Tuareg, was trying to flee to Niger — where one of his brothers and some high-ranking officials have found refuge — has turned a spotlight on a country few people have heard of.

“Niger? You mean Nigeria?” No Niger, the largest country in West Africa. “The country of the Nigerians?” No, the country of the Nigeriens.

I have visited Niger several times and always came back with wonderful memories... and exceptional crafts. It is one of the most fascinating places I know.

Sannu (hello) Niger!

With over 490,000 square miles, Niger covers more territory than Nigeria. But the latter’s 167 million inhabitants make it the seventh most populous country in the world while the former is home to just above 15 million people. Not surprising since the Sahara desert occupies more than two-thirds of Niger’s landmass. The landlocked country is surrounded by seven sometimes difficult neighbors: Algeria, Libya, Mali, Burkina Faso, Benin, Nigeria, and Chad.

A Tuareg rebellion that lasted for years; famines in 2005 and 2009 and food insecurity foreseen for 2012; the presence of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb; and the reinsertion of 200,000 Nigerien emigrants who fled Libya empty-handed are some of the issues the country has been facing. Moreover, at the UN General Assembly, President Mahamadou Issoufou, a mining engineer, has warned that the circulation, in the desert, of heavy weapons following the Libyan revolution could pose serious threats not only to his country but also to the region and beyond.

But Niger is more than the sum of its problems. I love its arid environment and the desert has some extraordinary sandscapes, however it is the people I find remarkable. Nigerien pageantry is unparalleled. It is colorful yet restrained; mysterious and friendly.

I vividly remember the astonishing sight of thousands of men crossing a bridge over the River Niger, in total silence. Hausa on horseback, their boubous (kaftans) and turbans shining in the sun; Tuareg on camels, with only their eyes visible; and Bororo on foot, sporting long braids and delicately embroidered clothes. It had taken them days and for some, weeks, to reach the capital, Niamey, for a cultural festival.

An otherwise poor country whose main resource is uranium, Niger is rich in culture and diversity. The Tuareg, people of the Sahara whose men wear face veils but women do not, are incomparable silversmiths. Their delicate, abstract jewelry is too hard to resist. The Wodaabe or Bororo, Fulani nomads, are renowned for the gerewol, a distinctive yearly event. Young men, painted and dressed up, dance in front of young women in a male beauty pageant that has no parallel in the world. The Hausa, majestic horsemen whose brightly caparisoned horses are a sight to see, look like medieval knights.

One could imagine that Niger lives in a time warp with camels in the streets and people who look like they have just stepped out of a historical epic; but these same people have a cell phone in their pocket. Young entrepreneurs are opening high-tech companies; students back from universities in Morocco, Great Britain, France, or the US are creating new businesses; and the country will extract its first barrel of oil next week.

On the cultural front, Niger has emerged as a leading force in African hip-hop. Fearless rappers tackle political and social issues. High fashion may not come to mind when talking about Niamey but the city is home to celebrated designer Alphadi, called the Prince of the Desert, whose creations are shown all over the world.

If "land of contrasts" were not a cliche, I would apply it to Niger.

Books

Ousseina Alidou, Engaging Modernity
Alison Behnke, Niger in Pictures
Samuel Decalo, Historical Dictionary of Niger
Zarma Folktales of Niger

Music

Etran Finatawa - Bororo and Tuareg contemporary music

Photos

Gold, Freedom, Faith, and Baroque in Brazil

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 12:26:47 -0400

I had not slept for 34 hours. After a bad flight and two long bus trips, I was hiking, ecstatic, in a muddy mine. I touched the walls from top to bottom. Perhaps “he” had put his hands there too. I was walking in the steps of Galanga, renamed Francisco, and known as Chico Rei (King Chico).

Story -or legend-has it that 270 years ago, Chico Rei, believed to have been a ruler in Congo, his family, and others were forced aboard a slave ship. The Middle Passage took his wife and children, but he and one son survived. They landed in Brazil and were sent to Vila Rica (Rich Town, founded in 1711) in the region of Minas Gerais, the center of the gold rush. For a few years, half of the extracted gold in the world came from its hills — the city is at 4,000 feet elevation — and rivers.

Like another 21,000 enslaved people (97 percent of them African-born) Chico Rei, it is said, labored in the mines. Working every Sunday for himself, he bought his son’s freedom, then his own, and later purchased the Encardadeira mine — where he used to work. With its benefits, he freed a large number of Africans who in turn bought the freedom of others. They built a church dedicated to the Nubian princess St. Iphigenia. The church is located on the highest hill so that it could be seen from everywhere. Inside are representations of two other black saints: Benedict and Antônio de Noto. Fact or fiction — and there is a lot of the latter, as Chico Rei has gained mythical status and his very existence is in dispute for lack of evidence— it is said that Africans went to mass with gold powder in their hair and washed it away in the baptismal fonts.

Chico Rei is credited by the brotherhood with being the founder of the Congado — a religious and cultural dance and procession that culminates in the coronation of the king and queen of Congo — in Minas Gerais. Congados continue to be held every year at the end of October, on January 1, and on May 13, which marks the abolition of slavery in 1888.

Getting to St. Iphigenia is not easy; I kept on sliding downhill, and though I am fit, I was out of breath. As I sat down on the steps, I reflected on the horrible toll that the gold “adorning” so many Baroque churches in Brazil and Portugal took on Africans and their descendants. Perhaps this is why there is so little gold in their church.

I visited another black house of worship. In the low part of town, the black brotherhood Our Lady of the Rosary — active since 1715 — erected a quaint, rounded edifice called Our Lady of the Rosary for the Blacks. Started in 1753, it was finished in 1785. Its altars display images of the black saints Iphigenia, Elesbao (Ethiopia), Benedict, and Antônio de Noto.

Vila Rica was a haut-lieu of art, music, poetry, and architecture, as well as the birthplace of the most famous Brazilian Baroque sculptor, Antônio Francisco Lisboa (ca.1730-1814). The son of a Portuguese sculptor and an enslaved African, he became known as Aleijadinho (little cripple), as leprosy ravaged his body and took away his fingers. He worked with his tools strapped to his wrists. Aleijadinho’s masterpiece, as an architect and sculptor, is the church São Francisco de Assis, designed in 1766. He died poor and forgotten, but there is an Aleijadinho Museum in his hometown.

In 1823, after Independence, Vila Rica became Ouro Preto (Black Gold) an apt, if involuntary, description of who made the city so fabulously rich (actually the gold ore, mixed with silver turned black when exposed to the air). It is an extraordinary 18th-century town of red tiled roofs and green hills that looks very much today as it did in Chico Rei and Aleijadinho’s time. Walking up and own its vertiginously steep and slippery cobblestoned streets is demanding but rewarding. Every house, fountain, bridge, and church (there are 23 of them), is a piece of art and will remain so: the city has been on Unesco’s World Heritage List since 1980.

To Find Out More

To learn how many people were deported from West Central Africa to the Americas by the transatlantic slave trade, and how many Africans arrived in Brazil, see The Abolition of the Slave Trade: The Forgotten Story.

Books and CDs

NYPL holds several dozen books in Portuguese about Vila Rica/Ouro Preto, slavery in Minas Gerais, Chico Rei, and Aleijadinho. Here are a few titles in English:

Laird W. Bergad, Slavery and the Demographic and Economic History of Minas Gerais, Brazil, 1720-1888
Elizabeth W. Kiddy, Blacks of the Rosary: Memory and History in Minas Gerais, Brazil
Graciela Mann, Twelve Prophets of Aleijadinho
Arthur Ramos, The Negro in Brazil
In 1933, Brazilian classical composer Francisco Mignone created Maracatu de Chico Rei, a ballet for choir and orchestra inspired by Congados.
Videos

2011 Congado in Ouro Preto
Another Congado
Sweet homage to Chico Rei from the children of Ouro Preto, in front of Our Lady of the Rosary for the Blacks

The Ticketless Traveler: Barbados, Bajans, and Burns

Sherri Liberman, Mulberry Branch — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 07:10:51 -0400

Crystal clear, turquoise water. White powdery sand. Intoxicating rum punch.

Second degree sunburn.

What do all these things have in common? Just a smattering of experiences I recently acquired during a six-day trip to Barbados.

The Serrano ham-shaped island, about twice the size of Washington, D.C., is home to a population of roughly 280,000 people, making it one of the more populous Caribbean islands. Tourism plays a prominent role in the economy, as does manufacturing, but the nation still holds to the legacy of the sugar cane harvest and molasses production. I bought along with me to read on this trip A History of Barbados: From Amerindian Settlement to Nation-State by Hilary Beckles, which covers the political history of Barbados including earliest settlements, colonialism, slavery, independence from the UK (in 1966), and modern parliamentary government.

I saw much of the country from the windows of local buses, and spent a fair amount of time waiting at bus stations for arrivals and departures. I was charmed by the names of destinations such as "Fairy Valley" and "Pie Corner," and impressed by the orderly manner in which people lined up to board the vehicles, a far cry from the push n' shove 'em of the MTA.

When I wasn't riding buses and gawking at gorgeous landscape, I was lying prone on one or another of the gorgeous beaches that ring the Caribbean and Atlantic coastlines of Barbados. Despite the claims of my SPF 50 sunscreen, I managed to get a scorching sunburn on the entirety of my legs. The burn got me thinking about that hole in the ozone layer, so I placed a hold on the environmental treatise The End of Nature by Bill McKibben when I returned from my trip.

The interior of Barbados is hilly and covered in forested limestone, rich in flora and fauna. On a trip to the Barbados Wildlife Reserve I encountered peacocks, a bearded fig tree, tortoises, children running after and smacking the shells of tortoises, and a troop of green monkeys. One monkey cleverly divulged the presence of a banana, nestled in my friend's bag, with a swift and stealthy movement. You need not travel anywhere in particular on the island to hear the chorus of whistling tree frogs, which begin their nightly serenade at dusk until dawn. For a treat for the eyes, check out 300 Frogs: A Visual Reference to Frogs and Toads From Around the World by Chris Mattison.

Sightseeing and beachcombing are great, but no vacation is complete without copious amounts of food and drink. Fishcakes were abundant (actually more like fried fish spheres, but that doesn't roll off the tongue quite as nicely), as was to-die-for macaroni pie, and rum, the national spirit, appearing in rum punches and frothy daquiris. To explore more of the cuisine of the Caribbean, check out Caribbean Cookbook: A Lifetime of Recipes by Rita G. Springer.

We happened to be visiting Barbados just before thee annual Crop Over celebration, which marks the end of the sugar cane harvest with Carnival festivities. In conjunction with Crop Over, we caught the Pic-O-De-Crop calypso contest at Bridgetown's stately Kensington Oval — the cricket stadium. This year's monarch was a contestant named Popsicle. Much of calypso music has a tradition of social commentary, dressed up in outlandish performance. Check out some classic calypso here.

As a librarian, of course I had to stop by the public library in Bridgetown, the capital of Barbados. I was charmed to see a bona fide card catalog still in use (alongside a bank of Internet PCs, of course). What made this library special was a thorough collection of West Indian literature, both fiction and non-fiction. One title that fascinated me was a travel book called A Black Woman's Odyssey Through Russia and Jamaica: A Narrative of the Life and Travels of Ms. Nancy Prince. Ms. Prince was a free African-American woman living in Massachusettes in the decades before the Civil War. Working for abolitionist and feminist causes, she eventually moved to czarist Russia with her husband, Nero Prince, who came to Russia as a sailor and served in the Imperial Court. After returning to America a widow ten years later, Nancy Prince then set off to Jamaica as a missionary to work with newly emancipated Jamaicans. A travel odyssey indeed.

Postcards from Maine

Sherri Liberman, Mulberry Branch — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 06:49:32 -0400

The Maine of my imagination finally became a reality this summer, with a brief road trip to the land of many lobster.

After the fourth hour of highway driving towards our destination, entertainment hit a plateau. "What's the state motto of Maine?" I wondered aloud to my co-pilot.

"Dirigo," it was revealed in Google. "Which means 'I direct.' But the license plate motto is Vacationland." The former motto harkens back to a time when the North Star was still the trusty mariner's guide, and the state just joined the Union. And by extension, the delights of seaside shores, locally brewed ale, and stunning parkland had effectively guided us to Vacationland.

We first meandered along the Southern coast of Maine, with forays into the towns of Ogunquit, Wells, York, and Kennebunkport. This region boasts The Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge, and seeing the serene coastline and the wealth of waterfowl that it harbors makes it clear why Rachel Carson felt strongly enough to write Silent Spring.

Next we hit Portland, Maine. My friend and I had the pleasure of being scolded by an eagle-eyed security guard from the Portland Museum of Art for photographing the artwork (the tiny slash camera symbol, located across the wall from said objects, was out of the scope of our vision.) But before the harsh security crackdown, we managed to take in some great artworks, including Maine's own Marsden Hartley.

After Portland we headed up to the region known as Downeast, destined for Acadia National Park. The park is so far East, that the top of Acadia's Cadillac Mountain is the first location in the USA to receive the earliest rays of the sun. Acadia's scenic beauty has not surprisingly made it the location of at least seven feature films, including John Irving's The Cider House Rules.

Our hotel near Acadia National Park didn't have a working TV, so this presented a good opportunity to catch up on some reading. I bought along Ruth Reichl's memoir of being an undercover food critic for the New York Times, called Garlic and Sapphires.

Food was never far from the forefront of our minds, and eating lobster was one of the Maine reasons we came to visit. Check out the essay Consider the Lobster by David Foster Wallace (also available online at gourmet.com), where he truly captures the spirit of the annual Maine Lobster Festival.

For further reading, check out some of these other famous Maine authors:

The Ticketless Traveler: Into the Woods

Kerri Wallace — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 07:35:49 -0400

"We just passed two huge black bears on the trail. They're not cute."

My hike in Harriman State Park started off with the only concern being the chance of rain and ticks. I had packed my 99 cent rain poncho and doused myself in OFF bug spray to the amusement of my friends. I could handle seeing snakes, bucks, and other wild animals, but ticks were the last thing I wanted to find on my body or in my hair. My fears soon changed when we passed a father and daughter who mentioned the two black bears they had come upon, which unfortunately happened to be in the direction we were headed. On we pressed, clapping our hands and serenading the hiding bears with today's greatest hits and a new song we named "We Love Bears." Fortunately for us, we did not run into the uncuddly bears.

I live within driving distance of many great trails and parks, but have never taken advantage of the free activities that are available. A few years ago, a friend and I decided to take a walk at the Ramapo Reservation on a beautiful spring day. After strolling around for an hour, we realized that we had no idea where we were, but managed to back track to our starting point. It was during that scary moment of feeling lost that I realized there's a lot more to hiking then just throwing on a pair of sneakers and walking around aimlessly. Soon after, I became obsessed wtih this outdoor activity.

Hiking is a great way to clear your mind and is usually an inexpensive getaway. But don't let living in New York City stop you from escaping this urban jungle and finding the great outdoors. Listed below are some great resources and tips to get you out on the trails.

Hiking readling list:

AMC's Best Day Hikes Near New York City: Four-Season Guide to 50 of the Best Trails in New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey by Dan Case
Appalachian Trail Guide to New York-New Jersey by Daniel Chazin
The Hiking Companion by Michael W. Robbins
Hiking the Road to Ruins: Day Trips and Camping Adventures to Iron Mines, Old Military Sites, and Things Abandoned in the New York City Area—And Beyond by David A. Steinberg.
A Journey North: One Woman's Story of Hiking the Appalachian Trail by Adrienne Hall
A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson

Online resources:

A few of my favorite hikes:

Appalachian Trail / Major Welch Trail (strenuous but amazing views!). These directions suggest that you start at the Major Welch Trail, which is very steep and challenging. As an alternate suggestion, you can also start at the Appalachian Trail, take in the view at the top of Bear Mountain, and come back down the way you came up. For the non-hikers, you can also drive up to Perkins Tower.

1777 E Doodletown Bridal Loop from Route 9W (easy to moderate). I just love saying Doodletown. Doodletown was an old mining community and you can still see remains of the foundations. If you see a sign for the waterfall, be sure to take a quick detour and check it out!

The Great Stairs (challenging). Like all hikes, but most importantly this particular hike, it is very important that you wear very good hiking boots. The Palisades are very steep when climbing up and down. The rock scrambles and stairs can be very slippery, especially during the fall season.

Shore Trail / Long Path Loop via Carpenters Trail (moderate). Walk along the Hudson River on a beautiful day! The Carpenters Trail is very easy to miss, but even if you decide to just walk along the Shore Trail it will be a really great experience. If you're looking for a good workout, the Carpenters Trail will lead you to the top of the Palisades' cliffs.

Wild things are out there:

Black bears
Coyotes
Deer
Poison ivy, oak, and sumac
Snakes
Ticks and other creepy crawlers
Smithsonian Wild (Hidden camera shots of animals in the wild, includes the Adirondacks of New York)

Be sure to check out some of these suggested books and websites so you know what to bring and what to wear. Just remember to be prepared, be aware of your surroundings, stay hydrated, and have lots of fun! It's the same advice my mother gave me when I started working in the city.

A Reading List for New Orleans

Karen Rose Ginman, Mid-Manhattan Library — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 08:45:15 -0400

Regina Spektor's music, summer nights, and NYC are intertwined inside of me. As the air grows warm, I find myself listening to her music as she sings of summer in the city and selling butterflies on street corners. This summer, I am attending my first American Library Association Annual Conference in New Orleans. I am bursting with pure joy to visit such a literary and musical city while attending my first professional conference. I have had a few summers in this city, and now I am ready to experience a small slice of another.

To prepare for the conference, I am reading books and articles with New Orleans as a theme. I am also watching films, television shows, and documentaries about New Orleans. I don't pretend that reading and watching these things will help me to completely understand the city. Yet, I want to give the city and the people who make it so wonderful the respect they deserve by preparing for my visit. I will just be a "tourist" (a terrible thing for most New Yorkers) in New Orleans, but at least I will be a well-read tourist.

As for the list below, I have inlcuded things that I have already read or seen, along with things that I am currently reading (and will be reading when I get back). The conference starts with the Keynote speaker, Dan Savage, who is a sex columnist, author, editor, and activist, whom I admire as much as Ira Glass (and I didn't think that was possible). I have included Mr. Savage on my list because he is funny, admirable, and worthy of recommendation. Please comment on the blog and include more suggestions for the list!

Dan Savage:

Viewing List:

Treme
When the Levees Broke
True Blood: Seasons 1, 2 & 3
Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans
Easy Rider
Panic in the Streets
The Skeleton Key

Non-Fiction Reading List:

Fiction Reading List:

Music:

Food:

Articles by Francis Lam (disclaimer: we have a mutual friend, but I have not met Mr. Lam, so I am still partially objective):

For a more complete list of works with New Orleans in mind, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Orleans_in_fiction

The Ticketless Traveler: Ohio

Lauren Lampasone, Reference and Research Services — Wed, 25 May 2011 06:31:07 -0400

Ohio is not that far from New York... two or three states away, depending how you drive. But you wouldn't know it by talking to any native New Yorker. It might as well be Iowa, or Idaho, they all kind of sound the same. "Flyover country."

Ohio is considered part of the Midwest, though it seems strange to me to be lumped in with North Dakota and Missouri, places I've never been. Ohio is the huge metal buckle of the rust belt, a swath of former industrial cities that surround the Great Lakes. I hail from the rubber capitol of the world, and my grandfathers worked for competing tire manufacturers.

And you know what? There are hundreds, thousands of expat Ohioans in New York City. I mean I bet there are. We don't go around bragging about it, even though we totally could.

Fiction

The Coast of Akron by Adrienne Miller: a fantastical parallel-universe kind of Akron in which the wealthy Haven family has fallen from grace.
The Broom of the System by David Foster Wallace: there is an even more weirdly unrecognizable near-future version of Cleveland (it abuts the Great Ohio Desert, or G.O.D.) in DFW's first novel.
Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson.
Other writers from the Buckeye state: Ambrose Bierce, O. Henry, Toni Morrison, Dawn Powell, James Thurber.
Cartoonist Bill Watterson.

Poetry

Hart Crane, Rita Dove, Nikki Giovanni, Langston Hughes... or log in to Columbia Grangers and do an Advanced Search with Ohio as the subject.

A map of literary Ohio.

Nonfiction

Ian Frazier is an Ohio to NYC transplant and a former NYPL Cullman Fellow! He writes for the New Yorker, and has published numerous books of essays and longer nonfiction.
Harvey Pekar wrote autobiographical comic books in collaboration with artists like R. Crumb and others.
All the Way Home: Building a Family in a Falling-Down House by David Giffels: documents the restoration of a Gilded Age mansion by the journalist and former writer for Beavis and Butt-Head.
Bags That Rock: Knitting on the Road with Kelley Deal: Listen to the Breeders while you knit.
The Ohio Knitting Mills by Steven Tatar with Denise Grollmus: sweater patterns and historical materials from the archives of the Ohio Knitting Mills, producer for many major department stores in the mid-20th century.
More Ohio Social Life and Customs and Ohio History & Culture - the auto industry, the Browns, Soap Box Derby, Hopewell culture...

Music

Cleveland is home to the The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame & Museum; according to legend DJ Alan Freed first popularized the term "rock & roll" there and it was the site of the first concert. For more, try Hang On Sloopy: The History of Rock & Roll in Ohio by Nick Talevski. Some famous (and infamous) musicians from Ohio include:

Ohio is a Piano - map of 88 counties that you can play like an instrument.

Movies

American Splendor - also a comic book series written by the aforementioned Harvey Pekar.
Howard the Duck - really just included because of what may be the best library subject heading ever? "Ducks -- Ohio -- Cleveland -- Drama"
Major League - for all you Charlie Sheen/Tribe fans out there
Stranger than Paradise - A journey from NYC → Cleveland → Florida, directed by Akronite Jim Jarmusch
Welcome to Collinwood - ensemble crime comedy caper

Television

The Drew Carey Show
Ghoulardi (also known as P.T. Anderson's dad; see Wikipedia entry)
Glee
Hot in Cleveland
WKRP in Cincinnati

Food

Sauerkraut Balls, Cincinnati Chili, Buckeye Candy, "pop."

Travel

Forbes Travel Guide: Southern Great Lakes
Lost Ohio: More Travels into Haunted Landscapes, Ghost Towns, and Forgotten Lives by Randy McNutt
Ohio Curiosities: Quirky Characters, Roadside Oddities, & Other Offbeat Stuff by Sandra Gurvis
Ohio WPA Guides

Ohio Society of New York, I know you're out there. What else would you add to this list?

Do you enjoy The Ticketless Traveler? You might also like State By State: A Panoramic Portrait of America and Book Lust to Go: Recommended Reading for Travelers, Vagabonds, and Dreamers.

The Ticketless Traveler: Louisville, Kentucky

Corinne Neary, Jefferson Market Library — Tue, 03 May 2011 13:30:18 -0400

The first Saturday of May is approaching, and with it comes derby day in Louisville, Kentucky, the city where I was born. It's a time when celebrities flock to town, the bars stay open all night, and the nation focuses on Louisville for the two minutes the Kentucky Derby takes to run. These books, films, and recording artists will give you a little bit of Kentucky any time of year.

Hunter S. Thompson. Born and raised in Louisville, he penned the 1970 article "The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved." Johnny Depp, also a Kentucky native, played Thompson in the film adaptation of his Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream.

F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. Daisy Buchanan was a Louisville debutante. When she married Tom Buchanan, he reserved an entire floor of the Seelbach hotel for his guests.

Musicians connected with Louisville

Will Oldham. This Louisville native has been putting out records since 1993, first under the name of Palace Brothers, then as Bonnie 'Prince' Billy.

Some Louisvillians contend that Guns N' Roses' song "Paradise City" is in fact about Louisville. While there doesn't seem to be any real evidence of this, I choose to believe it.

Slint. A Lousville band from the 1990s. The cover of their album Spiderland is a photo taken by Will Oldham.

Silver Jews. David Berman's project, with Pavement's Stephen Malkmus and Bob Nastanovich, among others. In the song "Tennessee" Berman sings "You know Louisville is death; We've got to up and move, cause the dead do not improve."

She's not associated with Louisville, but it would be impossible to publish a Kentucky list without "Butcher Holler" native Loretta Lynn. A Kentucky hero, she has been releasing albums since 1963.

Sissy Spacek earned an Academy Award for her portrayal of Loretta Lynn in Coal Miner's Daughter (1980) and Tommy Lee Jones played her husband, Doolittle Lynn. In "Story of my life" on her 2004 album Van Lear Rose (with The White Stripes' Jack White), she sang about the film: "Some big shot from Hollywood thought a movie about my life would be good. It was a big hit, made a big splash, what I wanna know is what happened to the cash."

Movies filmed (though not necessarily set) in Louisville

Stripes. (1981) Bill Murray's memorable taxi scene was filmed on the streets of Louisville, ending with his stopping on the bridge to Indiana and throwing the car's keys into the Ohio river.

Sheba Baby (1975) starring Pam Grier, and directed by William Girdler, a Kentucky native who shot several films in Louisville.

The Insider (1999) directed by Michael Mann, starring Al Pacino and Russell Crowe. A thriller revolving around the tobacco industry.

Elizabethtown (2005) starring Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst. "E-town" is an hour's drive south, but much of this movie was filmed in Louisville.

The Ticketless Traveler: American Road Trip

Marie C. Hansen, Jefferson Market Library — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 12:14:52 -0400

Sometimes it isn't about the destination. Here's a list of all things that take me on a mental trip across America's highways.

Books:

On The Road by Jack Kerouac: The quintessential American road-trip novel. Read about the adventures of Dean Moriarty and Sal Paradise in the standard form or in the form of the original 120 foot long scroll.

You Can't Win by Jack Black: Before cars & motorcycles, people took road-trips the old-fashioned way—hopping freight-trains. Written by a Depression Era hobo and criminal, this book was a major influence on "Old Bull Lee".

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson: Grapefruit, Hawaiian shirts, and psychedelics! Thompson and his lawyer run wild around Las Vegas & the surrounding areas looking for the American Dream.

Movies:

Two-Lane Blacktop: Two gearheads known only to the viewer as "The Driver" (played by a young James Taylor) and "The Mechanic" (played by Beach Boy Dennis Wilson) drag-race their way across the United States in a 1955 Chevy. A brooding, existential film with minimal dialogue.

Easy Rider: Ground-breaking and age-defining, Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda play two hippies biking across the U.S. in the late 1960s.

Natural Born Killers: Serial killers, running wild across the country! Ahhh!

Pee-Wee's Big Adventure: A young man's desperate struggle to re-claim his stolen bike. Are you calling me "low-brow" for mentioning this movie? Well, I know you are, but what am I?

Music:

There is nothing like getting in your car and blasting Steppenwolf's Born to Be Wild to really get a roadtrip started. Check it out on the Easy Rider soundtrack or on a studio album.

Creedence Clearwater Revival, with John Fogerty's soulful voice singing songs about the Mississippi River and being stuck in backwoods towns, always makes me feel like I'm donning an American-Flag backpatch and carrying a fiddle.

"The Passenger" by Iggy Pop on the Lust for Life album is the audible version of looking out a car window at the city at night. Oh let's ride and ride and ride.

"Another State of Mind" Social Distortion's homage to touring in a punk van can be found in NYPL collections via their live album.

Almost all of Johnny Cash's music makes me think of driving, but for this road trip, check out his America album and travel through the states and 200 years of history. It's School House Rock, Cash-style!

I can't believe I am mentioning this in a public forum but, Meatloaf's second album Bat Out of Hell has some great road-trip songs. Paradise By the Dashboard Light, anyone?

Don't like my taste in music? I'll let you take control of the dial.

Start Traveling with the Help From NYPL’s Periodical Collections!

Raymond Pun, Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, General Research Division — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 14:08:09 -0400

Sick of NYC’s cold weather? Got the traveling bug in you? Why not stop by the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building to check out our latest travel magazines for the newest tips, trips, and activities abroad? With over 100 international, regional and local traveling magazines, the DeWitt Wallace Periodicals Division can help you plan your next destinations!

We have magazines from Alaska to Florida; from Seattle to Philadelphia; from Boston to San Diego and everything in between: state and city! If you are planning a trip soon or not sure where or what to do, these magazines also cover current events, leisurely activities and entertainment for the entire family. We also subscribe to periodicals from San Francisco, Chicago, Pittsburgh, Portland, Cincinnati, St. Louis, Santa Barbara, New Orleans, New York, Nevada, Cleveland, Vermont, Santa Fe, Oklahoma, Palm Beach, Connecticut, New Jersey and Washington D.C.; just to name a few. One can leisurely browse through over fifty of the most popular city magazines from all over the USA (including commonwealth territories). For general travel magazines, we have Travel and Leisure, Outdoor Life, and National Geographic Traveler.

To search for a list of travel magazines, go to our catalog, switch keyword to subject, type in “travel – periodicals” and change “entire collection” to “Stephen A. Schwarzman Building.” You will get several subject headings and the first result will have over 100+ titles.

When searching for relevant titles, be sure to look at the dates and locations of the publication. You can also directly search for magazines under journal title or simply type the name of the state or city under the subject search. (Example: “Nevada – Periodicals”) If you are still finding difficulties locating a magazine from a specific town, please contact us. In addition to the periodicals collection, there are also travel maps, guides and directories available in the Map Division in Room 119.

The Library needs your support! If you can financially contribute to this growing and historical collection of traveling magazines (free and open to the public!) please donate here.

The Ticketless Traveler: Suburbia

Frank Collerius, Jefferson Market Library — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 08:09:29 -0400

Whether you grew up there or just read about it in books or seen it in the movies, Suburbia is a most definite and unique place. With these books, movies and CDs you can visit without ever having to take the Long Island Railroad! So if you did grow up there—maybe it’s time to go home again. And if you didn’t—scroll through this list and see what you missed!

Movies

Edward Scissorhands Satirical, but loving, view of the 'burbs—a fairy tale too!
American Beauty Angst, recriminations, desire, murder—suburbia!
Nightmare on Elm Street Sometimes the horror is very, very real.
Far From Heaven '50s suburbia retold—with no reading between the lines.
Judy Berlin Starring Edie Falco and filmed on Long Island. The director has a new movie about suburbia out right now—take a look.
Strangers When We Meet Kim Novak and Kirk Douglas, bored in suburbia, find each other.
And finally! some comedy: Fast Times at Ridgemont High '80s teens look for love, fun and meaning in the 'burbs—great early Sean Penn performance.

Books

The Stories of John Cheever by John Cheever. The master of ennui, backyards and yearning.
Appointment in Samarra by John O’Hara. Early suburbia - life in a 1930s commuter community.
The Rabbit Series by John Updike. Updike once said his style was to give "the mundane its beautiful due."
American Pastoral by Philip Roth. How the '50s became the turbulent '60s through one family's story.
Flesh and Blood by Michael Cunningham. A family saga as only the great Cunningham can articulate it.

Non-Fiction

American Dreamscape and Suburban Nation lay out how it all happened and what went wrong—and right!
The photographer Gregory Crewdson displays vivid, surreal, poignant images of small town and suburban life.

Books into Movies

The Stepford Wives and the movie: Funny, yes, but ultimately a harrowing evocation of the quest for exterior perfection.
The Ice Storm and the movie: Fave moment: Remember when you had to commit to a TV channel—because changing it meant getting up and turning the dial?
Little Children and the movie: Affairs of the heart, obsession and childcare: all suburban issues.
Revolutionary Road and the movie: The apotheosis of the suburban novel—intense. (More on that in Robert's post.)

Music

Justin Bieber Since Ricky Nelson and David Cassidy, teen idols have been blasting from suburban bedrooms.
American Idiot Green Day's broadway show about the kids in the 'burbs.
Pet Shop Boys Well, they have a song called Suburbia!
Hair Metal: RATT, Motley Crue and Def Leppard. Air guitar in the bedroom while tossing your hair from side to side—rock out suburbia!