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Literature

Urban Cries: Street Hawkers’ Shouts in New York & London

November 23, 2020 by Jaap Harskamp 1 Comment

The Cryes of the City of LondonPictures of street hawkers with their trade shouts recorded in captions of poetry or prose are known as “Cries.” They first appeared in Paris around 1500. This early creation of an urban iconography included socially marginal people such as vagrants, beggars, prostitutes, and others.

Fifty years later, these images were established as a stylistic category across Europe. Eventually, they would make their way to New York. [Read more…] about Urban Cries: Street Hawkers’ Shouts in New York & London

Filed Under: Arts, Capital-Saratoga, History, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: art, Immigration, Instagram, Labor History, Literature, Poetry, poverty

Slang, Stirrups, Paris in the 20s, and the Invention of the Bloody Mary

November 9, 2020 by Jaap Harskamp 1 Comment

An American Jockey paintingAlthough much remains unclear about the origins of Cockney rhyming slang, there is a consensus that it stems from London’s East End, dates back to the 1840s, and is alive and thriving. One slang expression reads “on one’s tod,” meaning: on one’s own; all alone. The phrase is a shortened version of the original “on one’s Tod Sloan.”

In full, these four words offer a multi-colored mosaic of socio-cultural events involving Manhattan, London, and Paris. [Read more…] about Slang, Stirrups, Paris in the 20s, and the Invention of the Bloody Mary

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Capital-Saratoga, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: Cultural History, Horses, liquor, Literature, Manhattan, Music, New York Symphony, Social History, sports, Sports History

The Inspiration Behind Ichabod Crane And The Headless Horseman (Podacst)

August 21, 2020 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

a new york minute in history podcastIn the third episode of the podcast series Legends and Lore of the Empire State, A New York Minute In History explores the inspirations behind Washington Irving’s Headless Horseman and Ichabod Crane from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (1820). [Read more…] about The Inspiration Behind Ichabod Crane And The Headless Horseman (Podacst)

Filed Under: History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, New York City Tagged With: Folklore, Literature, Podcasts, Westchester County

NYS Writers Hall of Fame Induction Postponed

May 31, 2020 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Center for the Book

The Empire State Center for the Book has decided to postpone its annual event honoring inductees to the New York State Writers Hall of Fame due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The group said the decision was made in consultation with its co-sponsor and collaborator the New York State Writers Institute at the State University at Albany.  Organizers say it will be the first time in 11 years the induction ceremony has not taken place. [Read more…] about NYS Writers Hall of Fame Induction Postponed

Filed Under: Arts, Capital-Saratoga, History Tagged With: Books, Cultural History, Literature, NYS Writers Institute, Writers Hall of Fame

New York’s Black Othello, Ira Aldridge

April 13, 2020 by Jaap Harskamp Leave a Comment

Ira Aldridge as OthelloOn March 25, 1833, the celebrated Shakespearian actor Edmund Kean collapsed on stage at London’s Covent Garden while playing the role of Othello. He died shortly thereafter.

Sixteen days later, New York-born Ira Frederick Aldridge – known as the ‘Negro Tragedian’ – was asked to replace him as the Moor. His chequered career in England coincided with the final push towards the abolition of the slave trade there. [Read more…] about New York’s Black Othello, Ira Aldridge

Filed Under: Adirondacks & NNY, Arts, Capital-Saratoga, History, Hudson Valley - Catskills, Mohawk Valley, New York City, Western NY Tagged With: Black History, Literature, Performing Arts, Poetry, Slavery, Theatre

Words From Underground: Madness and the OED

March 15, 2020 by Jaap Harskamp 1 Comment

William Chester Minor c 1900In the first edition of his Dictionary of the English Language (1755) the term lexicographer is defined by Samuel Johnson as a ‘harmless drudge that busies himself in … detailing the signification of words’. A dunce, in other words. Really?

Rogue’s Lexicon

Born in New York, George Washington Matsell was the son of an immigrant family from Helhoughton (near Fakenham), Norfolk. His father ran a bookshop on Broadway. Following in his footsteps, George opened up his own premises on Chatham Street, Manhattan (renamed Park Row in 1886). A man of words (in 1866 he acquired ownership of the National Police Gazette), he also took an interest in matters of law and order. He became a magistrate in 1840 and was appointed the first Commissioner of the New York City Police Department after its formation in 1844. [Read more…] about Words From Underground: Madness and the OED

Filed Under: History, New York City Tagged With: Crime and Justice, Journalism, Literature, Public Health

Langston Hughes, Paul Robeson, and Hazel Scott in 1940s Binghamton

January 13, 2020 by Richard White Leave a Comment

Langston Hughes receiving the Spingarn Medal from the NAACP in 1946 “Whether Binghamton appreciates good music and other cultural programs was a matter of dispute today.” This observation in The Binghamton Press on May 3, 1946 arose when the newspaper interviewed residents about an upcoming music festival.

If the newspaper had conducted the same interview when Langston Hughes, Paul Robeson, and Hazel Scott presented their “cultural programs” one year earlier, there would not have been many negative responses. As the Second World War drew to a close, the city welcomed three iconic African American artists. [Read more…] about Langston Hughes, Paul Robeson, and Hazel Scott in 1940s Binghamton

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Binghamton, Black History, Cultural History, Literature, NAACP, Performing Arts

Moll Flanders in Manhattan (Daniel Defoe and Martin Scorcese)

January 7, 2020 by Jaap Harskamp 2 Comments

moll flanders

Daniel Defoe’s The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders (1722) is the story of the notorious life and ultimate repentance of a woman who lived much of her adult life as a prostitute and thief. Set in London, the novel reflects immigrant urban life. It’s a tale told by a woman who does not reveal her real name, but to fellow streetwalkers she is known as Moll Flanders.

She was just six months old when her mother was imprisoned for stealing three pieces of fine “Holland” (imported Dutch fabric) from a draper in Cheapside. The baby was “sold” and spent time in the company of “gypsies” before running off as a child ending up in Colchester. The story starts amid the textile industry of Colchester and Norwich, noted for its refugees from the Low Countries. [Read more…] about Moll Flanders in Manhattan (Daniel Defoe and Martin Scorcese)

Filed Under: History, New York City Tagged With: Books, Film History, Literature, Manhattan, Pop Culture History, Vice

Emily Dickinson’s Gardening Life

December 6, 2019 by Bob Cudmore Leave a Comment

The Historians LogoThis week on The Historians Podcast, Marta McDowell discusses her book about a 19th century American poet, Emily Dickinson’s Gardening Life. McDowell was gardener-in-residence last year at the Emily Dickinson Museum in Amherst, Massachusetts. [Read more…] about Emily Dickinson’s Gardening Life

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Books, Gardens - Landscape Architecture, Landscape Architecture, Literature, Podcasts

Large-Scale Projection Celebrating Albany Film, Literary History Planned

November 25, 2019 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

projection mapping of stained glass imagery on the Notre Dame Cathedral in Rouen France

A large-scale video projection on UAlbany’s Science Library will celebrate the unique cultural history of the Capital Region and Albany’s contribution to film and literary history.

Using sophisticated computer 3-D mapping and high-performance projectors, the projection mapping display will illuminate the 195-foot wide, 45-foot high exterior of the building, located on the University’s Washington Avenue uptown campus.

[Read more…] about Large-Scale Projection Celebrating Albany Film, Literary History Planned

Filed Under: Capital-Saratoga, Events, History Tagged With: Albany, Film History, Literature, NYS Writers Institute, SUNY Albany, video projection

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