1 Sept 2021
Hard Cover New York: How some great authors conceived of and portrayed the City
On this week’s show we will explore how some of America’s great authors thought of and portrayed New York City in their writing.
My solo guest will be Rediscovering New York regular and the show’s Special Consultant, David Griffin, Founder and CEO of Landmark Branding (https://landmarkbranding.com).
Tune in for this fascinating conversation at TalkRadio.nyc (http://talkradionyc.msnd26.com/tracking/lc/55a823b6-3838-404f-b133-bd448f75a057/e39b8abf-4cb7-426c-827f-565623b8b2bd/f25fc686-2a52-46eb-9d50-40591187f976/) or watch the Facebook Livestream by Clicking Here (http://talkradionyc.msnd26.com/tracking/lc/55a823b6-3838-404f-b133-bd448f75a057/f11cbce9-fc3b-4426-81b4-cdefcddbb9df/f25fc686-2a52-46eb-9d50-40591187f976/).
Segment 1
Jeff introduces the topic of today's episode about portrayals of New York by authors, as well as introduces the guest for today’s episode David Griffin, the Founder and CEO of Landmark Branding. David retells how he became interested in architecture history, as well as what drew him to New York architecture history specifically. David brings up how living history can be experienced through architecture and buildings. Jeff outlines how the two have picked out five specific authors and their depictions of New York, and that this might be part one of two depending on how many authors they get through in today’s episode. The two start off with F. Scott Fitzgerald and his most well known novel The Great Gatsby. David explains what about The Great Gatsby makes it a quintessential New York book. He continues to explain how New York City is not described in concrete terms within the novel, in part as the book is a Long Island book rather than a New York City, but it is still a quintessential New York book, for the themes of the book. Throughout the book Fitzgerald focuses on how those who live in the suburbs on Long Island interact with the city. David continues to explain how the Plaza Hotel is the New York Landmark that Fitzgerald makes use of the most. The two discuss other New York landmarks that can be found throughout The Great Gatsby.
Segment 2
Jeff and David discuss the valley of ashes within The Great Gatsby, and why Fitzgerald might have included it as much as he did within the novel. David explains the different motifs and symbols found within the valley of ashes, and how this scene is written poetically. The two continue to talk about the real life version of the valley of ashes, which is an ash dump in Corona, NY. Jeff and David continue on to discuss other aspects of New York that Fitzgerald portrays in The Great Gatsby, including what is now considered Washington Heights where the character Mabel lived in. David brings up the original cover of the novel that depicted Coney Island, which Fitzgerald wasn’t happy with as he removed the section of the novel that included Coney Island, and the history behind the cover that lead to Fitzgerlad keeping that cover.
Segment 3
Jeff starts off the segment by thanking the sponsors, as well as requesting the listeners to feel free to reach out to him about the show. Jeff and David discuss David’s recent articles that he has had published in different publications. The two then begin discussing the second author they had picked out, Joseph Mitchell. David explains that Joseph Mitchell was an important figure in New York writing and journalism, as he was one of the first writers for the New Yorker. Mitchell was an important figure in the change of how journalism was written through the school of writing that diverged from how the high end newspapers of London wrote their articles. David explains Mitchell’s journey through journalism and how he worked for the New Yorker up until his death. Jeff and David discuss the kinds of things that Mitchell wrote, and how he was most interested in the outcasts of New York rather than the glitz and glam other journalists focused on. They also discuss Mitchell’s later years of writing
Segment 4
The two discuss the other aspects of Mitchell’s life, including the play he wrote for Broadway and the different societies he was a part of. David goes in depth about the racist slur for the Roma people, who Mitchell was sympathetic for but continued to use that slur. The two also discuss Mitchell’s love for the waterfront, and his time spent there and how much effort he put towards the preservation of the waterfront and the architecture there. The two end the episode with discussing how Mitchell’s love of New York City impacted his writing style.
