Literary Geography

I've decided that I'm going to try to do a better job of updating the blog on a regular basis, posting some smaller things in between the longer meditations. Consider this to be my first effort to achieve that goal:

One of the more enjoyable things about living in New York City is that, wherever you are, you can probably think of a movie, book, or television show that took place there. Christ, you can't go two feet without coming across something mentioned in Seinfeld. A few months ago, my roommate and I were stuck inside as a result of one of this past winter's larger snowstorms, watching a random Whoopi Goldberg movie from the 1980s. "Hey, check it out," he said. "That's the church on the other side of our block." Sure enough, on the screen I could recognize the spires that I see from my window almost every day.

This morning's Times Book Review section featured an interactive Literary Map of Manhattan, which I find to be very, very cool, though you might have to register to view it. You can click just about anywhere on the map of Manhattan and it will show you the literary "event" that took place there, and supplies the novel's corresponding passage. All the greats are there: Salinger, Kerouac, Fitzgerald, etc., but I can't help but think there are hundreds (if not thousands) of pertinent entries that they've failed to catalog. Oh well, I guess they couldn't include everything.

I get a huge kick out of discovering the nexus between fiction and geography. Case in point: after reading The Mysteries of Pittsburgh (mentioned in yesterday's post) when I lived at home a few summers ago, I spent an entire week visiting all of the places glamorized in the book. I was absolutely floored when I discovered that The Lost Neighborhood sits only a few hundred yards from where I went to high school. I finally met Michael Chabon in February, and it turned out to be quite the scene. Well, for me, at least. More on that in about a month or so, after I reread Mysteries.

Coming soon: On the NBA Playoffs; Aaron Karo Is a Douchebag.