James Murray and Karla Murray talk about their photography exhibition of New York storefronts at the Clic Gallery. Sara Wheeler talks about her journey through the Arctic. Poet Kevin Young discusses his narrative re-telling of the Amistad slave revolt. Jacques d'Amboise talks about his decades-long career with the New York City Ballet.
Store Fronts
Photographers James Murray and Karla Murray spent more than ten years photographing the distinctive facades of family-run shops in neighborhoods throughout the five boroughs. In Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York, they collect these images to paint a portrait of the ever-changing demographics of New York City.
Images from Store Front are currently on display at the Clic Bookstore and Gallery until March 27th.
The Magnetic North
Travel writer Sara Wheeler uncovers the beautiful, brutal reality of the Arctic in her latest book, The Magnetic North: Notes from the Arctic Circle. Wheeler travels with the crew of a Russian icebreaker, herds reindeer across the tundra with the Lapps, and shadows the Trans-Atlantic pipeline with truckers, all in an effort to understand the role of the Arctic in public and in private life.
Re-telling a Revolt
National Book Award finalist Kevin Young explores the complicated history of the Amistad slave rebellion in Ardency: A Chronicle of the Amistad Rebels. The book-length poem focuses on two helmsman: Cinque, the leader of the slave-ship mutiny, and James Covey, a North African who served as a translator for the jailed rebels. It's the fruit of over 20 years of historical research into the uprising.
I Was A Dancer
Jacques d'Amboise, one of America's most celebrated dancers, discusses his decades-long career with the New York City Ballet. In his memoir, I Was A Dancer, he recounts his early years as a student at The School of American Ballet and his years as George Balanchine's protege, during which time Balanchine choreographed more works for him than any other dancer.
Guest Picks: Jacques d'Amboise
Jacques d'Amboise was recently on The Leonard Lopate Show to discuss his new book "I Was A Dancer" and discussed some of his favorite picks with us!
Manhattan: Place of Inebriation
The origins of the name Manhattan are a murky business. Today, Leonard spoke to James and Karla Murray, who have set about documenting the varied store fronts of New York's rapidly disappearing mom-and-pop stores. As part of their book, Store Front: The Disappearing Face of New York, they include historical descriptions of New York's neighborhoods. In addition to the interesting tidbits and trivia (who knew that the Yonah Schimmel Knish Bakery was still making yogurt with a culture brought over from Romania in the 1890s?), I was surprised to find out that the origins of present-day Manhattan could be traced to so many different words. Here's a sample of the few the Murrays named:
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