Top 10 literary destinations
These Top 10 literary destinations have either been the home or inspiration to many of the greatest writers in Western civilization, and feature remarkable attractions as tributes to those authors, for travellers to enjoy today.
1. Great Expectations: London, England
London was the birthplace or home of many
of the greatest authors of all time, including Charles Dickens, Geoffrey
Chaucer, John Milton, John Keats and HG Wells, to name a few. Visitors can stop
by the home of Dickens, see the house where Benjamin Johnson wrote the first
comprehensive English dictionary, or go on one of many guided walks that let
you follow in Sherlock Holmes’ footsteps.
2. Some are Born Great:
Stratford-upon-Avon, England
Birthplace of William Shakespeare,
Stratford-upon-Avon is a Mecca for the literature enthusiast. Travellers can
catch a glimpse into The Bard’s early life, see the magnificent Royal
Shakespeare Company perform, or pay tribute to the father of modern literature
at his final resting place.
3. The Game is Afoot: Edinburgh, Scotland
We have Edinburgh authors to thank for
some of the world’s most beloved stories and characters, from Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes to J K Rowling’s Harry Potter. Take a walking tour of
Edinburgh’s medieval Old Town to learn about Scottish literary characters and
history, or celebrate the contributions of authors Robert Burns, Sir Walter
Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson at the Writer’s Museum. Paving stones
approaching the museum commemorate Scottish writers.
4. Portals of Discovery: Dublin, Ireland
Dublin’s greatest authors from Yeats to
Heaney have often used their home city as their inspiration, evident in James
Joyce’s Dubliners and Jonathan Swift’s satirical A Modest Proposal. Literature
enthusiasts will want to make the pilgrimages to the James Joyce Tower and House,
as well as visit the Dublin Writers’ Museum and the National Library of
Ireland.
Manhattan Bridge over East River
5. A Wink of the Eye: New York, New York
Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg once hung
out in New York’s White Horse Tavern, Arthur Miller, Norman Mailer and John
Ashbery called the city home, and the Harlem Renaissance surfaced
African-American literary greats like Richard Wright and Langston Hughes. Take
a literary walking tour of Greenwich Village or immerse yourself in the New
York Public Library’s immense collection.
6. Live Free: Concord, Massachusetts
A unique destination for its small size
and depth of literary history, Concord is the site of Walden Pond, inspiration
for Thoreau’s “Walden,” and the house where Louisa May Alcott wrote Little
Women. Ralph Waldo Emerson and Nathaniel Hawthorne also called Concord home in
the 1800s, and for the ultimate literary pilgrimage, visit the final resting
places of all these literary giants in the Author’s Ridge section of the Sleepy
Hollow Cemetery.
7. Absorbed in Thought: Paris, France
Paris’ literary history – from French
authors like Victor Hugo, Voltaire, and Alexander Dumas to Americans such as
Gertrude Stein, Ernest Hemingway, F Scott Fitzgerald and others of the ‘Lost
Generation’- is rich and diverse. With its famous book stalls (Les
Bouquinistes) lining the Seine, and famed literary cafes like les Deux Magots,
frequented by greats like Hemingway and Albert Camus, the City of Light’s
literary vibe lives on.
Historic Beat-era Vesuvio Cafe is a must-see
in San Francisco
8. See with the Eyes of Angels: San
Francisco, California
No top 10 literary destinations list
would be complete without a nod to San Francisco. When Ginsberg and Kerouac
moved from New York to San Francisco, they brought their new literary style
with them, establishing the city as a new hub of the “Beat Generation.” See the
site of their famed first poetry reading, along with others of their circle
like Philip Whalen, at the Six Gallery, or visit the popular City Lights
Bookstore, founded by Beat poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti, which brings writing and
progressive politics together. Buy a copy of Howl at City Lights Books, read it
over a beer at the Vesuvio Cafe, you might be sitting in a seat where Kerouac
sat.
9. Time Flies: Rome, Italy
Birthplace of some of the world’s most
influential literature, Rome was home to ancient greats like Virgil, who penned
The Aeneid. But Rome’s literary importance has continued to the present day,
with foreign authors like Keats, Shelley, James and many more coming to draw
inspiration from the centre of the ancient world. Be sure to visit the
Keats-Shelley House on Rome’s historic Spanish Steps, a site visited by many
other authors and artists throughout history.
The former imperial capital of Russia has a
rich artistic heritage
10. Beauty is Mysterious: St Petersburg,
Russia
With its remarkable history highlighted
by Leo Tolstoy, Anton Chekhov, Alexander Pushkin and Fyodor Dostoevsky, St
Petersburg is a renowned literary destination. Dostoevsky inhabited a number of
apartments throughout the city, and in his last, where he wrote The Brothers
Karamazov, there is now a museum dedicated to his life. Walking tours also
allow visitors to see the city through the famous author’s eyes. Refresh your
memory of the tales and cast in the stories as told by Gogol and Dostoevsky and
others and you will see most of the locations, streets and even boarding houses
just as described.
8 Iconic Literary Landmarks To Visit In Alabama
At one time in the not-too-distant past, Alabama was called “the State of Surprises.” It was a marketing idea cooked up by the state’s department of tourism — and it worked.
Tourists discovered incredible mountain
landscapes, beautiful turquoise Gulf waters and snowy white beaches, and
eclectic city life in the state’s “big four” cities — Mobile, Montgomery,
Birmingham, and Huntsville.
But visitors to the state had one more
surprise waiting for them. They discovered that Alabama also has a rich
literary history.
Here are eight iconic
1. The Scott And Zelda Fitzgerald Museum,
Montgomery
The name of F. Scott Fitzgerald
immediately conjures up memories of his most famous novel, The Great Gatsby, a
tale set in the Jazz Age that is considered by many to be the great American
novel. You might not link Alabama with Fitzgerald, but think again.
Fitzgerald and his wife, Zelda, who was a
Montgomery native, visited the state’s capital city many times and lived there
from 1931 to 1932 while they worked on their novels Tender Is the Night and
Save Me the Waltz.
Today, the ground floor of their bungalow
on Felder Avenue is the only museum in the world dedicated to the writers. The
museum hosts numerous events throughout the year to celebrate the authors’
lives, including annual birthday bashes in September and July.
The top floor of the home has two suites
that are available for overnight stays on Airbnb.
2. Monroe County Courthouse And Museum,
Monroeville
Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird is
undoubtedly the most famous book to come from Alabama. The fictional town of
Maycomb, where the novel takes place, is based on Monroeville, where Lee was
born. In Monroeville, you can walk in the footsteps of Atticus Finch, a white
attorney who defends Tom Robinson, a black man who was wrongly accused of
raping a white woman.
A visit to the sleepy Southern town
begins with a stop at the Monroe County Courthouse, which was painstakingly
recreated for the Oscar-winning movie starring Gregory Peck. The courthouse is
also the home of the Monroe County Museum, which documents the life of Lee and
her dear friend, author Truman Capote.
Thousands flock to the town each year to
see the Mockingbird Company’s stage production of the story.
3. Ivy Green, Tuscumbia
At only 19 months old, Helen Keller was
stricken with a severe illness that left her completely deaf and blind. But
seven-year-old Keller’s world suddenly lit up when Anne Sullivan tapped five
letters onto the young girl’s arm while pumping cool water from a well onto her
other arm. It was truly a miracle when the girl — who had never communicated
before — suddenly knew the word water. By sunset, she had learned 30 more
words, and by the end of her life, she had written 14 books and more than 475
speeches.
Ivy Green is the birthplace of Helen
Keller. Not only is it a museum dedicated to Keller’s life and that of her
“miracle worker,” Sullivan, but it is also where visitors can see the actual
pump that made this miraculous transformation possible — what many describe as
a profoundly moving experience.
Contact Ivy Green for the latest hours
and admission fee. The play The Miracle Worker is performed on the grounds from
June through mid-July. The best time to visit is the last weekend of June, when
the annual Helen Keller Festival is held in Spring Park.
4. Bayou La Batre
“My mom always said life was like a box
of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” Who doesn’t remember that
line from the 1994 movie Forrest Gump? The Oscar-winning movie was based on a
1986 novel that The New York Times described as “the picaresque adventures of
an Alabama man who stumbles through contemporary American history with an IQ of
70 and a headful of folksy wisdom.”
The novel was written by author,
journalist, and historian Winston Groom, who grew up in Mobile and eventually
moved to the eastern shore of Mobile Bay to Fairhope. One of the memorable
parts of the story is when Forrest heads to the town of Bayou La Batre, just
west of Mobile, to fulfill the dream of his late friend Bubba Blue to become a
shrimper.
The small fishing village welcomes
visitors who want to walk in Forrest’s shoes and offers up some of the freshest
shrimp and seafood anywhere along the Gulf Coast. Take in the view of the
shrimp boats setting sail or returning home backlit by a stunning sunrise or
sunset, be a part of the festive Blessing of the Fleet, and then pay a visit to
one of the many seafood markets to bring home a delicious catch fresh off the
boat. Better yet, sample seafood at one of Bayou’s restaurants, like the Bayou
Seafood Company, Cudjo Seafood, or the Catalina Restaurant.
5. Church Street Graveyard, Mobile
Talk about a Renaissance man. Writer,
editor, set and costume designer, member of the Civilian Conservation Corps,
puppeteer, chef, World War II cryptologist — Eugene Walter was all that and
more.
Walter’s writing was eclectic, ranging
from the novel The Untidy Pilgrim (which won the Lippincott Fiction Prize for
Young Novelists in 1952) to cookbooks like The Happy Table of Eugene Walter to
poetry as found in his 1953 collection, Monkey Poems.
But no matter where he traveled in the
world, Walter delighted in telling the people he met that he always carried a
shoebox of Alabama red clay with him.
Walter died in 1998, and with special
permission from the Mobile City Council, he was buried in the city’s oldest
cemetery, the Church Street Graveyard. Whether you are visiting the Port City
for Mardi Gras, the Senior Bowl, or just to soak in its unique multicultural
vibe, visit the cemetery to pay your respects to Mobile’s Renaissance man,
Eugene Walter.
6. Weeden House Museum, Huntsville
Maria Howard Weeden was born in
Huntsville in 1898 in an elegant home at the corner of Gates Avenue Southeast
and Green Street Southeast. Here, the young woman wrote captivating poetry that
brought to life delicate images of flowers and the world around her. In
particular, she highlighted the beauty found in the people of the area, most
notably that of Huntsville’s African American population.
Her poetry appeared in a number of books,
including Shadows on the Wall, Songs of the Old South, and Bandanna Ballads.
The latter was used by David O. Selznick as a guide to costume design for the
African American actors in the movie Gone with the Wind.
The Weeden family lived in the home until
1956. Not long after, it was turned into a fascinating museum tracing the poet’s
life and works.
7. Kathryn Tucker Windham Museum,
Thomasville
The life of one of Alabama’s great
storytellers, Kathryn Tucker Windham, is remembered at the Kathryn Tucker
Windham Museum in Thomasville, just 90 miles north of Mobile.
Windham was a journalist, photographer,
and the author of 24 books, including the popular 13 Alabama Ghosts and
Jeffrey, a collection of suspenseful and spooky tales of Alabama history and
folklore.
The museum is located in the library of
the Coastal Alabama Community College in Thomasville and traces the writer’s
childhood. The exhibits include many of Windham’s recorded stories that
visitors can listen to and be swept away into the world of the Deep South.
Admission is free.
8. Irondale Cafe, Irondale
Actress Fannie Flagg, who hails from
Birmingham, is known for many movie and television roles, but she has also
penned 11 books. Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, an endearing
tale of friendship over the years in the small fictional town of Whistle Stop,
Alabama, centers on a small diner called the Whistle Stop Cafe. The 1987 book
was later made into a hit movie starring Jessica Tandy and Kathy Bates.
How would you like to eat at the Whistle
Stop? Well, you can. The Irondale Cafe in Irondale was the inspiration for the
Whistle Stop. First opened in 1928 as a small hot dog stand, the cafe has
changed hands over the years, but it still offers up great Southern cooking
(yes, including fried green tomatoes) and some real Southern hospitality.
Plan your visit for the first weekend of
October to be a part of The Whistle Stop Festival, a street festival bursting
with fun, food, music, and dancing. Admission is free.
Ultimate top 10 literary destinations
OPPORTUNITIES FOR PLAYWRIGHTS ***
Greetings NYCPlaywrights
*** FREE THEATER IN NYC ***
Theater [Untitled] Reading Series
Best Friends
By: Lilly Camp
Directed By: Alex Keegan
June 25, 2021 -8pm
Total loner Elle Summers only has room in her life for her graduation plan– getting into Harvard– until acquaintance Matt Durand asks her to take care of his soon-to-be-ex-girlfriend, Haley Moore. Haley are quickly bonded, with their own hashtags, school-wide rumors about their relationship, even plans to move to New York together after high school. A coming of age story, Best Friend tracks three teenagers over their senior year of high school as they struggle to define themselves and their relationships to each other, and shows how coming out in the Internet era has only made things more complicated.
~~~~
Well Intentioned White People
By: Imani Vaughn-Jones
September 2021
Upon moving to Atlanta, Nia, a Black aspiring writer, must find a way to navigate the unexpected racial landmines of her white in-laws, her career, and society at large while trying to keep her interracial marriage and herself intact. It’s after a racist encounter with an industry professional that her marriage faces the ultimate test, and Nia is forced to choose between her relationship and herself.
~~~~~
Unfinishedness
By: James Powers
Directed By: Hannah Stephens
November 2021
Unfinishedness is a one-act musical comedy tackling the issues that many young adults find themselves in today. When life is suddenly halted and you are left wondering, “What do I do now?” In this world, we are introduced to Dude, a young person trying to become a writer. While he is trying to finish his song, many of the unfinished ideas, moments, and relationships from his life, in the form of three other actors, come to him and demand that he finish their part of the story first.
FREE TICKETS
https://www.theatreuntitled.com/upcoming-projects.html
*** FREE WRITING EVENT JUNE 21: WRITE AWAY ***
It's a FREE online show co-produced by NYC-based Freestyle Repertory Theatre! It's perfect for writers and non-writers alike! Though it's free, advanced registration is required. Our intrepid playwrights have 45 minutes to write a brand-new play, entirely based on audience suggestions.
https://www.nycplaywrights.org/2021/06/free-writing-event-june-21.html
*** OPPORTUNITIES FOR PLAYWRIGHTS ***
The American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA) is accepting submissions of new plays and musicals for the AMDA Plus Staged Readings happening in New York City August-September 2021. Similar to a 29-hour reading format, this two-week program will function as a professional opportunity for writers to workshop new material as well as an educational opportunity for students to experience the development process. Over the course of the readings, writers will be encouraged to create new scenes and songs as they explore their piece in collaboration with the student performers, a professional director, and a professional music director.
***
The Nancy Dean award for Lesbian Playwrights is to honor a woman who was at the forefront of Lesbian, queer, gay, genderqueer, gender-nonconforming, trans, intersex and people of color movements. We honor her focus and writing on Lesbian relationships before the time of the Stonewall rebellion.
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Founded by playwright Darrel Alejandro Holnes, the Greater Good Commission offers $500 mini grants to Latinx playwrights to write short plays, innovative in form, that reflect the times. The commission’s second round will focus on LGBTQIA+ Latinx- identifying playwrights. Submissions are open until 11:59 PM on July 4th, 2021.
*** FOR MORE INFORMATION about these and other opportunities see the web site at https://www.nycplaywrights.org ***
*** JUNETEENTH NATIONAL HOLIDAY ***
President Joe Biden said that signing legislation into law on Thursday establishing June 19 as Juneteenth National Independence Day -- a US federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States -- will go down as "one of the greatest honors" of his presidency...
Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union Major General Gordon Granger announced the end of slavery in Galveston, Texas, in accordance with President Abraham Lincoln's 1863 Emancipation Proclamation. Only a handful of states currently observe Juneteenth as a paid holiday.
More...
https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/17/politics/biden-juneteenth-bill-signing/index.html
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Broadway Celebrates Juneteenth
The Broadway League’s Black to Broadway Initiative will present Broadway Celebrates Juneteenth, a free outdoor event centered around Black joy and unity that will feature Black Broadway performers in a 90-minute concert. This inaugural event, which is sponsored by MAC Cosmetics and Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS with the support of the Times Square Alliance, will take place in Times Square (Broadway between 43rd & 44th Streets) on Saturday, June 19, 2021 from noon – 1:30 PM (rain or shine).
The program is free and open to all to join in this celebration, including those who identify as Black, their allies, and anyone who feel a connection to this holiday. Broadway Celebrates Juneteenth will feature cast members from such shows as Girl from the North Country, The Lion King, Moulin Rouge, The Phantom of the Opera, Tina: The Tina Turner Musical, Thoughts of a Colored Man, with special appearances by Lillias White, Ben Vereen, and more to be announced, in a concert of song and dance with live music provided by The Music Performance Trust Fund.
More...
https://www.broadwayleague.com/programs/black-to-broadway/
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Ailey Celebrates Juneteenth is an uplifting program that features performance highlights from Alvin Ailey’s Cry and Revelations, as well as Rennie Harris’ Lazarus. It also features Ailey Artistic Director Robert Battle’s latest BattleTalk with Opal Lee, Samuel Collins, and Reginald Adams discussing the historical significance of Juneteenth and why Americans of all races should celebrate it as a national holiday.
The Ailey Juneteenth Celebration will be available to watch on the Ailey website and YouTube through Tues, June 22 at 7:00pm EDT.
Ailey Celebrates Juneteenth will also be available to watch on-demand until Tues, June 23 at 7:00pm EDT.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRIA5rTkLDQ
***
The Old Globe, in collaboration with the George L. Stevens Senior Center, will also present a fifth annual Juneteenth Celebration performance presentation as part of the Center’s annual Juneteenth festival event. Audiences are invited to join the celebration on Saturday, June 19 from 12:00 noon to 1:15 p.m. in the Globe’s outdoor Lowell Davies Festival Theatre. This year’s event will feature a cabaret presentation of artists, including the San Diego Black Artist Collective, all sharing performance pieces inspired by the annual holiday. In addition, an invitation-only Juneteenth event, part of the coLAB series, and managed by the Senior Center, will take place on their campus the day prior featuring a similar lineup. Juneteenth—also known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Liberation Day, and Emancipation Day—is a holiday celebrating the emancipation of those who had been enslaved in the United States.
More...
https://www.theoldglobe.org/pdp/20-21-season/juneteenth-celebration
***
Growing up in 1960s Fort Worth, segregation and racial tension were a part of playwright Eugene Lee’s daily life. But one of the bright spots during often turbulent times was the yearly Juneteenth celebration that brought his whole South Side neighborhood together.
In his play, Ode to Juneteenth, which debuted at the Witte Museum on Tuesday, Lee encapsulates more than 150 years of history following June 19, 1865 when news of the abolition of slavery finally reached Texas – more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. In less than 30 minutes, the play tells an impactful story following the character of Emancipation Jones on a journey from the first Juneteenth celebration through the civil rights movement to President Barack Obama’s election.
More...
https://sanantonioreport.org/witte-museums-juneteenth-play-brings-150-years-of-history-to-life/
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JUNETEENTH THE STAGE PLAY
Every year On the 19th of June millions of people around the world celebrate Juneteenth, slaves started this tradition as a remembrance to never forget the day Texas freed their slaves, which was 1865, two and a half years after they were ordered to free them. PLAY SYNOPSIS: Juneteenth stage play is a story of how love, faith, and prayer between a Texas slave-women name Tippy and a Texas slave man named Henry sustained them through slavery, even for the additional two and a half years that Texas kept their slaves. This stage play is an eye opener, guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat as the history of Juneteenth is revealed. In addition this production also provides answers to why residue from slavery has such a negative impact on society today.
https://juneteenththeplay.com
***
Commemorating the events of Juneteenth, Black Theatre Troupe of Upstate New York (BTTUNY) will present a virtual reading of Celeste Bedford Walker’s searing historical drama, CAMP LOGAN.
The play chronicles the story of six Black U.S. soldiers and the incidents leading to the tragic 1917 racially charged riot in Houston, Texas that left dozens dead or wounded in the streets. In the aftermath of what was deemed a mutiny by the military courts martial, 19 Black soldiers were executed by hanging and 47 were sentenced to life in prison without parole. The reading will air beginning 5 p.m. June 19 and remain available for streaming through June 22.
More...
https://saratogatodaynewspaper.com/today-in-saratoga/pulse/item/13863-black-theatre-troupe-of-upstate-new-york-presents-juneteenth-reading-of-camp-logan
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