Dementia 13

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.

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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.

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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

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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

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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

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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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