Pittsburgh: haunted by historical photographs and documentary poetry!!

Have you ever taken a walk down a Pittsburgh street and wondered what wonderful or terrible things may have happened there in years past?  There’s a way to maybe find out.

crazy clown time

Go to Retrographer to see the past overlaid upon the present.  There, over 5,000 historic images of Pittsburgh have been tagged to the locations at which they were taken.  You can see that in 1935, there was a particularly scary Halloween Party  happening in front of the fountain at the Frick Fine Arts building (read: clowns) and that trolley car tracks used to criss-cross Centre Street.  You can check out how bustling East Liberty looked in 1928, and a road crew working in Homewood, around 1910, looking towards some very familiar rowhouses on Hamilton Ave. that I drive past almost every day of my life.

Or maybe you’d like to take a walk and read poems about the streets on which you’re wandering?  Then get yourself over to Public Record, a project done in 2010-11 by Justin Hopper in connection with Encyclopedia Destructica and Deeplocal.

Hopper uses poetry to expose history.  You can download an iPhone app that will show you a map of Pittsburgh and the locations that correspond to the poems, written about what daily life was like in 19th century Pittsburgh.  Or you can download the MP3s for free.

I hope these sites will inspire you to go create your own Pittsburgh-centered creative works.  Find some history there, at the library, or the Heinz History Center Archives, and make it your own. Submit it to the Ralph Munn Creative Writing Contest. Record it in words, film or music at the Labs.   Find the cutest historical boy from Historic Pittsburgh and send the link to My Daguerreotype Boyfriend.

Happy exploring,

-Tessa, CLP-East Liberty

Staring at people through history. It’s not rude if they can’t see you.

One of my favorite tumblrs (apart from the CLP Teens – Main tumblr, ahem) is Of Another Fashion. Its subtitle is: An alternative archive of the not-quite-hidden but too often ignored fashion histories of U.S. women of color. Not only is it cool that a tumblr has a subtitle, it is also very cool that these photographs, stories, and articles are being collected and digitized to reach our eyes and brains.  It’s an offshoot of a project of Minh-Ha T. Pham, who also writes at the blog Threadbared, which talks about the politics (among other things) behind the common representations of fashion and beauty.

It’s always exciting to me to see the stories and, if possible, pictures of people who wouldn’t always get a chance to surface in the public after their personal history is over. In some cases these are people who should be mentioned in history books, and in some cases they’re just normal ladies like you and me, living their lives and having their own style.  I love those glimpses into other people’s lives. (I also check out how people have decorated their houses if their windows are illuminated at night. I’m nebby.)

For example, here’s one of the amazing librarian photos from Of Another Fashion (used via a Creative Commons License):

“Lucille Baldwin Brown was the first Black public county librarian in Tallahassee, Florida. This photograph is part of the collection at the State Library and Archives of Florida.”

It’s so easy to get lost in digital archives, like Historic Pittsburgh, the NYPL Digital Gallery and so many more. It’s really the best form of time travel I know.  All the better that tumblrs like Of Another Fashion are giving us better, fuller ways to see history and the people’s lives that may not have been documented and celebrated so publicly before.

Don’t forget about the library’s collection of books of portrait photography.

- Tessa, CLP- East Liberty

Assassin’s Creed!!! 3!!!

I have a confession to make. I am a video game addict. I actually had to disconnect my Playstation because I was staying up til 3 or 4 in the morning playing Madden. It’s been over 5 years since I touched a video game system, but I think my streak will end in one week when Assassin’s Creed 3 is released.  I feel like this game was created just for me as it combines some of my favorite interests: early American history and first-person shooters.

I bet you didn’t even know that you can use your library card to get video games! The library has hundreds of video games available. Some of my favorites are Medal of Honor Airborne, Madden NFL ’12, and NHL ’12.

The historical setting of Assassin’s Creed 3 has always been one of my favorite topics to read about, too, so that makes it especially exciting for me. The revolutionary war period was turbulent, violent, and a lot of it happened right around Pittsburgh. There are a lot of great books about this era; some of my favorites are: Wilderness Empire by Allan Eckert, Patriots: the Men Who Started the American Revolution by AJ Langguth, and  1776 by David McCullough.

We are also lucky to have the Fort Pitt Museum right here in Pittsburgh!  This is a great spot where you can learn about the French and Indian War and other aspects of colonial history.

- Jim, CLP-Sheraden

National Day of Service and Remembrance

Today marks the 11th anniversary of the September 11th Terrorist attacks against the United States.  2,977 people were killed that day in New York City, Washington DC, and Shanksville, PA.  There have been some great books written about that day and the events that led to it.  Among the best of these are:

 The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright- A sweeping narrative history of the events leading to 9/11, a groundbreaking
look at the people and ideas, the terrorist plans and the Western intelligence failures that culminated in the assault on             America.  The Looming Tower achieves an unprecedented level of intimacy and insight by telling the story through the  interweaving lives of four men: the two leaders of al-Qaeda, Osama bin Laden and Ayman al-Zawahiri; the FBI’s counterterrorism chief, John O’Neill; and the former head of Saudi intelligence, Prince Turki al-Faisal.
The Looming Tower draws all elements of the story into a galvanizing narrative that adds immeasurably to our understanding of how we arrived at September 11, 2001.

 

   102 Minutes: The Untold Story of the Fight to Survive Inside the Twin Towers by Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn- Drawing on hundreds of interviews with rescuers and survivors, thousands of pages of oral histories, and countless phone, e-mail, and emergency radio transcripts, New York Times reporters Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn tell the story of September 11 from the inside looking out, weaving together the stories of ordinary men and women into an epic account of struggle, determination, and grace.  Dwyer and Flynn reveal the decisions, both good and bad, that proved to be the difference between life and death on a day that changed America forever.

 

   Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001 by Steve Coll- From the managing editor of the Washington Post , a news-breaking account of the CIA’s involvement in the covert wars in Afghanistan that fueled Islamic militancy and gave rise to bin Laden’s al Qaeda.  Comprehensively and for the first time, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Steve Coll tells the secret history of the CIA’s role in Afghanistan, from its covert program against Soviet troops from 1979 to 1989, to the rise of the Taliban and the emergence of bin Laden, to the secret efforts by CIA officers and their agents to capture or kill bin Laden in Afghanistan after 1998.   Ghost Wars answers the questions so many have asked since the horrors of September 11: To what extent did America’s best intelligence analysts grasp the rising threat of Islamist radicalism? Who tried to stop bin Laden and why did they fail?

Today has also been declared a National Day of Service and Remembrance.  You can find some great opportunities for volunteer service here.  You can also volunteer your time at your local CLP branch library.  If you are up for a drive, you can visit the Flight 93 National Memorial, which is about an hour away from Pittsburgh.

Juneteenth: a celebration of freedom

Today, June 19th is the holiday of Juneteenth.  It is also known as Freedom Day or Emanicpation Day.  You might have heard that US Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson has called for the day to be named a national holiday.  For those who haven’t heard of it, the holiday was first celebrated in 1865 in the city of Galveston, Texas.  The Emancipation Proclamation freeing the slaves had been issued in 1862 and went into effect on January 1, 1865.  But the southern Confederates who controlled most the areas where slaves lived did not follow the Proclamation.  So the slaves were technically free, but their lives did not change.  In Galveston, this changed when Union General Gordon Granger took control of the city and the slaves were finally awarded their freedom on June 18, 1865.  The next day the freed slaves celebrated their emancipation with parties and jubilation.  From that day, June 19th became the basis for the celebration of Juneteenth.

The library has some great resources to learn more about the Civil War and slavery.  One of my favorites is Ken Burn’s Civil War documentary.

The Civil War directed by Ken Burns – Ken Burns’s Emmy Award-winning documentary brings to life America’s most destructive and defining conflict. The Civil War is the saga of celebrated generals and ordinary soldiers, a heroic and transcendent president and a country that had to divide itself in two in order to become one.

POW: Natasha Trethewey is poet laureate!

Image credit: Associated Press

What’s the Poet Laureate?

“The Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress serves as the nation’s official lightning rod for the poetic impulse of Americans. During his or her term, the Poet Laureate seeks to raise the national consciousness to a greater appreciation of the reading and writing of poetry.” - loc.gov

How much does he or she make per year?

$35,000

What does the position entail?

Each Poet Laureate makes the position their own, according to their particular interests–as long as they’re promoting poetry, it’s cool.

What other people have had the position?

See the list here.

What’s good to know about Natasha Trethewey?

She’s one of the younger people to be appointed Laureate. She grew up in Mississippi in a bi-racial family and much of that experience, along with a fascination with history, informs her poetry.  Her New York Times profile notes that she is “the first Southerner to hold the post since Robert Penn Warren, the original laureate, and the first African-American since Rita Dove in 1993. “  Check out “Flounder” at the Poetry Foundation site to get a taste of what she writes. On the surface, it’s the story of a girl fishing with her grandmother, and just below the surface, a reflection on one family’s attitudes to daily navigation between the worlds of black and white.  It’s filled with vivid images and a rhyme scheme that sneaks up on you:

“Aunt Sugar rolled her nylons down

around each bony ankle,

and I rolled down my white knee socks

letting my thin legs dangle,

circling them just above water

and silver backs of minnows

flitting here then there between

the sun spots and the shadows.”

flounder photo by TenSafeFrogs on flickr

Where can I read more about Natasha Trethewey?

The Library of Congress has an online web guide here, with a very complete bibliography.

And our own library system has books for you to check out:

Bellocq’s Ophelia

Domestic Work

Native Guard

Is there a Pennsylvania Poet Laureate?

There was–from 1993-2003, Samuel Hazo was the Poet Laureate of Pennsylvania, until he was told that Pennsylvania did not need that position anymore.

Which means you could crown yourself Pennsylvania’s Poet Laureate today!  Or compete in the Young Steel Poetry Slam for similar glory.

-Tessa, CLP – East Liberty

Staked Vampire Skeletons Found!

Team Jacob; fall back.  Here comes a whole lotta vampire awesomeness…

Archaeologists in the Black Sea town of Sozopol recently exhumed two 700 year old skeletons, each bearing an iron stake driven completely through its chest and into the ground.  According to Bozhidar Dimitrov, director of the Bulgarian National Museum of History,  this pinning of corpses was a common practice of superstitious villages throughout the region, occurring even as recently as the early 20th century.  Upon death, people outside of the common village lifestyle (loners and drifters, as well as questionable characters like alcoholics and criminals) were largely subject to the collective suspicion of their peers.  If deemed threatening, the heart would be staked to the ground to prevent the deceased from rising from the grave and feasting on the blood of the living.  Sometimes, heavy stones were also used to impede the suspected vampire’s presumed, nocturnal return.

Photograph: National History Museum of Bulgaria

From Vlad Dracula and Elizabeth Báthory to the nearly 100 discovered vampire burial sites in Bulgaria alone, it’s safe to say that undead bloodsuckers play a prominent role in the regional history and folklore of Eastern Europe.

So, are the bones above those of actual vampires?  Who’s to say?  Are there actual vampires?  Are you one of them?  So many questions, so few answers…

A few super cool vampire books (just because):

                

Jon : CLP Carrick

POW: Ardency, A Chronicle of the Amistad Rebels by Kevin Young

Kevin Young was a player for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1992-2003, but there’s another Kevin Young you might want to get to know. He’s a poet from Nebraska and his poetry has been called “compulsively readable” by the New York Times Book Review. He writes about subjects and figures from American history, ranging from the Civil War to Jean-Michel Basquiat.

I’d have to agree.  Although he’s most famous for his National Book Award-nominated collection of poems about jazz legend Jelly Roll Morton (called Jelly Roll), I’ve only read his most recent book, Ardency: A chronicle of the Amistad Rebels, published last year. I’d heard about it through the Adult Books 4 Teens blog from School Library Journal online, and felt like it was time to read some more poetry.

       

 

Ardency is an interpretation of a real event:

“In the summer of 1839, fifty-three Africans illegally sold in Havana mutinied on the schooner Amistad while being taken to Puerto Principe. The rebels, mostly men from the Mendi people of Sierra Leon, killed the captain and the cook but spared their masters to help steer toward the rising sun and Africa. For nearly two months, the would-be slaveowners rerouted by night until a navy brig captured the ship. …Authorities quickly threw the Africans in Connectiut jails while deciding either to return the men to their Spanish masters or award them as ‘salvage’ to the U.S. sailors.” (from the Preface)

Young takes on the voices of the Africans and imagines their thoughts, anger, and desire in four different sections. He starts with traditional poems, moves on to an imagined journal,  then swerves into a libretto encompassing the whole group of Africans on Amistad, then ends with seven different monologues from a deathbed confession to a progress report, to a captain’s log.  His language is lyrical and nimbly changes to fit the section and the speaker.

The poems in here cut to the heart of history and give you the immediacy of a primary source document with imagination and detail to take you even further into what it could have been like, as in the opening of “Broadway”:

At Broadway Tabernacle the abolitionists charge

half-dollar a head to view your Mendi zoo.

After the slideshow of Sierra Leone, they hold

spelling bees to show how far you’ve come.

I wish for a word I could become. If just one letter

would shift, worship turning warship . . . But little

Kale spells it right: –Bless-ed are the pure at heart.

 

The best part about the variety of Ardency is that you can pick a section and start there without reading the others, depending on your mood.

 

More information on Kevin Young can be found at poets.org and The Poetry Foundation.

 

Happy poetry reading!

-Tessa, CLP – East Liberty

It’s all history

People tend to forget that the word “history” contains the word “story”. 

~Ken Burns

I have always been horrible at history.  I’m no good at memorizing dates and names to get good grades on history exams.  My brain just doesn’t work that way even if I would like it to.

The funny thing is though, that I’ve always read Historical Fiction.   I love to learn about the lives of people from the past.   Their stories have always fascinated me.

Reading fantastic tales with ghosts, vampires and magic is just fine, but really when it comes down to it, I feel most at home with realistic stories and settings I can relate to.  Historical fiction always seems to fit the bill.  A lot of times I’m drawn to a story without even thinking of it as historical fiction.   That’s the trouble with genres.  If it’s a really good book it doesn’t matter if its fantasy or horror or graphic novel.  It’s just a good read.

If, like me, you enjoy books with action and adventure minus some of the more far-fetched aspects of Science Fiction, Fantasy, or Dystopian literature give Historical Fiction a try with some of these great titles…

The Book Thief
Macus Zusak
In a story narrated by Death himself, Liesel Meminger finds herself in a tight knit German village during WWII.  Her foster parents, friends, neighbors, and a Jewish brawler hiding in the basement band together as the bombs fall over their city and Liesel learns about the most beautiful and horrible parts of human nature.




Shades of Gray
Ruta Sepetys
Lina, her mother and brother are deported to a Stalinist work camp following the Russian invasion of Lithuania.  A talented artist, Lina hopes beyond reason that the pictures she sends in secret to her imprisoned father are enough to keep hope alive for both of them.






Moon Over Manifest
Clare Vanderpool
After a life of riding the rails Abilene Tucker has settled in Manifest, KS (at least for now).  Amidst the poverty, and depression she makes friends and goes on a “spy hunt” to learn the story of a mystery from the town’s past.






A Northern Light
Jennifer Donnelly
At 16 Mattie is largely responsible for her father’s failing farm and for her young siblings.  In 1906 Mattie has few choices but to follow the will of her parents, settle down and marry a man she doesn’t love.   But after a true life tragedy strikes at the summer resort where she is working, Mattie’s perspective on duty and loyalty is changed forever.

You say you like a little Fantasy/Sci Fi in your Historical fiction?  Check out Scott Westerfield’s Leviathan Trilogy ably reviewed by Joshua right here on this blog.  Its an alternate reality version of the epic stories of WWI.

And for a little local historical fare…

Macaroni Boy

Katherine Ayers
While Mike Costa struggles with the prejudice and poverty of the depression era in Pittsburgh’s “the Strip” neighborhood, he begins to notice a mystery developing around his Grandfather’s illness and the rats dying on the streets.






Three Rivers Rising
Jame Richards
Set against the back drop of rural Western Pennsylvania, wealthy and privileged Celestia falls in love with Peter the son of a mining family from a shanty town down river.  Their love story is intertwined with details of the real events of the Johnstown flood that killed 2,200 people in the Spring of 1889.

Happy Reading!

Brooke

Mary Schenley: slightly scandalous.

My mind has been wiped clean of topics to blog about as I diligently make a prototype of a magazine bowl for East Liberty’s summer art club, so I will regale you with a local tale. Something to think about as you maybe find time to enjoy the outdoors in one of Pittsburgh’s lovely parks.

About 5 or 6 years ago I volunteered at the Sen. John Heinz History Center, doing many interesting things. One of them was researching Pittsburgh women in the Library and Archives, and it was there that I heard the story of Mary Schenley.  Now you may think that Mrs. Schenley is famous for being a Pittsburgher. In fact, in her life she was most well-known for eloping and never coming back to Pittsburgh.

Scandalous!

Thanks to the Digital Archives of Western Pennsylvania magazine I was able to go back and refresh my memory of the story.

Mary Schenley was born Mary Elizabeth Croghan in Locust Grove, Kentucky. Her mother was a Pittsburgher (an O’Hara, to be exact) and died when Mary was young. Her father, an attorney, moved back to Pittsburgh when Mary was 10.  He eventually built a mansion for them near Stanton Heights, called the “Picnic House”.

She was sent to a boarding school on Staten Island when she was 15 years old. It was run by a Ms. McLeod, an ex sister-in-law of one Captain Edward Schenley, a twice-married Englishman who had run away to join the army at a young age and stayed in Italy with Lord Byron and Percy Shelley (who have some stories of their own, but now is not the time).  Although he was much older than she, the aforementioned article states that “the dashing solider, in his fine uniform, with its bright buttons and gold lace, captivated the susceptible hearts of the young ladies of the entire school.”

Schenley, of course, chose the 16 year old Pittsburgher. They eloped. Upon hearing the news, her father reportedly fainted.  It’s like Gossip Girl, right?

Her father and Queen Victoria eventually forgave Mary Schenley (she wasn’t allowed at court for a while), and Mr. Croghan even built her a whole addition of her own onto his house. It was always staffed so as to be ready for her arrival. Unfortunately, she rarely visited, citing her asthma and Pittsburgh’s aggravating effect on her lungs.   She died in 1903, leaving her land to the city for a park. thanks to the quick thinking of Edward Bigelow.

The mansion served as the club house for the Stanton Heights Golf Club but was eventually sold. Some of its rooms were preserved and can be seen in the Cathedral of Learning. And they are rumored to be haunted.

Another charming thing that I found in my research was that Mary Schenley signed off on her letters not with “sincerely” or “best”, but “believe me”.

So in honor of fun local history (I’ll tell you about the Biddle Boys sometime), I say,

Believe me,

Tessa – CLP East Liberty (where Teen Time is every Wednesday at 3 this summer).

P.S.! Does this kind of story capture your interest?  You may be interested to know that a book full of local East Liberty history was just published, and it was written by Peabody High School students. You can get a copy from the Young Preservationists Association or pick up an order form at CLP – East Liberty.