Welcome to this month's reading group selection. David Von Drehle mentions The Melting Pot , a play by Israel Zangwill, that premiered on Broadway in 1908. At that time theater was accessible to a broad section of the public, not the exclusive domain it has become over the decades. Zangwill carried a hopeful message that America was a place where old hatreds and prejudices were pointless, and that in this new country immigrants would find a more open society. I suppose the reference was more an ironic one for Von Drehle, as he notes the racial and ethnic hatreds were on display everywhere, and at best Zangwill's play helped persons forget for a moment how deep these divides ran. Nevertheless, "the melting pot" made its way into the American lexicon, even if New York could best be describing as a boiling cauldron in the early twentieth century. Triangle: The Fire That Changed America takes a broad view of events that led up the notorious fire, not...
''Way Down Yonder In New Orleans''"
ReplyDeletewell, way down yonder in new orleans in the land of the dreamy scenes
there's a garden of eden, ah-you know what i mean
yeah, creole babies with flashin' eyes softly whisper with tender sighs
and then you stop
oh won't you give your lady fair a little smile
and then you stop
you bet your life you'll linger there a little while
yeah, there is heaven right here on earth with those beautiful queens
yeah, way down yonder in new orleans
whoo
way down yonder in new orleans, whoo, in the land of the dreamy scenes
there's a garden of eden, you know what i mean
well, creole babies with flashin' eyes softly whisper with tender sighs
and then you stop
oh won't you give your lady fair a little smile
and then you stop
you bet your life you'll linger there a little while
yeah, there is heaven right here on earth with those beautiful queens
well, way down yonder in new orleans
yeah whoo
No doubt these photos inspire such lyrics.
Anyone else ever see this movie about Bellocq?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078111/
I'd sure like to see it again.
Years ago, but can't remember any of it. May have to check it out again.
ReplyDelete