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, noting the gro
You could always read Malcolm Lowry's "Under the Volcano." What a book, and a pretty good film as well. At least I seem to think the film was pretty good.
ReplyDeleteThey have a huge Day of the Dead parade here each year -- I've never attended, but from the photos in the paper the next day it's quite the scene.
ReplyDeleteI've been meaning to read that book for a long time.
ReplyDeleteIt is quite a read. Not everyone's cup of tea.
ReplyDeleteHere, the dead even text:
ReplyDeletehttp://missoulian.com/day-of-the-dead/vmix_c9f729a4-2580-11e2-a358-001a4bcf887a.html