Image Courtesy of 92NY
The 92nd Street Y, New York Launches The Literary Audio Collection
Featuring Iconic Authors, Actors, Playwrights and Others in Never-Before-Heard Archival Recordings
Magical Moments with Truman Capote, James Baldwin, Alec Guinness, Joan Didion, Isabel Allende, Stephen Sondheim and Many Others Digitized and Brought to Life
Made Possible with Support from the Mellon Foundation
Riding on a train in Spain with Truman Capote. Visiting Invisible Cities with Italo Calvino. Or, sitting front row in a New York theater while Sir Alec Guinness waxes poetic about romance and tries out a Scottish brogue; Joan Didion takes one of her novels out for a spin; and Kurt Vonnegut reads a poem.
Those are just some of the places and moments to be transported via the treasure trove that is the new 92NY Literary Audio Collection. Made possible by generous funding from the Mellon Foundation, the collection features over 800 archival recordings of 92nd Street Y Poetry Center events dating back to 1949, over 500 of which have never been released.
With the new collection, The Poetry Center — presenter of one of the nation’s oldest literary series, and well-known as the site of U.S. debut readings by Dylan Thomas and Pablo Neruda — aims to provide a destination for literary lovers and scholars alike to explore and revisit iconic works delivered and uttered by the authors themselves.
The never-before-released portion of the collection is a veritable who’s who of literary luminaries, as it includes: James Baldwin, Eudora Welty, Bernard Malamud, Anaïs Nin, Sam Shepard, Edith Sitwell, Saul Bellow, John Updike, Katherine Anne Porter, Isaac Asimov, August Wilson, Arthur Miller, John Fowles, Günter Grass, Joseph Heller, Isabel Allende, Salman Rushdie, Margaret Atwood, Carlos Fuentes, Mario Vargas Llosa, Alice Walker, John Irving, Kazuo Ishiguro and Michael Ondaatje, among many others.
The collection also includes memorable Poetry Center events and moments: Arthur Miller in a dramatic reading of several scenes from Death of a Salesman; Vladimir Nabokov reading poetry as well as excerpts from Lolita and Pale Fire; actress Ellen Burstyn reading the works of D.H. Lawrence; Haruki Murakami reading from The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle — and Kurt Vonnegut reading poetry and reflecting on his hometown (Indianapolis). There are also fascinating literary conversations to be discovered: a lecture on working with W.B. Yeats, delivered by British actor and playwright V.C. Clinton Baddely; Susan Sontag reflecting on writing; and a Tom Wolfe lecture on “the new non-fiction,” among others.
Each recording in the collection includes a transcription (with time codes), and an index which allows users to search for specific subjects and themes found in the recording. These features were designed by TheirStory.
“The heady thrill of listening to Alec Guinness dazzle an audience with poetry, or hearing Kurt Vonnegut read poetry playfully – these are the kinds of things that never lose their luster,” said Lucas Wittmann, Executive Director of 92NY’s Unterberg Poetry Center. “We are so thrilled to share these great literary moments in time with the public, and we’re grateful to the Mellon Foundation for making it possible.”
About The 92nd Street Y, New York: The 92nd Street Y, New York (92NY) is a world-class center for the arts and innovation, a convener of ideas, and an incubator for creativity. Now celebrating its 150th anniversary, 92NY offers extensive classes, courses and events online including live concerts, talks and master classes; fitness classes for all ages; 250+ art classes, and parenting workshops for new moms and dads. The 92nd Street Y, New York is transforming the way people share ideas and translate them into action all over the world. All of 92NY’s programming is built on a foundation of Jewish values, including the capacity of civil dialogue to change minds; the potential of education and the arts to change lives; and a commitment to welcoming and serving people of all ages, races, religions, and ethnicities. For more information, visit www.92NY.org.