Mapping Literary DC
Literary mapping projects in Washington, DC bring together
several of my obsessions in one place: my love of maps as beautiful graphic
objects, my interest in the built environment (architecture, parks, roads,
etc.) and how it changes over time, the history of DC in particular, writing
that emphasizes setting, and the lives of writers.
It has been my honor to have been involved in several DC
mapping projects, which I’ll enumerate here.
DC Writers’ Homes
This project, which I co-edit with Dan Vera, was inaugurated
in November 2011 and we’ve been adding to it ever since. But our obsession started about five years
prior to that, as we began to research the private homes, most unmarked, of
writers we admire. The web exhibit, now
covering over 225 locations, photo documents the former homes of novelists,
poets, playwrights and memoirists from the greater DC area. We’ve tried hard to include authors from the
full range of the city’s history, from the founding to the present. We only include authors who have passed away,
but whose houses still stand. (As I usually
say to school groups, the writers must be dead but their houses must be alive.) The site includes a map, a bio on each
author, photos of houses (masterfully taken by Dan), and an elaborate
cross-reference system that encourages browsing. Readers can search by neighborhood, a
writers’ race or ethnicity, the time period in which they were active, their
jobs (other than writing) and other affiliations.
Beltway Poetry Quarterly, “Mapping the City” Issues
I have published two issues of place poems in the journal I
edit—that is, poems that mention by name specific streets, neighborhoods,
parks, monuments, or businesses in DC.
The first of the two, co-edited with Andrea Carter Brown, was published
in Summer 2006, the second (which I edited alone) in Fall 2010. They are linked together by a single map,
designed by Emery Pager. On the map,
readers can click on push-pins to read the poems associated with each
location. Together, the 92 poems provide
a unique tour of the city.
DC By the Book
Sponsored by the DC Public Library, this web site shows
where books of fiction take place in DC.
Readers can search by neighborhood or theme—and are encouraged to add
more excerpts from their favorite books.
I was one of two subject matter experts, along with Michon Boston, for
the project’s inaugural year.
