Washington Heights in Literature

Compiled by Bill Rapaport

wjrapaport@gmail.com

Last Update: Sunday, 15 September 2024

Note: NEW or UPDATED material is highlighted

An annotated list of novels, memoirs, histories, poetry, plays, films, etc., of Washington Heights, arranged chronologically by date of publication.

Please send me corrections, additions, updates, and suggestions!

Thanks to Larry Boulanger, Sheila Donohue, David Freiman, Sonia Glazer, Jesse Hernández, Susan Beller Kazin, Hope Kaye, Vernon Lee, Michael Weitzman, and Howard Wolf for some of these!

Index:

  1. Books, Essays, etc.:

    1. Hildegarde H. Swift & Lynd Ward, The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge (New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1942), ISBN 978-1595190574

    2. James B. Donovan, Strangers on a Bridge: The Case of Colonel Abel and Francis Gary Powers (New York: Atheneum, 1964), ISBN 978-1299063778; reprint edition, New York: Scribner, 2015, ISBN 978-1501118784

      • Washington Heights native Larry Boulanger told me that this book talks "about how the Soviet KGB Colonel Rudolf Abel (whom the U.S. traded back to Russia for U2 pilot Francis Gary Powers) used to use the base of a lamp post in Fort Tryon as a dead drop to smuggle communications to and from his Soviet handlers. Steven Spielberg's 2015 film Bridge of Spies was based on this book but only starts after Abel had moved to Brooklyn."

    3. Sonia Pilcer, Teen Angel (New York: Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, 1978), Penguin ISBN 978-0698109414, 2014 reprint ISBN 978-1623520472

    4. Linda Bierman Lewis has written a series of novels ("romans à clef") about the PS 173 Class of 1958, the first of which is based on a real-life incident in Miss Driscoll's 6th-grade class (I know; I was there!):

      1. We Hate Everything but Boys (New York: Pocket Books, 1985), ISBN 0-671-64192-1.

      2. Is There Life after Boys? (New York: Pocket Books, 1987), ISBN 0-671-63966-8.

      3. We Love Only Older Boys (New York: Pocket Books, 1988), ISBN 0-671-64916-7.

      4. 2 Young 2 Go 4 Boys (New York: Pocket Books, 1988), ISBN 0-671-66576-6.

      5. My Heart Belongs to That Boy (New York: Pocket Books, 1989), ISBN 0-671-66604-5.

      6. All for the Love of That Boy (New York: Pocket Books, 1989), ISBN 0-671-68243-1.

    5. Steve Katz, Florry of Washington Heights (Los Angeles: Sun & Moon Press, 1987), ISBN 0-940650-84-3.

      • A novel that takes place around the early 1950s (maybe late 1940s) about kids who lived around 175th & Ft. Washington Ave. and who hung out on The Wall at J. Hood Wright Park. The Sun & Moon edition has a photo of PS 173 on the cover!

    6. Steven M. Lowenstein, Frankfurt on the Hudson: The German-Jewish Community of Washington Heights, 1933–1983, Its Structure and Culture (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1989), ISBN 0-8143-2385-5

      • A historical study. See Snyder 2015, below, for the later history of the Heights.

    7. Faith Ringgold, Tar Beach (New York: Random House/Dragonfly, 1991/1996), ISBN 978-0517885444.

      • An illustrated children's book, described on Amazon.com as taking place in Harlem, but it's about the George Washington Bridge.

    8. Robert W. Snyder, "The Neighborhood Changed: The Irish of Washington Heights and Inwood since 1945", in Ronald H. Bayor & Timothy J. Meagher (eds.), The New York Irish (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996), ISBN 978-0801851995

    9. Gloria DeVidas Kirchheimer & Manfred Kirchheimer, We Were So Beloved: Autobiography of a German Jewish Community (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1997), ISBN 978-0822939979

    10. Robert Jackall, Wild Cowboys: Urban Marauders & the Forces of Order (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1997), ISBN 978-0674953109.

    11. Frank McCourt, 'Tis: A Memoir (New York: Simon & Schuster/Touchstone, 1999), ISBN 0-684-84878-3.

      • Some scenes take place in Washington Heights, where the author lived for a brief period of time.

    12. Angie Cruz, Soledad (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2002), ISBN 978-0-7432-1201-4.

      • Takes place around 164th St. (I have not yet read it.)

    13. Gary Alexander Azerier, Nosebleeds from Washington Heights (Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse, 2005/2009), ISBN 978-1-4208-2053-9.

      • Short stories and reminiscences that take place around PS 132, PS 173, J. Hood Wright Park, Haven Ave., etc.

    14. Dorothy Gallagher, Life Stories: How I Came into My Inheritance and Strangers in the House (New York: Random House, 2006), ISBN 978-0-8129-7265-8.

      • Slightly fictionalized memoir; author lived briefly at Edgecombe Ave. and 167th St. Mentions the RKO Coliseum, etc. But that summary doesn't do justice to this book. I decided to read it only with a sense of obligation that it was about Washington Heights, somewhat fearful that it would be a boring memoir. Wow; was I wrong! The Heights makes only a few brief appearances (and not even "my" part of the Heights (176th St.) except for a throwaway line about the Coliseum). But this is a wonderful set of short-story-like essays that reminds me of the writings of Nobel-prize winner Alice Munro or Jean Shepherd (of A Christmas Story fame). Highly recommended!

      NEW

    15. Junot Díaz, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (New York: Riverhead, 2007)

      • A Pulitzer Prize-winning novel that includes the protagonist's visit to Washington Heights.
      NEW

    16. Michael Epstein, Oblivious in Washington Heights and Loving It (Bloomington, IN: AuthorHouse, 2007), ISBN 978-1-4259-7555-5.

      • A memoir of life in the Heights (specifically, 359 Ft. Washington Ave, 5th floor—where I lived at the same time as the author!) in the mid-1950s.

    17. James Renner, Washington Heights, Inwood, and Marble Hill (Images of America) (Charleston, SC: Arcadia, 2007), ISBN 978-0-7385-5478-5.

      • A collection of historical photos and postcards of upper Manhattan.

    18. Howard R. Wolf, Far-Away Places: Lessons in Exile (Artzy Books, 2007), ISBN 978-1932687996.

      • Several of the essays mention Washington Heights in general and Ft. Tryon Park and the RKO Coliseum in particular; the author (one of my former colleagues at the University at Buffalo) grew up in Washington Heights.

    19. The Forgiving Series: Kurchenko & Gonzalves Mysteries, by A.J. Sidransky:

      1. Forgiving Máximo Rothman (Chicago: Berwick Court, 2013), ISBN 978-0-9889540-0-7.

      2. Forgiving Mariela Camacho (Chicago: Berwick Court, 2015), ISBN 978-0990951568.

    20. Linda Mannheim, Above Sugar Hill (Influx Press, 2014), ISBN 978-0992765521.

      • Short stories set in the Heights between 1973 and 2001. (I have not yet read this.)

      NEW

    21. Ron Perlman (with Michael Largo), Easy Street (the Hard Way): A Memoir (Boston: Da Capo Press, 2014)

      • Autobiography of the film star and PS 173 alumnus (I think).
      NEW

    22. Norman K. Nelson, The Salami Cutters of Washington Heights: Nelson's Kosher Delicatessen & Restaurant (CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2015), ISBN-13 978-1516805204.

      • Written by one of the owners of Nelson's Deli on Broadway at 170th St.

    23. Robert W. Snyder, Crossing Broadway: Washington Heights and the Promise of New York City (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2015), ISBN 978-0-8014-4961-1.

      • A history of the Heights from the 1970s onward.

    24. Elyce Wakerman, A Tale of Two Citizens: A Novel (Yucca, 2015), ISBN 978-1631580147.

      • Elyce says: "Large sections of my novel … take place in Washington Heights, circa 1930s. I found my place there in the 50s, and graduated from PS 173 in 1959."

    25. Ron DeBoer, The Freeze (CreateSpace, 2017), ISBN 978-1973770282.

      • A novel about life in the Heights set in 1962 and concluding in 2017.

    26. Christopher Peter Atamian, A Poet in Washington Heights (New York, Nauset Press, 2017), ISBN 978-1976483936.

      • Poems.

      NEW

    27. Betsy Carter, We Were Strangers Once (New York: Grand Central, 2017)

      • Novel about 1930s-era Washington Heights.

    28. Jerry Craft, New Kid (New York: Harper, 2019).

      • A Newbery Award-winning graphic novel for kids about a boy living in Washington Heights, where the author grew up. First in a series.

    29. Danny Fingeroth, A Marvelous Life: The Amazing Story of Stan Lee (New York: St. Martin's Press, 2019).

      • Biography of the comic-book writer and editor, and creator of Spider-Man, who lived for a while on Fort Washington Ave.

    30. Barry Sonnenfeld, Barry Sonnenfeld, Call Your Mother: Memoirs of a Neurotic Filmmaker (New York: Hachette, 2020).

      • Autobiography of a PS 173 alumnus who directed such films as "The Addams Family" and "Men in Black".
      NEW

    31. Ron Torres, Cuban Palm Trees in Manhattan (rontorrescreates.com, 2020), ISBN-13 978-0692918449.

      • Takes place in Washington Heights and Inwood.

    32. Howard R. Wolf (2020), "Early Signs of Spring in Buffalo", Buffalo News (11 March), https://buffalonews.com/opinion/early-signs-of-spring-in-buffalo/article_52a71da7-cdd8-5738-8a1a-2c0ecb12474b.html

      • A short essay that mentions Washington Heights, where the author grew up.

    33. Madelaine Zadik (2020), "The Food of My Childhood", Still Point Arts Quarterly, Issue No. 40 (Winter): 89–93.

      • A memoir about food in Washington Heights, Inwood, and beyond.

  2. Plays & Films:

    1. Don Siegel (director), Coogan's Bluff (1968)

      • Larry Boulanger says: "You can't forget the famous Clint Eastwood chase scene into and around Ft. Tryon. Coogan's Bluff itself is the area where the Polo Grounds was."

    2. Manfred Kirchheimer (director), We Were So Beloved (1987)

    3. Tim Hunter (director), The Saint of Fort Washington (1993)

      • "A homeless schizophrenic seeks the help of a streetwise combat veteran as they attempt to overcome cruel life on the streets"

    4. Lin-Manuel Miranda (music & lyrics) & Quiara Alegría Hudes (book), In the Heights (2008)

    5. Andrew Niccol (director), Anon (2018)

      • At least one scene was filmed on Wadsworth Terrace near Fairview; see this Facebook page

  3. Other Lists Like This:

    1. Wikipedia/"Washington Heights, Manhattan"/In popular culture

    2. NY Public Library/Stories from Washington Heights


Copyright © 2018–2024 by William J. Rapaport (wjrapaport@gmail.com)
http://www.cse.buffalo.edu/~rapaport/washhtslit.html-20240915