Guide to the Region's Lit'rary Landmarks

AM curiously affected by emanations from the surroundings,” the essayist E. B. White wrote in his mid‐Manhattan hotel room one day 30 years ago. “I am five blocks from the office where Er-

nest Hemingway hit Max Eastman on the nose, four miles from where Walt Whitman sat sweating out editorials for The Brooklyn Eagle, 34 blocks from the street Willa Cather lived in when she came to New York to write books about Nebraska.”

The aura of literary history that affected Mr. White in midtown also hangs over hundreds of other locations in the metropolitan area, and there is no better time to visit them than on a January day — preferably rm a weekend wbc.r? the crowds of summer tourists have long since fa(loct, and there is a bracing nip to the air.

Happily for all concerned, these literary landmarks are generally pleasant spots that involve no large expenditure to visit. This is because writers try to find comfortable places to do their work in — and to en joy themselves afterward — and because only a few of them and their friends have much money to throw around.

So why not drop by the graceful old Scribner's bookshop, at 597 Fifth Avenue, near 48th Street, and hear, without charge, their version of why Hemingway smacked Eastman, the critic and poet, in the face in an upstairs office 41 years ago?

The latest published account, in A. Scott Berg's biography of Hemingway's editor at Charles Scribner's Sons, “Max Perkins: Editor of Genius,” is that Hemingway was angered by a review Eastman had written criticizing the Hemingway style. Specifically, Eastman argued that Hemingway had worked up a pseudovitile way of writing that “was comparable to wearing false hair on the chest . “

And so Hemingway, meeting Eastman by chance. ripped open his own shirt, revealing his hairy torso: unbuttoned Eastman's, showing the critic's hairless chest, and then bashed Eastman with a hook fittingly entitled “Art and the Life of Action.”

Sadly, The Brooklyn Eagle, which also had some stormy moments, is no more. But if you enjoy tranquillity,

?????? ???? you can stroll through Washington Square to a quiet side street, Washing- ton Place, and contemplate the six- story apartment house, No. 82, that was one of Willa Cather's New York homes' after she left Nebraska, her girlhood home.

A highly informal and incomplete list of other literary landmarks in New York City and nearby places follows. You can glean details about others from good guidebooks — notably “Literary New York: A History and Guide” by Susan Edmiston and Linda D. Cirino; “New Jersey: a Guide to Its Present and Past,” edited byLida Newberry, and that old standby, “Con- necticut: A Guide to Its Roads, Lore and People,” compiled under the aegis of the Works Progress Administration and published in 1938.

Algonquin Hotel: Dorothy Parker, Robert Benchley, Edna Ferber, Hey- wood Broun, Robert Sherwood, George S. Kaufman, Harold Ross and other writers, critics and assorted literary folk made up the group called the Round Table, which met, talked, punned, ate, drank and generally hung out in the public rooms of the old-fash- ioned Algonquin — at 59 West 44th Street, between Fifth Avenue and the Avenue of the Americas — between the world wars. Miss Ferber wrote that “theirs was a tonic influence, one on the other, and all on the world of American letters.” But Miss Parker also contended, “The Round Table was just a lot of people telling jokes and tell- ing each other how good they were.” The original round table still stands in the Oak Room, a ground‐floor dining room of the hotel, which is still patron- ized by writers. Its dining rooms are open most of the time from 5:15 A.M. to 8 P.M., Monday through Saturday, closed Sundays (the hotel's Rose Room, however, is open noon to 2:30 P.M. on Sundays). Drinks are served in the bar and the lobby from 11 A.M. to 2 A.M. daily. There is no .cover charge. For information call 840‐6800.

Patchin Place: E.E. Cummings, the poet who largely eschewed capital let- ters, lived for decades at 4 Patchin Place, off West 10th Street, between Greenwich Avenue and the Avenue of the Americas. After he moved in, in 1923, a stream of literary visitors flowed through his portals, ranging from T.S. Eliot to Dylan Thomas, the hard‐drinking Welsh bard, who dropped by in 1950. (One of Thomas's favorite watering spots was the nearby White Horse Tavern, at 567 Hudson Street.) Cummings, whose initials stood for Edward Estlin, died in 1962. The house is not open to the public, but the gate to tiny Patchin Place offers a glimpse of what Greenwich Village was like in the Bohemian 20's.

Chelsea Hotel: Thomas Wolfe lived at the Chelsea, an ornate literary and artistic caravanserai — at 222 West 23d Street, between Seventh and Eighth Avenues — in the late 1930's. He kept thousands of pages of manuscript in packing cases in the parlor of his suite. Other luminary lodgers over the years have included James T. Farrell, Dylan Thomas, Mary McCarthy — and Clif- ford Irving. No.bar, no restaurant (but lots of action in the neighborhood). For information, call 243‐3700.

Gotham Book Mart: H.L. Mencken, on visits from Baltimore, used to browse among the wildly variegated bookshelves of this famous old high- brow bookstore — now at 41 West 47th Street, off Fifth Avenue — whose re- cent offerings have ranged from little literary magazines to a photographic treatise on the motor vehicles of Af- ghanistan. Poetry and plays are spe- cialties of the house. Other patrons over the years have included Christo- pher Morley, Theodore Dreiser, Kath- erine Anne Porter and Edmund Wilson. Open from 9:30 A.M to 6:30 P.M. week- days, 9:30 A.M. to 6 P.M. on Saturdays, closed Sundays. For information call 757‐0367.

The 135th Street Y.M.C.A.: Langston Hughes and other black writers fre- quented the “Y” during the Harlem Renaissance, the artistic flowering that peaked in 1926 and dwindled in the Depression. Hughes, who died in 1967, stayed at the “Y” in 1921 while prepar- ing to enter Columbia College. Other noted guests have included Ralph Elli- son. The Harlem Writers’ Workshop was founded there in 1945. The “Y” building, at 181 West 135th Street, be- tween Lenox Avenue and Adam Clay- ton Powell Jr. Boulevard, was built in 1918 and is now the Y.M.C.A. youth cen- ter. No. 180, an 11‐story brick structure, was built in the 1930's and is now the main “Y” building. While there, a visi- tor might obtain a day's trial member- ship for $3,'which includes use of the swimming pool, sauna and other facili- ties. For information, call 281‐4100. Nearby, at 103 West 135th Street, is the

New York Public Library's Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

Poe Cottage: The gloomy Edgar Allan Poe wrote such poems as “The Bells” and “Ulalume” in the Bronx cot- tage he moved into in 1846, three years before his death. It stands in what is now Poe Park, overlooking the Grand Concourse at Kingsbridge Road, and is furnished partly with original pieces that the Poe family used, including a rocking chair and a bed. The modest frame structure is open Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 1 P.M. to 5 P.M. ; Saturday from 10 A.M. to 4 P.M., and Sunday from 1 to 5 P.M. Admission is 50 cents. Those younger than 12 are admitted free if accompanied by an *adult. Take the D train to the Kings- bridge Road station. Or, by car, take the Major Deegan Expressway, turn off on Fordham Road, drive east to the Grand Concourse, then north on the Concourse to Kingsbridge Road. For information, call 881‐8900.

Brooklyn: Marianne Moore, the St Louis‐born poet who drew much of her imagery from the animal world, lived for 34 years in the Cumberland, a gin- gerbready apartment building at 260 Cumberland Street, near Fort Greene Park, in a neighborhood now largely of poor people. The six‐story building, still sporting its gaudy tile mosaics, stands near the intersection of Cumber- land and Lafayette Streets, just south of the park.

Roslyn: William Cullen Bryant, the 19th‐century poet, critic and editor, had an estate on what is now the site of the Nassau County Center for the Fine Arts. The grounds, with 174 acres of trails, are open to the public free on weekends from 1 to 5 P.M. (from 9 A.M. to 4:30 P.M. weekdays). But the Bryant house, maintained by the Nassau Department of Parks and Recreation, is closed. Bryant's grave is in a small cemetery, open to the public, just east of the entrance to the center's grounds. Bryant manuscripts can be seen, after making an appointment, by calling (516) MA I‐7240, at Roslyn's Bryant Library, which also has scores of books by and about him, as well as portraits, newspaper clippings and other historical material. Take the Long Island Expressway to Exit 39N, drive north on Glen Cove Road to Northern Boulevard, turn left on the boulevard and drive two traffic lights westward to the center, which is on the right. The cemetery is just before the second light, also on the right. From the center to the library take Northern Boulevard westward to Bryant Avenue and turn right on the avenue, which becomes Paper

Huntington Station: Walt Whitman was born in 1819 in what was to become Huntington Station and spent several boyhood years in a farmhouse built there by his father around 1810. It is furnished with a desk used by the poet, other period pieces and a collection of books by and about him. Open to the public, free, 1 P.M. to 4 P.M., Wednesday through Sunday. By car, take the Long Island Expressway, turn off northward at Exit 49 onto Route 110, turn lett on Schwab Road, then right on Walt Whitman Road. House is No. 246. For information, (516) 427‐5240.

Bridgehampton: James Jones, an expatriate-turned-Long Islander, was often seen, before his death last year, 'at Bobby Van's, a restaurant and bar that is also patronized, even in this chilly season, by such literary lions as Irwin Shaw, Willie Morris and Wilfrid Sheed. Jones's dauntless widow, Gloria, also makes the scene. The bar is open daily from noon to 4 A.M.; the restaurant serves food from noon to midnight. Take the Long Island Ex- pressway to Exit 70, drive southward to the Sunrise Highway Extension Route 27 - and follow it eastward, where it runs through Bridgehampton. The two‐story storefront building is on the north side of the road. For informa- tion, (516) 537‐0590.

New Rochelle: Thomas Paine, the pamphleteer‐patriot of the American Revolution - the man who wrote “These are the times that try men's'x0020;souls” - was given a farm by a grate- ful New York State and moved in in 1802. He died in 1809. His cottage, re- stored and furnished with 19th‐century antiques, is open 2 to 5 P.M., Wednes- days through Sundays. There is a sug- gested contribution of $1 for those older than 18, and 25 cents for children. Take the Hutchinson River Parkway and turn off to the southeast at Exit 17, North Avenue; follow it to the intersec- tion of Broadview Avenue, turn left there, then left again on Sicard Street. Cottage is first building on the left. For information: (914) NE 2‐5376.

Mamaroneck: James Fenimore Cooper, of “The Last of the Mohicans” fame, married Susan DeLancey in the DeLancey manor house in 1811, lived there awhile and, accepting a chal- lenge from her, took up writing. The house is now the Fenimore Cooper Inn, a restaurant that is furnished with a few antiques and a modern watercolor portrait of Cooper. Open for lunch noon to 2:30 P.M. weekdays and for dinner S P.M. to 10 P.M. Sundays through Thursdays, to 11 P.M. on Fridays and Saturdays. Take the New England Thruway and turn off to the right at Exit 10, which leads onto Mamaroneck Avenue; continue along the avenue to its intersection with the Boston Post Road, on which turn right and continue until the first traffic light, the intersec- tion with Fenimore Road. The restau- rant is at the intersection, overlooking Mamaroneck harbor. Information: (919) 698‐1180.

Tarrytown: Washington Irving, au- thor of “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” and “Rip Van Winkle,” bought Sunny- side, a Tarrytown estate, in the 1830's and turned it into something of a liter- ary mecca before his death in 1859. Open to the public every day 10 A.M. to 5 P.M. The last tour starts at about 4 P.M. Admission is $2.25 for all except those older than 60 and those 6 to 14, who pay $1.50; children under 6 are ad- mitted free. Take the Gov. Thomas E. Dewey Thruway to the Tarrytown exit, turn off to the left and proceed to the first traffic light. Then turn left onto Route 9 and drive south on Route 9 for a mile to a sign reading “Sunnyside.” In- formation: (914) 6318200.

Chappaqua: Horace Greeley, the edi- tor of The New York Tribune, who liked to say “Go west, young man,” went himself to Chappaqua in the 1850's and' acquired land. A house he once lived in before his death in 1872 is now the Gree- ley Gift Shop on King Street. It sells pewter and crystal among other wares and is open 9:30 A.M. to 5:30 P.M., Monday through Saturday. (At the New Castle Town Hall nearby, there is a room, open Wednesdays from 1 P.M. to 4 P.M., also by appointment, which contains a desk used by Greeley and other memorabilia.) To get to the gift shop, take the Sawmill River Parkway to the Chappaqua exit, follow the exit road to Quaker Street, turn left there to Greeley Avenue, then left again and, almost immediately, right onto King Street; the shop is one block up the street. Information: (914) CE 8‐8600.

Greenwich: Willa Cather, the author of “My Antonia” and other novels, who died in 1947, used to spend time in the summers at the Bush‐Holley House when it was a gathering spot for artists and such other writers as Lincoln Steff- ens, the muckraking journalist. Before World War I. Steffens was managing editor of McClure's magazine, the in- fluential journal where Willa Cather also worked. She had a high‐ceilinged bedroom that looked out on Cos Cob harbor. The house, built partly in the 18th century and furnished with early American antiques, including pieces by Connecticut craftsmen, is open to the public Tuesdays to Saturdays, 10 A.M. to noon and 2 to 4 P.M.; Sundays, 2 P.M. to 4. There is a suggested dona- tion of $1 for those older than 18 and 25 cents for children. Take the Connect- icut Turnpike to Exit 4, turn off north- ward onto Indian Field Road to the Post Road; turn right and continue to the first traffic light. There turn right and look for signs pointing to the Bush- Holley house, which is on Strickland Road. Information: (203) 622‐9686.

New London: The playwright Eu- gene O'Neill spent his early youth in the Monte Cristo Cottage - so named because his father, an actor, had often played the Count of Monte Cristo - a turn-of-the-century clapboard frame house with much gingerbread. The ground floor of the two‐story structure was the real‐life setting for the plays “Ah, Wilderness” and “Long Day's Journey Into Night.” The house is owned by the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, which is headquartered in Waterford, outside New London. The center has painted the cottage gray and is restoring the interior. The house is open to the public by appointment. No admission is charged at present. To make an appointment, call (203) 443- 5378 between 10 A.M. and 5 P.M. on weekdays and ask for Sally Pavetti. The center also has a collection of O'Neill letters, historical material about the playwright and a desk he used. To reach the center, take the Con- necticut Turnpike - Interstate 95 and turn off eastward at Exit 75, which leads onto Route 1A. Continue along Route IA toward Waterford for four miles, then follow the signs that lead along Route 213 to the center. Staff members will direct visitors to the cot- tage. To reach the cottage independent- ly, continue along Route 213 for a mile past the center, turn right on Glenwood Avenue and continue toward the Thames River,: at the river bank turn left on Pequot Avenue. After about a mile and a half you come to the cottage, No. 325, marked by a sign.

Hartford: Mark Twain built a Hart- ford mansion in 1874 and lived there for two decades - years when he wrote “Tom Sawyer,” “Huckleberry Finn” and other works. The structure, walled with multicolor brickwork, has been re- stored and furnished with numerous pieces of Twain's furniture. It also has a museum room with memorabilia in- cluding type‐setting equipment the au- thor invested in, his bicycle and family photographs. The house is open to the public Tuesday to Saturday, 9:30 A.M. to 4 P.M., and Sundays, 1 P.M. to 4. Ad- mission is $1.75, except for those younger than 16, who pay $1; children under 6 are admitted free. Take the Sawmill River Parkway to Route 684 and proceed to Danbury, where you pick up route Route 84; continue to Exit 46 and follow the signs to the Mark Twain House, 351 Farmington Avenue. Information: (203) 525‐9317.

Princeton: F. Scott Fitzgerald and John O'Hara, two out-of-towners who made it big in New York in the writing game, both fell for the aristocratic charms of Princeton, but at different phases of their lives. Fitzgerald, a Minnesota boy, drew on his experiences as a Princeton College undergraduate in “This Side of Paradise,” his first published novel, which was brought out by the New York publishing house of Charles Scribner's Sons in 1920 and made him a celebrity. Starting his freshman year, Fitzgerald was stirred by the sight and sound of upperclassmen marching up a street called University Place singing the Princeton anthem, “Going Back to Nassau Hall.” University Place borders the Princeton campus to the west and offers a vista, on the campus side, of the neo‐Gothic Madison dining hall and other college buildings that were there in Fitzger-

O'Hara, a Pennsylvanian, tried the newspaper game in New York, then established his reputation with the 1934 novel “Appointment in Samarra” and eventually moved to Princeton, where he settled into a nine‐room house on the outskirts of town, wrote by night and was a country squire by day. He died in 1970. The house, privately owned and not open to the public, still stands on Pretty Brook Road, marked by twin obelisks on the gate. Take Route 1 southwest, turn right at the wellmarked intersection onto Washington Road, which leads to downtown Princeton. Proceed about two miles to the Nassau Street traffic light, turn left onto Nassau and drive to the second traffic light; then turn left again onto University Place. Then turn westward onto Nassau Street, which becomes Stockton Street, and turn right onto Elm Street, which becomes the Great Road, left on Pretty Brook Road and continue to the intersection of Province Line Road, which is the site of the

Rutherford: William Carlos Williams, the physician‐poet who won the Pulitzer Prize posthumously in 1963, practiced medicine in Rutherford for more than 50 years. His house, still in his family, is not open to the public, but his Pulitzer Prize diploma and other awards and honors are on display in the Rutherford Public Library, which also has a desk and chair he used for writing; first editions of some of his books; a bust of Williams and tape recordings of interviews with him. The library is open 9 A.M. to 9 P.M., Monday through Friday, and 9 A.M. to 5 P.M. on Saturdays. Take Route 3 past the Meadowlands sports complex, turn off to the right at the Park Place exit and proceed to the traffic light, then continue 10 blocks farther to the intersection of Chestnut Street, on which the library stands. Information: (201) 939‐8600.

1. E. E. Cummings house, 4 Patchin Place. 2, Chelsea Hotel, 222 West 234 Street.

3. Algonquin Hotel, 59 West 44th Street.

4. Gotham Book Mart, 41 West 47th Street. S. Schomburg Collection, 103 West 135th _Stre,

6. Princeton Unhrerstty.

7. John O'Hara house, Princeton • S. Poe Cottage, the Bronx

9. Washington Irving house, Ta meow-

10. Torn Paine Cottage, New Prif,hntk, I. James Fenimore Cooper Inn, Folrnaro-,r-r

12. Horace Greeley home, Chappag U3

13. Marianne Moore apartment, Fkormyr,

14. William Cullen Bryant home, Roslyn 1 S. Watt Whitman home. Huntington Statst,K,

16. Mark Twain house, Hartford.

17. Eugene O'Ne411's home, New London