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View Poll Results: What is America's No. 2 literary metropolis?
Boston 24 41.38%
Chicago 8 13.79%
Los Angeles 2 3.45%
Philadelphia 5 8.62%
San Francisco 7 12.07%
Washington DC 7 12.07%
Some other city 5 8.62%
Voters: 58. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 08-01-2016, 09:13 AM
 
Location: Chicagoland
338 posts, read 927,507 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by annie_himself View Post
Mississippi has an extensive literary history.
True, but it's not a city. I don't really associate Southern writers with cities; they seem to be mostly rural-oriented.
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Old 08-01-2016, 08:54 PM
 
193 posts, read 203,047 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 18Montclair View Post
Poe? Isnt he from Baltimore?
Edgar Allan Poe lived in Philadelphia for six years during the 1840s. During that time he wrote some of his most famous works including "The Tell-Tale Heart", "The Black Cat", "The Gold Bug", and "Murders in the Rue Morgue". His house at 532 N. 7th Street is a National Historic Site and is open to the public.

Another city that claims Poe is Richmond, Virginia. Poe lost both of his parents at a very young age and was taken in as a foster child by John Allan, a Richmond merchant. Although he was never adopted by this family, Edgar Poe took "Allan" for his middle name. Poe spent much of his early life in Richmond and became editor there of The Southern Literary Messenger from 1835-1837. Richmond's oldest residence "The Old Stone House" (1737) is now a museum to Poe's life and works. It's located at 1914 East Main Street.
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Old 08-02-2016, 09:50 AM
 
661 posts, read 688,161 times
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Boston, SF, Seattle, Minneapolis jump to mind but I approached it more from the population's consumption standpoint vs the production of writers.
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Old 08-02-2016, 10:09 AM
 
1,100 posts, read 1,420,271 times
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San Fran instantly came to mind, mostly because of the Beat Generation writers
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Old 08-02-2016, 05:37 PM
 
33 posts, read 29,023 times
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Seattle hands down...
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Old 08-03-2016, 08:59 AM
 
Location: Providence, RI
12,731 posts, read 21,884,577 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 18Montclair View Post
Poe? Isnt he from Baltimore?
I think he's mostly associated with Baltimore (The Ravens are named for his famous poem). He has ties to Boston and Philadelphia as well, but I think he was a Baltimore literary figure as far as I'm concerned. I don't know much about his time in Philadelphia, but he notoriously didn't care for Boston and its writer's scene.

As far as this thread goes, Iowa City? UNESCO designated it the world's "Third City of Literature."

Boston has the colleges, many famous historical authors and some major publishers, but I don't know that I'd argue that it's "more literary" than DC, Philadelphia, Chicago or San Francisco.

Last edited by lrfox; 08-03-2016 at 09:25 AM..
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Old 08-03-2016, 10:00 AM
 
Location: Chicagoland
338 posts, read 927,507 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lrfox View Post
As far as this thread goes, Iowa City? UNESCO designated it the world's "Third City of Literature."

Boston has the colleges, many famous historical authors and some major publishers, but I don't know that I'd argue that it's "more literary" than DC, Philadelphia, Chicago or San Francisco.

Iowa City - good one, wish I'd thought of it while putting the poll together.


It surprises me a bit to see Boston running away with the poll. I suppose it was the dominant literary city until the mid-19th century, and has maintained a respectable presence since then.
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Old 08-03-2016, 10:48 AM
 
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For independent publishers, Seattle and Portland have a strong case.
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Old 08-04-2016, 07:30 AM
 
Location: St Simons Island, GA
23,390 posts, read 43,932,484 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TitanRam View Post
San Fran instantly came to mind, mostly because of the Beat Generation writers
You took the words out of my mouth.
The top three cities for publishing houses in the US are NYC, SF and, believe it or not, Nashville. It is a huge center for Christian publishing, which is a huge industry.

I would definitely add New Orleans to the list. Living there was a rite of passage for many a famous author.
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Old 08-04-2016, 07:52 AM
 
Location: St Simons Island, GA
23,390 posts, read 43,932,484 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Josef K. View Post
True, but it's not a city. I don't really associate Southern writers with cities; they seem to be mostly rural-oriented.
Oxford = William Faulkner, John Grisham
Greenwood = Donna Tartt
Jackson = Eudora Welty
Columbus = Tennessee Williams
Natchez = Greg Iles
Greenville =Shelby Foote
Yazoo City = Willie Morris
Vicksburg = Ellen Gilchrist
Gulfport = Natasha Tretheway (current US Poet Laureate)

There's a start...some of the biggest literary figures of the 20th Century.
The profusion of literary figures out of Mississippi is a reflection of the rich tradition of storytelling in the South.
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