The classification of a literary center is progression. It begins with the settlement of a certain group of people in a small area. It continues with the establishment of minor areas for literary and cultural expression. This leads to the influx of more people to express the same interests or culture. Lastly, the migration of people into the area causes an architectural and literary boom in which there is a large scale sharing of ideas with the community and centers for doing so.
Park Slope follows this criterion for a literary center. One of the first establishments was Prospect Park. Although not a literary achievement, it did contribute to the overall attractiveness of the area for the initial settlers. Mansions began to be established to take advantage of the Prospect Park views. Brownstones and other living establishments continued to be built by minority groups that originally inhabited the area, but they were not occupying them. Soon writers began to occupy and renovate the area. One by one writers began to stake their claim in Park Slope through the establishment of various literary institutions. Janny Scott best describes the literary landscape of Park Slope in The Brownstone Storytellers when she says,”Park Slope, the tidy trapezoid that sweeps gently northwestward from the westernmost reaches of Prospect Park, is becoming New York’s Left Bank, home to a conflux of writers, editors, publishers and literary types.” Park Slope encompasses the qualities of a literary center through the progressive development of the area, and it’s progression can be attributed to the work of different races and cultural groups because of gentrification.
Works Cited
- Scott, Janny. “The Brownstone Storytellers; A Colony of Writers Is Growing in Park Slope.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 15 May 1995. Web. 29 May 2013.
