The Tamiment Library/Wagner Labor Archives at New York University will host four book talks in October and November. All talks are free and open to the public and, unless otherwise noted, take place at NYU’s Tamiment Library, 10th floor of the NYU Bobst Library, 70 Washington Square South. For further information call 212-998-2630.
On Tuesday, October 5, at 6 p.m., David Von Drehle, a journalist with The Washingon Post, will discuss his book Triangle: The Fire that Changed America. The Triangle Shirtwaist fire was the worst workplace disaster in New York City. It provided a tremendous impetus for the fight for social injustice that culminated in the reforms of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. This event is co-sponsored with The New York Jewish Labor Committee and The New York Labor History Association.
On Wednesday, October 20, at 6 p.m., poet Sondra Gash will discuss the background of her book-length poem Silk Elegy: A Narrative Poem and read from the book. Paterson, New Jersey, once the silk weaving capital of the world and a center of radical unionism and political activity, is the setting for her work. Silk Elegy tells the story of immigrant sweatshop workers, trade unionism, and political commitment. The event is co-sponsored with UNITE HERE.
On Wednesday, November 3, at 6 p.m., Gerard Meyer, professor emeritus at Hostos Community College, will talk about The Lost World of Italian American Radicalism: Politics, Labor, and Culture, a book he co-edited with Philip Cannistraro. Radicalism has had a powerful but largely unacknowledged influence in the Italian American community. This study brings together 16 selections that show how radicals, anarchists, and Communists shaped the Italian American experience and its relationship to the labor and progressive movements.
On Tuesday, November 16, at 12:30 p.m., Marcus Rediker, award-winning historian and University of Pittsburgh professor, explores the “Golden Age” of Atlantic piracy in his book Villains of All Nations: Atlantic Pirates in the Golden Age. He focuses on the high seas drama of the years, 1716-1726, which featured the dreaded black flag, the Jolly Roger; swashbuckling figures such as Edward Teach, better known at Blackbeard; and the unnamed pegleg who was likely Robert Louis Stevenson’s model for Long John Silver. This event takes place at the NYU King Juan Carlos Center, located at 53 Washington Square South. It is co-sponsored by the NYU Department of History.
The Tamiment Library/Wagner Labor Archives at NYU is a unique center for scholarly research on the history and culture of American activism and labor. Tamiment’s many collections document the history of anarchist, communist, labor, radical, feminist, and socialist movements in the U.S. from the Civil War to the present.