Here at The Common, we’re all about place, so we’ve been experimenting with more ways for readers to experience the locations of our pieces. Using this map, you can explore all the dispatches we’ve published set in New York City. Get to know Eli the Seltzer Man, the nighthawks on the Upper West Side, and more!
WONG KOI TET
The body of water that runs by the neighborhood is in fact a river, but everyone used to call it longkau— a storm drain. The Hokkien word has a crispier edge than the Mandarin longgou. Calling it a river would require a proper name, a division into upstream and down. Nobody knew about that stuff, so we went with what was the easiest.
ROSE McLARNEY
He is Risen signs go up in the neighboring yards, making sure I remember Easter. On Easter in 1865, Union troops attacked Columbus, Georgia, the city closest to my current address. This was the Civil War’s last battle, and useless.
LISA ROSENBERG
Wave after wave of clustered consonants / and open vowels swell and crest over us— chords of her father’s
mother-tongue, and hers. / So many syllables to name this smooth / crescent of coast. So many words for blue.
