mapping literature

this splendid map (engorgio) entitled “a pictorial chart of american literature” gives a pretty solid overview of where the titans of american letters liked to hang out. the answer—overwhelmingly—is boston, followed by new york, philadelphia, and san francisco.

here are some observations (in bullet form!) 

• the sole name in the idaho/montana/wyoming region is ezra pound.
• did you know that before winston churchill won world war two, he was a novelist from st. louis missouri? me neither.
• i had not made the connection between james fenimore cooper and cooperstown before this map made it explicit. indeed the town was named in honour of the author’s father.
• before bill nye the science guy and bill nighy the aging pop star in love actually, there was bill nye the humorist from shirley maine.
• also: helen hunt and helen hunt jackson.

incidentally, i came across this map in the charming book mapping america which hit bookstores last month. because you deserve a full disclosure, i shall issue one: a map that i created was reproduced in this volume and was credited to my real name.