Summary: Part A:In The Trip to Echo Spring, Olivia Laing examines the link between creativity and excessive drinking through the work and lives of six writers whose literature is some of the most famous in the world. All six of these writers were well-known alcoholics, and the subject of drinking is often tackled in some of their finest work.Part B:New York City's Harlem was an cultural center in the 1920's that represented time of social freedom. White men could go uptown to see jazz and modern dance, but women who embraced black culture too enthusiastically could be ostracized. Carla Kaplan's, Miss Ann of Harlem explores the lives of six women who crossed race lines and defied social conventions to become a part of the culture and heartbeat of Harlem.
