William Randolph Hearst Source William Randolph Hearst (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American newspaper publisher who built the nation’s largest newspaper chain and whose methods profoundly influenced American journalism. Hearst entered the publishing business in 1887 after taking control of The San Francisco Examiner from his father. Moving to New York City, he acquired The New York Journal and engaged in a bitter circulation war with Joseph Pulitzer's New York World that led to the creation of yellow journalism—sensationalized stories of dubious veracity. Acquiring more newspape... Read More » Go to: Ask Encyclopedia · Images · Videos Browse Article: Source: Wikipedia
I have to just keep writing, everyday, whatever comes into my mind. They may be incoherent snippets if read alone, but each is necessary to the completion of my novel. I think of this daily effort as building a body. I work on making a bone everyday. Some days I craft a long bone like the femur. And the next day, I might not even complete the chin bone. It's alright to work like this because I have a diagram of how to put all the bones together. Some day the bones I form this month will be covered with muscles and skin and hair, and the body will blink and smile and tell a captivating story. Oh, and some days I study the craft of fiction writing, and some days I just read the masters for enjoyment. If you have never read the author Pearl S. Buck, start out with "Peony". And, I also recommend the classic, "Girl With The Pearl Earring" by Tracy Chevalier.
This period facinates me. I am reading, researching, and writing about it. The HBO show "Boardwalk Empire" is historically correct as far as I can tell. It mixes real people and true events from the era with fictional characters and events. I am aiming for the same result in my novel, working title "Little Chicago".
The strawboater hat was one of the most popular hat styles during prohibition. Al Capone had several and was photographed wearing his various strawboaters. Authentic period movies and tv shows feature men wearing strawboaters. Jack Lemmon wore one in "The Front Page".
"Mother Angelica" (Non Fiction) The Remarkable Story of a Nun, Her Nerve, and a Network of Miracles 2005 Raymond Arroya The true story of Rita Rizzo, raised in an Italian immigrant family on the wrong side of Canton, Ohio, during prohibition, she went on to become the famed Mother Angelica. Excerpt Page 11: "I couldn't have been more than four or five, and my grandfather didn't want me in the saloon. He gave me a small mug of beer with a big collar on it, and he said, 'Go outside and sit on the curb and enjoy yourself.' So, I'm out there on the curb drinking this beer and eating pretzels when the Salvation Army Band shows up. Well, they're praying all kinds of psalms in front of me and praying for my salvation. They must have been shocked to see this kid drinking beer. I remember yelling up to my grandfather, "There's a big band down here."
"Mother Angelica" (Non Fiction) The Remarkable Story of a Nun, Her Nerve, and a Network of Miracles 2005 Raymond Arroya The true story of Rita Rizzo, raised in an Italian immigrant family on the wrong side of Canton, Ohio, during prohibition, she went on to become the famed Mother Angelica. Excerpt Page 11: "I couldn't have been more than four or five, and my grandfather didn't want me in the saloon. He gave me a small mug of beer with a big collar on it, and he said, 'Go outside and sit on the curb and enjoy yourself.' So, I'm out there on the curb drinking this beer and eating pretzels when the Salvation Army Band shows up. Well, they're praying all kinds of psalms in front of me and praying for my salvation. They must have been shocked to see this kid drinking beer. I remember yelling up to my grandfather, "There's a big band down here."
"Anything Goes" A Biography of the Roaring Twenties 2010 Lucy Moore The Overlook Press 332 pages plus extensive bibliography and index A public library find for me. This was one of the Sunday Times Books of the Year. The jacket truthfully describes the contents. I will buy this on Amazon for my personal library. It is one of those books that gives and gives and keeps on giving.
"The Front Page" is an old movie starring Jack Lemon, Jack Klugman, and Carol Burnett. It's a humorous romp set in 1920's Chicago. This movie is the first I have seen that takes the horrid vices of the '20's and makes them comical, or at least tries as it plays with the corruption of city hall and the police, the passive acknowledgement of the Division Street whores, and the willingness of newspaper men to corrupt the truth in favor of printing what will gain readership. These characteristics of the era all play into the serious book I am writing.
Typical prohibition era. This was on premium cable STARZ (February 2). It is probably available at the local public library. An easy movie to watch.
I am experimenting with setting up a Blog here and experimenting with posting an entry to it. The subject of my Blog activity is the 1920's Prohibition era. Anyone interested in this era might enjoy the motion picture "Lawless" starring Jessica Chastain. The movie is not for anyone with a weak stomach. It compresses the entire prohibition era into the length of a feature film, so all of the blood and evil associated with the entire period is a bit hard to stomach in such a short burst. If anyone is interested in dialoguing about this, I have more to say about how this film came about and about specifics of the film itself. I also welcome dialogue on the general era of the 1920's in the United States.