Beem Weeks's Blog - Posts Tagged "1920s"
That Which Has Been Shall Be Again
I participated in an interview with a website this afternoon. The interview is in support of my novel Jazz Baby. A question arose concerning the era in which I set the story, and why I chose it.
I set Jazz Baby in the year 1925. It takes place in Mississippi and New Orleans. The Roaring Twenties have long fascinated me. I remember vividly the stories my grandparents used to share, regaling my then-young mind with tales of life in the 1920s and 1930s. Over the years, I've done much research on the era--especially when preparing to write Jazz Baby. I've read books and magazines about the era, watched documentaries containing actual flappers and hepcats from those bygone days. Those oldsters sure come alive when discussing that golden decade. The reason? Everything was new.
Those who came up in the twenties witnessed the birth of America as we know it today. Prior to the 1920s, if you wanted to take a trip into town, you likely had to hitch up the horses to the wagon and hope to get back before sundown or rain. If you wanted to hear the latest music, you'd purchase the sheet music at your local music store and play it at home on the family piano. Mom or sis usually knew how to play. A night out for couples might consist of dinner and a walk through the park. Man had saloons in which to drown his sorrows if he'd yet to find that special girl to call on. He'd not likely meet her in said saloon, though, since no self-respecting woman would be caught dead--or alive--in a saloon. Besides, many communities had laws against women entering drinking establishments.
But everything changed after the First World War ended, when the dawn of the 1920s rolled in with a great big bang. Horse and wagon? Not anymore. The twenties saw the automobile become a common fixture among families all across the nation. A trip into town could be had simply by climbing into the Model T and driving there. And you could even drive to the next town and still be home before sundown. Dinner and a walk through the park gave way to picture shows on the big screen. Theaters sprouted up in every city, every town, every village. For a dime, a patron might catch the latest Clara Bow film or laugh at Charlie Chaplin. Who needed the park anymore?
The decade witnessed the birth of radio and the mass production of the phonograph player, which allowed common folks the ability to hear the latest popular songs--played by a full band--right there in the parlor of their own home.
Prohibition brought an end to the saloon. But prohibition also gave birth to the speakeasy, that secret place where the young congregated to drink their bootleg hooch, learn all the latest moves out on those makeshift dance floors, and stay out until all hours of the night. Speakeasies didn't belong to men; they were shared adventures.
In 1920, after decades of political denial, beatings, and even jailings, women had finally won the right to vote. They had gained a grip on the taut strings of power.
Flappers dictated the latest fashion trends, taking the hemline higher and the neckline lower. Sexuality slipped into polite company in ways that once scandalized earlier generations. Even Hollywood dared a little more skin in the productions they peddled equally to small towns and big cities. The young ones coming up in that decade knew of no other way. It was a new and exciting time to come of age.
As I pondered the interview question, it struck me that those youngsters coming up in the Roaring Twenties had a lot more in common with young adults growing up in the decade of the 2000s than most might suspect. Today's young, born in the 1990's, can't recall a time when smart phones, x-box, or the internet didn't exist. They've always had social media, iPods, and cable TV with its 500 channels. It's a new age, and they were born into it.
Some of us are old enough to remember television with its three channels, phone calls made from payphones, and a time when Atari's Pong was the only video game on the market. Computers? They were for managing household budgets and little else. When you needed information, you had to go to the library, search the card catalog, find the book or resource material, and turn pages to find the info.
We wrote letters to friends and loved ones--using paper and pencil, full words, and proper sentences. We didn't text short messages filled with letters like LOL and OMG! But we can't fault this younger generation anymore than we could fault those kids of the twenties. This is their time and era. It was technology then as it's technology now that has given these two decades their unique qualities.
So go on, fellow oldsters,don't sit around scratching your head in dismay; embrace the era that now belongs to your children and grandchildren.
I set Jazz Baby in the year 1925. It takes place in Mississippi and New Orleans. The Roaring Twenties have long fascinated me. I remember vividly the stories my grandparents used to share, regaling my then-young mind with tales of life in the 1920s and 1930s. Over the years, I've done much research on the era--especially when preparing to write Jazz Baby. I've read books and magazines about the era, watched documentaries containing actual flappers and hepcats from those bygone days. Those oldsters sure come alive when discussing that golden decade. The reason? Everything was new.
Those who came up in the twenties witnessed the birth of America as we know it today. Prior to the 1920s, if you wanted to take a trip into town, you likely had to hitch up the horses to the wagon and hope to get back before sundown or rain. If you wanted to hear the latest music, you'd purchase the sheet music at your local music store and play it at home on the family piano. Mom or sis usually knew how to play. A night out for couples might consist of dinner and a walk through the park. Man had saloons in which to drown his sorrows if he'd yet to find that special girl to call on. He'd not likely meet her in said saloon, though, since no self-respecting woman would be caught dead--or alive--in a saloon. Besides, many communities had laws against women entering drinking establishments.
But everything changed after the First World War ended, when the dawn of the 1920s rolled in with a great big bang. Horse and wagon? Not anymore. The twenties saw the automobile become a common fixture among families all across the nation. A trip into town could be had simply by climbing into the Model T and driving there. And you could even drive to the next town and still be home before sundown. Dinner and a walk through the park gave way to picture shows on the big screen. Theaters sprouted up in every city, every town, every village. For a dime, a patron might catch the latest Clara Bow film or laugh at Charlie Chaplin. Who needed the park anymore?
The decade witnessed the birth of radio and the mass production of the phonograph player, which allowed common folks the ability to hear the latest popular songs--played by a full band--right there in the parlor of their own home.
Prohibition brought an end to the saloon. But prohibition also gave birth to the speakeasy, that secret place where the young congregated to drink their bootleg hooch, learn all the latest moves out on those makeshift dance floors, and stay out until all hours of the night. Speakeasies didn't belong to men; they were shared adventures.
In 1920, after decades of political denial, beatings, and even jailings, women had finally won the right to vote. They had gained a grip on the taut strings of power.
Flappers dictated the latest fashion trends, taking the hemline higher and the neckline lower. Sexuality slipped into polite company in ways that once scandalized earlier generations. Even Hollywood dared a little more skin in the productions they peddled equally to small towns and big cities. The young ones coming up in that decade knew of no other way. It was a new and exciting time to come of age.
As I pondered the interview question, it struck me that those youngsters coming up in the Roaring Twenties had a lot more in common with young adults growing up in the decade of the 2000s than most might suspect. Today's young, born in the 1990's, can't recall a time when smart phones, x-box, or the internet didn't exist. They've always had social media, iPods, and cable TV with its 500 channels. It's a new age, and they were born into it.
Some of us are old enough to remember television with its three channels, phone calls made from payphones, and a time when Atari's Pong was the only video game on the market. Computers? They were for managing household budgets and little else. When you needed information, you had to go to the library, search the card catalog, find the book or resource material, and turn pages to find the info.
We wrote letters to friends and loved ones--using paper and pencil, full words, and proper sentences. We didn't text short messages filled with letters like LOL and OMG! But we can't fault this younger generation anymore than we could fault those kids of the twenties. This is their time and era. It was technology then as it's technology now that has given these two decades their unique qualities.
So go on, fellow oldsters,don't sit around scratching your head in dismay; embrace the era that now belongs to your children and grandchildren.
A Fantastic Look At 1920s Detroit.
The Sugar House by Jean SchefflerMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I discovered indie author Jean Scheffler on Twitter. She tweeted a message detailing her debut novel using words like speakeasy, gangsters, prohibition, and the Roaring Twenties. That alone would have sold me on the book. But then I learned the author is a fellow Michigander. That sealed the deal.
The Sugar House offers a look inside the Detroit of 1920s America, when industry had begun to drive the nation, and gangsters filled the vacuum left by prohibition with cheap and illegal bootleg whiskey.
When Joe, the story’s main character, loses his father, the youngster takes a job running errands for those gangsters controlling the now-booming liquor trade. But working for the Sugar House Gang takes its toll on the person Joe’s father had raised him to be. He develops an indifference to the violence and criminal activity permeating the city.
Jean Scheffler has a talent for taking a likeable character and exposing his all-too-human flaws. The story is well-researched and filled with details I became familiar with while researching the 1920s for my own novel.
The story’s flow is slowed in a few places, primarily due to inserted backstory. But the overall picture Scheffler paints is one tied to the rich history of the once-booming Motor City. She brings the story to life with vivid sound, flavor, and attitude.
Some readers may have trouble believing an eight-year-old boy could know the things young Joe understands. But keep in mind this is a different era; a time when kids had to grow up fast. Many, like Joe, were forced to support self and family.
Jean Scheffler skillfully sprinkles her story with amazing descriptions, pulling the reader into the era. Her characters become quite real. You can almost hear the commotion in the air.
The Sugar House is a strong debut and a carefully crafted piece of historical fiction. This is one book I will gladly recommend.
View all my reviews
Jazz Baby Gets a New Trailer!
Introducing the brand new video book trailer for Jazz Baby. This video is produced by Fresh Ink Group. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9HyH...
