Miss MacIntosh, My Darling: Chapter 64: The Bald Childhood of Miss MacIntosh, Part 1, Osceola Archer
Osceola Archer reads Chapter 64, "The Bald Childhood of Miss MacIntosh", of Miss MacIntosh, My Darling by Marguerite Young. Archer (1890-1983) was a stage and film actress part of the Harlem Renaissance. She was a pioneer of the American Negro Theatre, and conducted a highly successful career throughout her whole life. Archer performed in plays for over 50 years, including: Between Two Worlds (1934), The Cat Screams (1942), Debut (1956), and The Crucible (1984).
In this chapter, Miss. MacIntosh learns to find beauty within her self. Having never had any hair or eyelashes, she perpetually viewed herself as an outcast, unable to conform to the traditional standards of beauty. Ultimately, she embraces her baldness and welcomes the opportunity to find love. She realizes that these attributes have been unique to her "since the beginning".
Often compared to James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake, Young's novel resonates with unique and poignant observations of American culture, in an epic and surrealist poetic prose. It took the under-recognized, enigmatic and iconoclastic author eighteen years of work to complete this dense, two volume novel.
In 1976-77, Charles Ruas produced a series of WBAI radio programs focused on literature and radio performance, called The Reading Experiment. As part of this series, Miss MacIntosh, My Darling was read over a year-long period by Marguerite Young’s contemporaries from the New York City literature, music, and theater communities. All readings are underscored with soundscapes and music by artist Rob Wynne.
This program has been restored by The Clocktower Radio; with the assistance of Charles Ruas; and by agreement with The Yale Beinecke Library, home to the Marguerite Young Papers. Special thanks to Dr. Contance Eichenlaub for her passion and generosity.
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Historic Audio from the Archives of Charles Ruas
RADIO SERIES
An unparalleled collection of recovered and restored programs from the seventies produced by Charles Ruas, and featuring Allen Ginsberg, John Giorno, Anaïs Nin, William Boroughs, Buckminster Fuller, Sylvia Plath, Pablo Neruda, and Jorge Luis Borges, among numerous others.
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Marguerite Young: Miss Macintosh, My Darling
RADIO SERIES
In 1976-77, Charles Ruas produced a series of WBAI radio programs focused on literature and radio performance, called "The Reading Experiment". As part of this series, Miss MacIntosh, My Darling was read over a year-long period by Marguerite Young’s contemporaries from the New York City literature, music, and theater communities. All readings are underscored with soundscapes and music by artist Rob Wynne.
The readings in the their entirety can be listened to here, as part of the Historic Audio from the Archives of Charles Ruas.
This program has been restored by The Clocktower Radio; with the assistance of Charles Ruas; and by agreement with The Yale Beinecke Library, home to the Marguerite Young Papers. Special thanks to Dr. Contance Eichenlaub for her passion and generosity.
more 