That’s My Middle West, a new exhibit at the Minnesota
History Center’s Gale Family Library, pieces together the author’s time in St.
Paul with city records, writings, and original photographs alongside Gatsby
memorabilia showcasing the most iconic work of the Roaring Twenties.
Fitzgerald
returned numerous times to his birthplace of St. Paul—for his high school
education, to write his first novel, for the birth of his daughter—and though
his most popular work, The Great Gatsby, is set in New York City, his fondness
for the Land of 10,000 Lakes is sprinkled throughout.
“That’s
my middle west–not the wheat or the prairies or the lost Swede towns, but the
thrilling returning trains of my youth, and the street lamps and sleigh bells
in the frosty dark and the shadows of holly wreaths thrown by lighted windows
on the snow. I am part of that, a little solemn with the feel of those long
winters,” remarks narrator Nick Carraway about his home in the upper midwest,
which is likely St. Paul.
“Are you
going to the Ordways’? the Herseys’? the Schultzes’?” reads another line in the
novel, referring to some of the Minnesota high society families of the time.
Though the Fitzgeralds were by no means well off, his mother’s inheritance
allowed the family to live on Summit Avenue in comfort during his childhood.
Fitzgerald himself was friends with some Ordway children growing up.
“This is
where he was from and where he was comfortable. And if you read his writing, he
says that. He basically says, All these East Coast folks out here, I'm not
really like that. This is where I'm more at home. So deep roots,” says library
manager Jenny McElroy.
Every
item in the exhibit is owned by the Historical Society, pulled from the
archives by McElroy and curator of manuscripts Kate Hujda.
“We're
here to keep the history of this place, and since he is so tied to this place
and had such deep roots, then it became, it's not just Fitzgerald’s story, it's
St. Paul's story, and it's his family story, and what can we tell? And what are
things that help tell anybody's story whose family was here in St. Paul?” says
McElroy.
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In a copy
of The Farewell Address of George Washington, a young Fitzgerald wrote:
“Playwright, poet, novelist, essayist, philosopher, loafer, useless,
disagreeable, silly, talented, weak, strong, clever, trivial, a waste, in
short, a very parody, a mockery of one who might have been more, but who nature
and circumstance render less, with apologies for living.”
“I love
it because, one, it's so unique. There's nothing else like it, right? And two,
because it's a book, you can imagine him actually holding it. And three, he's
so teenager, right? That's what I wrote when I was writing bad poetry as a
teenager,” says Hujda.
From his
curt request for changing his occupation from "student" to
"writer" in his military forms to a satirical newspaper he wrote
recounting a wild party that was handed out to people as they arrived at the
supposed wild party, Fitzgerald’s humor and personality shine through in all of
his writing on display in the library.
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Alongside
a blown-up baby photo of Fitzgerald bundled up for a stroll down Laurel Avenue
sit records of the St. Paul he knew and loved. A series of miniature postcards
capture the Como lily pads, the river, and other touristy destinations we might
take for granted. “We get to show, like, that’s a real thing that people would
buy and send to their friends and say, Look, I was in the great city of St.
Paul,” says McElroy.
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Artifacts
chronicle Fitzgerald’s life in and out of St. Paul, from his birth announcement
to high school short stories and original photographs with friends to his
military records. Other items showcase Gatsby’s impact on our modern culture,
like a 1998 Peanuts strip featuring Snoopy’s Jay Gatsby alter ego and a
Fitzgerald-inspired K-Pop album by 2AM.
The
exhibit also shows the Historical Society’s collection of global, vintage, and
other iconic Gatsby editions. Though Hujda and McElroy chose copies that are
rare, aesthetically pleasing, or recognizable, there are more in the archives
available upon request during a visit to the library, which is free.
The
exhibit will be on view until May 31, but The Friends of the Saint Paul Public
Library will keep the party roaring. On April 10, visit the Gale Family Library
to enjoy the exhibit and listen to a reading of The Great Gatsby from start to
finish—which may sound like a daunting commitment, but the novel is only about
200 pages long and takes under 7 hours to read out loud, and visitors are
encouraged to come and go as they please.
Other
events include a collection of women writers from the 1920s at George Latimer
Central Library in May, a walking tour in July, and a performance of The Last
Flapper, a one-woman show about Zelda Fitzgerald, in