'Names are elegies'

Boston’s India Wharf in the 19th Century. It was torn down in the 1960s.

Boston’s India Wharf in the 19th Century. It was torn down in the 1960s.

“Something in the air allures the heartbeat:

Salt wind off the harbor; the smell of spice.

Even the names are elegies: India Wharf

(A lost Cathay); bow window in the slums.’’

-- From “Postcard From Boston” (1948), by William Abrahams (1909-90), who was born and raised in the Boston area. He was a famed editor as well as distinguished writer himself.

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