Here Is New York

Content Warning: This section references terrorism and racism.

“Here Is New York” is an ode to the author’s beloved city. White uses descriptive language to evoke the inhabitants, architectural features, and numerous cultures that comprise New York City, using his past experiences and current observations to describe what sets it apart from other large cities.

The essay sets out to capture the post-World War II age in New York while situating this version of the city in a historical context. White toggles back and forth between his real-time 1948 observations, his knowledge of the city’s past, his own previous experiences in New York, and sociological musings on the city’s culture and inhabitants. This structure, made up of multiple frames of reference, offers numerous entry points and sources of information. White includes factual firsthand accounts, historical retellings, and poetic musings. As White shifts between types of information, the tone changes as well.

The tonal shift reflects White’s approach to characterizing the city. After describing his current location—in New York, on a very hot day in 1948—and mentioning his early days as a young man in New York, White transitions to describing the city from the