American Geographical Society Library

Mapmaking and Poetry Collide

Posted on June 17, 2024 Updated on June 11, 2024

By Liam Dooley

In 1997, The New York Times published Howard Horowitz’s poem “Manhattan” as an “op-art.” A former Professor of Geography at the Ramapo College of New Jersey, Horowitz writes poetry centered on geographical and geological elements; many, like “Manhattan,” take the visual shape of the subject matter. This form, known as “concrete” or “shape” poetry, is used by poets to create meaning using “nonlinguistic elements.”¹ Horowitz’s work has been described as “cartographically informed images that are also narrative texts,” a blending of geography and poetry to create visual art. ² 

https://collections.lib.uwm.edu/digital/collection/agdm/id/35146/rec/1

In “Manhattan,” you can feel deep devotion and dedication coming from Horowitz; it’s more than a poem in the shape of Manhattan. Looking line-by-line, it becomes clear that the places Horowitz references correspond with their geographical spaces. The lines of the poem are carefully in- and out-dented to accurately depict the shores of Manhattan. Though there are no street signs and the scale isn’t specified, tunnels (shown in parentheses as an artistic choice) and bridges out of the island serve as guides for the rest of the poem, allowing the reader to place the many locations Horowitz includes. 

For example, the lines “Songbirds alight in leafy woods as a turtle lays eggs / near a pond in Central Park” are situated halfway between “On the Triborough Bridge” and “Catch the F out to Queens.” Referencing a map of Manhattan, you will see that Central Park begins at 59^th Street, the same as the Queensboro Bridge, and ends only about 15 blocks south of the Triborough Bridge. This accurately places Central Park within the poem’s visual depiction of Manhattan. Similarly, Carnegie Hall, Rockefeller Center, and Saint Patrick’s Cathedral are all referenced in between the Queensboro Bridge and “(the Lincoln Tunnel),” The further down you read, the more packed the poem becomes, mirroring the density of the island. Beginning with the phrase “The island’s tip” and ending with the “wind- / swept docks / at Battery / Park” neatly bookend the poem in the same way as they do the island.  

“Manhattan” is a sweeping history of the titular island, referencing its past, present, and the very ground it’s built on. The poem begins with the lines “The island’s tip / was sliced by a ship / canal that tamed the / Spuyten Duyvil shoals, / but severed Marble Hill / from Inwood,” referencing the Harlem River Ship Canal that split Marble Hill from Manhattan in 1895. Today, the Harlem River separates Inwood Hill Park at the tip of Manhattan from mainland New York City, where the Marble Hill neighborhood is accessible via the Broadway Bridge. 

More of Manhattan’s history is found in the lines “The original steal (this island, traded for $24 in / beads) lies plastered in myth and concrete, obscured / like the African Burial Grounds,” which allude to the common story of Manhattan’s origin while simultaneously placing the African Burial Ground National Monument within the poem’s map. Horowitz’s poetic voice comes out in the juxtaposition of “myth” and “concrete,” showing that mythology and the past have physical weight, building Manhattan in the same way as concrete.  

Jam-packed with references to Manhattan neighborhoods, culture, art, history, and it’s very foundation, Horowitz invites the reader to explore and experience it for themselves: “From / Hell’s Kitchen walk to Broadway, buy tickets for / “Showboat” or “Cats”—hey, the Knicks won at the / buzzer in the Garden! See Macy’s float parade, then / gape from atop the Empire State, where mighty Kong / took a fall.” Horowitz’s background in natural science is featured in lines like “Gneiss but full of schist, the bedrock sparkles with / mica.” What one might ordinarily overlook, underground and invisible to the eye, is now on full poetic display.  

A signed poster of “Manhattan” can be seen at the American Geographical Society Library, open M-F 9-4:30, or viewed online through the AGSL Digital Map Collection. More of Horowitz’s work can be found in his book of poetry, Close to the Ground, originally published in 1986 and recreated here for free, online use. 

1. “Concrete Poetry.” Poetry Foundation, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/learn/glossary-terms/concrete-poetry.  

2. Wordmaps. 12 Sep. 2017, http://wordmaps.net/. Internet Archive https://web.archive.org/web/20170912005042/http://wordmaps.net/.