“Remembering the Twin Towers”

March 27, 2011

On Sunday, March 27, at 4 p.m., the Open River program will bring in Rutgers University American Studies professor Angus Gillespie to discuss the World Trade Center towers and their role as a national symbol. In the 1990s, he was intrigued by the twin towers and their symbolic meaning. When he discovered there were no books about them, he delved into the subject on his own, applying his expertise as a folklore researcher, who has studied myths, legends, tales, and ballads across the United States.

In 1999, Rutgers University Press published his book, Twin Towers: The Life of New York City’s World Trade Center, which became a bestseller in the weeks after the attacks. When he learned that most of the buildings’ original records vanished with the buildings, he donated his research notes and primary materials to the Rutgers Library so that others can use them, too.