Greenwich Village isn’t just about artists, writers, and Bohemians. For almost 150 years, a vibrant Italian-American community has existed on the neighborhood’s southern edge. Starting in Washington Square Park, Marc Catapano will explore the history and cultural legacy of the “Italian Village,” visiting such landmarks as Our Lady of Pompei and St Anthony of Padua, plus sites associated with the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire. Learn about notable Italian-American locals, such as Gregory Corso, poet and one of the youngest members of the Beat Generation; Diane DiPrima, poet and activist; and mobster Crazy Joey Gallo, "beatnik gangster" and the subject of a Bob Dylan song. And take a dive into the rich Italian culinary legacy, from coffee houses and pizzerias, to bakeries and grocers.

The Original is an immersive walking tour through Greenwich Village with Michael Salgarolo following the strange, hilarious life of Chinese American author H T Tsiang. Alternatively ignored and ridiculed in his own time, Tsiang is now known as a visionary forebearer of modern Asian American literature. His two major novels, The Hanging on Union Square (1935) and And China Has Hands (1937) challenged mainstream representations of Chinese Americans and presented a deeply unhinged satire of the American Dream. The Original explores how the cafeterias, hand laundries, and radical arts scene of the Depression-era West Village inspired Tsiang’s writing and made him an “original.”