The Lost Bookshop welcomes SUNY Oneonta Professor Mark S. Ferrara to the shop to discuss the history of the Erie Canal and his new book, The Raging Erie: Life and Labor Along the Erie Canal.
In the book, Ferrara tells the stories of the ordinary people who lived, worked, and died along the banks of the canal, emphasizing the forgotten role of the poor and working class in this epochal transformation.
The Raging Erie chronicles the fates of the Native Americans whose land was appropriated for the canal, the European immigrants who bored its route through the wilderness, and the orphan children who drove draft animals that pulled boats around the clock. Ferrara also shows how the canal served as a conduit for the movement of new ideas and religions, a corridor for enslaved people seeking freedom via the Underground Railroad, and a spur for social reform movements that emerged in response to the poverty and suffering along its path.
Location: The Lost Bookshop, 120 Main St. Delhi
• Date: Saturday, April 5, 6 - 7:30 p.m.
• Cost: free, RSVP encouraged
Seats are limited, RSVP at https://thelostbookshop.com/events
Mark S. Ferrara is professor of English at the State University of New York. His recent books include American Community: Radical Experiments in Intentional Living (2020) and Living the Food Allergic Life (2023).
The Lost Bookshop is an independent bookstore located at 120 Main St. Delhi, NY that sells a range of new books and gifts, and hosts regular community events.
