Author Discusses Hell Gate in East River

Author Discusses Hell Gate in East River

Museum’s virtual lecture hosts author Michael Nichols

KINGSTON, N.Y. – The Hudson River Maritime Museum is pleased to host author Michael Nichols for “Hell Gate - Imaginative Qualities of An Actual Place” on Wednesday, June 16, 2021 at 7:00 p.m. as part of the Follow the River Lecture Series, sponsored by Rondout Savings Bank. This will be the last lecture until September.

This talk is drawn from Nichols’ 2018 book Hell Gate: A Nexus of New York's East River. Part history and part memoir, Hell Gate tells of a man’s excursions along and through Hell Gate, a narrow stretch of water in New York City’s East River, notorious for dangerous currents, shipwrecks, and its melancholic islands and rocks. Drawn to the area by his fascination with its name—from the Dutch Hellegat, translated into English as both “bright passage” and “hellhole”—what began as a set of casual walks for Michael Nichols became an exploration of landscape and history as he traces these idyllic and hellish images in an attempt to discover Hell Gate’s hidden character and the meaning of its elusive name.

Tickets for this virtual lecture, held via Zoom, are $5 for the general public and free for Hudson River Maritime Museum members. Those interested in attending can view upcoming lectures and register at www.hrmm.org/lecture-series.