New York Sketches

by E.B. White

E. B. White’s greatest stories, asides, essays, jokes, and tall tales about the city he arguably saw clearest, loved best, and skewered most mercilessly.Over more than fifty years at the New Yorker, E. B. White came to define a kind of ideal American clear, casual, democratic, and urbane. He also did more than any writer to define his favorite city. His classic Here Is New York captured a moment in the life of Manhattan with precision and love—but his was no fleeting infatuation. In New York Sketches, the first collection of his casual pieces about the city, White ranges at whim from the nesting habits of pigeons to the aisles of a calculator trade-show on Eighth Avenue, from the behavior of snails in aquariums to the ghosts of old romance that haunt a flower shop or a fire escape or an old hotel. These sketches, some less than a page long, many written for a laugh, or in response to the news of the day, show us White at his most playful and inventive. New York Sketches is a welcome diversion for every New Yorker—native, adoptive, or far from home—and a perfect introduction, not only to what White called “the inscrutable and lovely town,” but to the everyday enchantments of one of her fondest reporters.

Genres: Essays, Nonfiction, Short Stories, Memoir, New York, Poetry, Contemporary

152 pages, Paperback

Published December 3, 2024

About the author

Elwyn Brooks White was a leading American essayist, author, humorist, poet and literary stylist and author of such beloved children's classics as Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little, and The Trumpet of the Swan. He graduated from Cornell University in 1921 and, five or six years later, joined the staff of The New Yorker magazine. He authored over seventeen books of prose and poetry and was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1973.

White always said that he found writing difficult and bad for one's disposition.

Mr. White has won countless awards, including the 1971 National Medal for Literature and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal, which commended him for making “a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children.”

Reviews

[Janae Mast · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very cute little volume of random poems, essays, observations, and stories all centered around NYC. It was fun to have bought it in New York and start reading it there, after I fell in love with the city.

[gabrielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

sigh! i was born to be a new yorker, forced to be canadian.

forever indebted to eb white for charlotte’s web

[ម៉ូនីក · Rating 5 out of 5]

my god, a little book full of delight. i dogeared so many pages! i think i'm going to go & read everything e.b. white ever wrote now. :)

“The two moments when New York seems most desirable, when the splendor falls all round about and the city looks like a girl with leaves in her hair, are just as you are leaving and must say goodbye, and just as you return and can say hello. We had one such moment of infatuation not long ago on a warm, airless evening in town, before taking leave of these shores to try another city and another country for a while. There seemed to be a green tree overhanging our head as we sat in exhaustion. All day the fans had sung in offices, the air conditioners had blown their clammy breath into the rooms, and the brutal sounds of demolition had stung the ear—from buildings that were being knocked down by the destroyers who have no sense of the past. Above our tree, dimly visible in squares of light, the city rose in air. From an open window above us, a whiff of perfume or bath powder drifted down startlingly in the heavy night, somebody having taken a tub to escape the heat. On the tips of some of the branches, a few semiprecious stars settled themselves to rest. There was nothing about the occasion that distinguished it from many another city, another evening, nothing in particular that we can point to to corroborate our emotion. Yet we somehow tasted New York on our tongue in a great, overpowering draught, and felt that to sail away from so intoxicating a place would be unbearable, even for a brief spell.”

<3

[Julia Hans · Rating 5 out of 5]

Filled me with a feeling of being alive and the desire to chase all of the small moments in NY. Never been a poetry person but I loved all of the poems in here.

[Susanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of White’s early short essays, musings, and poems about New York in the 1930s and 1940s. Most made me smile and some made me laugh out loud. A welcome diversion. And I learned some things about New York — for example, about pigeons and their nesting habits. This short book was pure joy for me.

[Kara Kvasnicka · Rating 4 out of 5]

I confess that the wit and humor in some of the essays and poems in this slim volume may have been too subtle for me to catch. But, I always enjoy reading about New York City in either its past or present incarnations. And, having loved the novels for children he penned, I am glad to have been afforded the opportunity to familiarize myself with White’s journalistic endeavors as well.

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very sweet and humorous

[India · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great love letter to the city

[mish · Rating 3 out of 5]

Majorily hit and miss but am bumping it up to a three because
1. i bought it in ny and its my ny souvenir
2. pro pigeon propaganda
3. heheh crossing the street and knowing when to jaywalk (iykyk)

[Minister Jane Trivigno · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great anthology of writings on the city, a lot of great standouts here.

[Camden Leary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a great little love letter to New York City - will definitely be revisiting some of these collected works as time goes by.

[jaycob · Rating 3 out of 5]

The process of moving to NYC has been exciting, and the way E. B. White illuminates and outlines that energy of the city makes for some great reading. One of my New Years' Resolutions this year was to read more frequently and intentionally. I chose this as a way to ease back into the practice of reading and as a mirror for the time of my life I'm currently in.

In terms of format, I'd say this book had a good choice of the sequencing of essays, poems, and accounts. However, their brevity and simplicity almost read like tweets to me, at least for the first half of the book. Perhaps if you're searching for more substantial reading, check the back half of the book.

White's characterization of the New York experience, the New York resident (both human and animal), and of the city itself prove to be compelling subjects for an entire book. I would say "sketches" is an accurate descriptor, though, because many of his observations don't delve any further than that. There may be plenty of portrait artists in the streets, but White doesn't possess the same depth, detail, nor style that these street portrait artists often offer.

What White does offer is still valuable. It's a good read for commutes because of how easy it is to digest a single reading, often not running for more than 2 or 3 pages. It's valuable for people who want a bit of the New York spirit in written accounts rather than photos or videos. And I would say the last 3 essays do evoke a greater emotional response. White writes about how the city evokes memories, describes the mindset of a mover in the city (which most people end up becoming), and reflects on how even the stillness of the city is part of its character.

Definitely would recommend, but it's not an urgent read. A random, happy discovery was being reminded by the author's short bio that White wrote Charlotte's Web, a children's novel that I still hold some fondness for.

[Neal Tognazzini · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picked this up at The Strand at 12th & Broadway while we were in NYC a couple of weeks ago - thinking it would be a nice little NYC memento, and give me an opportunity to relive our trip after we got home. What a delightful book! White’s writing is incredible, and these little sketches (some more than others, of course) give wonderful texture to the city and reveal White’s own emotional connection to it. Poems, short stories, short remembrances, astute observations - this book contains a nicely organized variety and I very much enjoyed reading it.

[Brandon Carestia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review: 4.0/5
“That was the thing about New York, it was always bringing up something out of your past, something ridiculous or lovely or glistening.” That line perfectly captures how I felt reading this. The moments, surroundings, and observations White writes about (some from nearly a century ago) still feel relevant and nostalgic, even for a city I don’t live in. I’d easily recommend this to anyone looking for a light read after a martini or two (just be warned, you may end up wanting to book a ticket to New York after that martini).

[Ally · Rating 5 out of 5]

The tiniest, most delightful collection of essays, musings, and poems about New York City. Especially loved the tidbits about pigeons and their nesting habits! Thoughtful without being pretentious.

[sofia bessette · Rating 5 out of 5]

just left nyc and this was beyond perfect:
"yet somehow we tasted New York on our tongue in a great, overpowering draught, and felt that to sail away from so intoxicating a place would be unbearable, even for a brief spell."

see you soon new york

[Veronica Ciastko · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful !!!

[McKenna Munden · Rating 3 out of 5]

Took me near a month to finish this even though it was such a short book. It kind of lost me around 25% of the way in and felt more like rambling.

[Aisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a delightfully observant collection of essays about New Yorkers in the 30s, 40s and 50s. Some things haven’t changed.

[Mayra Kalaora · Rating 5 out of 5]

mel lent her copy of this to me. it was very funny. the last paragraph of the last essay made me cry tho

[Amelia Grossman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely!! Very interesting how so many things he wrote about so long ago still feel so timely and accurate, nice quick read

[Kate Flynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I ❤️NY

I loved the essay about the proposal of a skyscraper in Washington square “ and above six stories, people don’t have roots”

[Aurelia Littlepage · Rating 4 out of 5]

How could I ever live anywhere that isn’t nyc?

[Christina Cheng · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute and charming!!! I love NYC and reading about it from the view of someone else <3

[will newton · Rating 5 out of 5]

How do I inject to talent of EB White into my veins

[Elizabeth Broussard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful, matter-of-fact writing that makes the ordinary appear extraordinary. Of course E.B. White has beautiful things to say about New York.

[Pierce Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really lovely! Occasionally insightful and always charming; Daisy’s obituary had me a little bit choked up.

[Brian Northrup · Rating 5 out of 5]

So awesome. EB White is a genius.

[Evelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

These selections of poetry and prose from E.B. White’s writings published in The New Yorker between the 1920s and the 1960s are, for the most part, a love song to New York City. They describe the City’s oddities, its people and places, and the author’s life and escapades in the big city with humor and alacrity.

They are a delight to read, with a few exceptions, and will bring joy, and put a smile on the face of even the most cynical readers.

The book rates 4.5 stars.

[Samera · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book joined the surprising collection of books I have that made me laugh out loud. It’s thoughtful without being pretentious (a rare thing). And it’s funny, not like a comedy show, but more like a conversation with a friend that’s witty.