I had a terrific time talking Washington Irving on The Diane Rehm Show this morning. “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” was (appropriately) chosen as the book for their monthly “Readers Review,” and I sat on a panel with two incredibly sharp experts on literature, film and media, professors Caetlin Benson-Allot of Georgetown and Sian Silyn Roberts of Queens College.
Me, I was there mostly to provide the background on Irving, though I did get to chip in and comment on the story every once in a while. I was also fascinated by the interest in how Irving may have come up with the name Ichabod Crane — it was the topic of both an e-mail that was read on the air as well as a phone call. It was fascinating to hear that the name has a Hebraic origin, but when it comes to Irving . . . well, I’ll let you listen to the show and you can hear what I had to say. If you missed it, not to worry: you can listen to the entire show right here.
And if you’re listening, and wanna know exactly which version of “Sleepy Hollow” we’re reading from and want to read along, it’s this one.
Brian Jay Jones 